Letter: How ’bout those solar panels?
By Letter to the Editor on June 26, 2021.
Dear editor, It’s during such times of extreme weather and thus boosted power consumption that I’ll think about every structure independently harvesting solar energy via roof panels as an emergency/backup power storage system. Albeit, the idea likely would be opposed by various corporate interests. If solar-panel universality would come at the profit-margin expense of the traditional energy production companies, one can expect obstacles, including the political and regulatory sort. If it notably conflicts with corporate big-profit interests, even very progressive motions are greatly resisted, often enough successfully. Of course there will be those who will rebut the concept, perhaps solely on the notion that if it were possible it would have been done already and made a few people very rich. Regardless, it may no longer be prudent to have every structure’s entire electricity supply relying on external power lines that are susceptible to being crippled by unforeseen events, including storms of unprecedented magnitude, especially considering our very vulnerable over-reliance on electricity. Also, coronal mass ejections’ powerful EMF effects leave electrical grids vulnerable to potentially extensive damage and long-lasting power outages. Frank Sterle Jr. White Rock, B.C. 8-7
My late father was a power plant engineer and was promoting solar panels 50 years ago. He said there was no better place than southern Alberta to use them. A friend put them on his home in Devon in 1975 and said it was the smartest thing he ever did. Now Devon has gone solar panel crazy and it’s working. We are seeing more and more farmers in the Edmonton area using them.
“Community Centre Solar Project- September 2015”
This whole letter is just too ludicrous to ignore! It never ceases to amaze me how many environmental activists there are promoting concepts which are not in any way scientifically or practically defensible. For Mr. Sterle to suggest that solar panels can offer anything to improve our existing reliable, affordable electrical grid Is simply hilarious! I would challenge him or especially anyone living in the prairies who thinks solar panels offer a realistic alternative to fossil fuel, nuclear or hydro generation to install a modern solar panel array on their home and disconnect from the existing electrical grid. Because all of the supposed solar benefits would flow to them, they would of course pick up the full cost of the solar infrastructure to supply their house. At present, the taxpayer gets stuck with paying a big portion of that huge bill.
Reality would quickly set in. First, they would find they need some kind of storage (probably batteries) to at least keep their fridges or anything else that is critical on every night. If they also consider amenities such as lights, TV, computers and cooking utensils etc. essential then the required energy storage costs multiply. Sacrificing them would certainly create a spartan lifestyle but maybe some could tolerate living without all modern conveniences every night for the rest of their lives? That small amount of required energy storage alone would add tens of thousands of dollars to their solar dream but that would be nothing compared to what they would soon be forced to do.
When winter hits, temperatures plummet, solar capacity collapses and without gigantic electrical storage which could capture excess energy during the summer months, their homes would simply go dark and freeze unless, of course, they cheat and use “dirty” fossil fuels like natural gas to actually provide all the energy needed to survive. If they understood math and even a little science they would quickly realize that because of the scale of the solar energy deficit in Canadian winters, even hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of modern batteries would barely allow them to scrape through those 4 or 5 months if they insist on only solar energy for their homes. Only the very wealthy could even consider it.
Keep in mind that residential(or industrial) solar panels are just for show. Their real costs are being downloaded to everyone else and their unreliable output is being hidden and backstopped by existing baseload generation which gives a totally false impression about solar’s usefulness. It’s pure fantasy and theatrics!
Lynn Thacker