Solar now requires no more upfront capital than coal or gas to produce the same annual electricity, reversing a disadvantage that was as large as five-to-one a decade ago.
I bought a 1 kg rest mass barrel of sunshine, and… boy howdy, for the price I might as well have purchased 1.8 times 10^15 joules from the energy grid.
1kg rest mass of sunlight in a barrel is objectively horrifying lol. Napkin math says thats ~9e19J. For reference, Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated on earth, produced ~2.1e17J. You’ve got a barrel containing ~440 Tsar bomba detonations
I’m glad it doesn’t exist. That committee trying to design warning signs for permanent nuclear waste storage would have a field day. “The inner lining is only 99.99999999999999999999999999% reflective while it’s in this certain temperature range. Do not inhale or exhale forcefully in the vicinity.” is a non-starter.
But what happens after that up front cost?? With the current price of a barrel of sun, can we really afford to limit fossil fuels?
You don’t measure sun in barrels. It comes in bars.
So do I.
How many?
All of them.
That creates a logistical problem.
I bought a 1 kg rest mass barrel of sunshine, and… boy howdy, for the price I might as well have purchased 1.8 times 10^15 joules from the energy grid.
1kg rest mass of sunlight in a barrel is objectively horrifying lol. Napkin math says thats ~9e19J. For reference, Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated on earth, produced ~2.1e17J. You’ve got a barrel containing ~440 Tsar bomba detonations
I’m glad it doesn’t exist. That committee trying to design warning signs for permanent nuclear waste storage would have a field day. “The inner lining is only 99.99999999999999999999999999% reflective while it’s in this certain temperature range. Do not inhale or exhale forcefully in the vicinity.” is a non-starter.