Going solar

[tonydeli7]

https://flic.kr/p/2kssWjU

Renewable energy is the future.

 

[Duckhunter50]

So is this your own setup?

 

[tonydeli7]

So is this your own setup?

Nope,it's a photo I took a couple of days ago...

And I have no idea why they moved it here..

 

[teeroy]

I love it when folks that live where the sun shines a minimum of 10 hours a day and temps that never get near freezing tell me that solar is the future. Maybe for you it is.

Try using only solar at -40C and 4 hours of useable sun if it isn't cloudy or snowing. Hydrocarbon utilization for heat and transportation aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[Davros007]

I love it when folks that live where the sun shines a minimum of 10 hours a day and temps that never get near freezing tell me that solar is the future. Maybe for you it is.

Try using only solar at -40C and 4 hours of useable sun if it isn't cloudy or snowing. Hydrocarbon utilization for heat and transportation aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Or nuke.

 

[Duckhunter50]

Or nuke.

During the summer of 2019 I was working on the construction on a new Natural Gas plant in North Dakota, U.S. I was talking to one of the safety personel one day and construction of nuke power plants came up. He was doing quality control on a new nuke power plant in Georgia or South Carolina(can't rember for sure). The project went way over budget, into the billions and it was shutdown because of that. I knew that nuke construction is much more controlled and detailed but until I talked to this guy.

So he was doing the quality control over the pipe welding. He said each day they did paperwork that usually took approximately 2 hours out of the 10-12 hour work day. Each weld has a number, each welding rod has a serial number. The welding rods used on each pipe weld are recorded and the rod stubs kept in a bucket. He says that in case of a failure in the pipe weld they would know who did the weld, which rods were used and day, time, conditions etc.

I like the nuclear option for power but the hoops they have to jump through have made construction of new plants such a money pit that I dont forsee them becoming wide spread.

Sorry to take the post of the solar field even further off topic.

 

[Davros007]

During the summer of 2019 I was working on the construction on a new Natural Gas plant in North Dakota, U.S. I was talking to one of the safety personel one day and construction of nuke power plants came up. He was doing quality control on a new nuke power plant in Georgia or South Carolina(can't rember for sure). The project went way over budget, into the billions and it was shutdown because of that. I knew that nuke construction is much more controlled and detailed but until I talked to this guy.

So he was doing the quality control over the pipe welding. He said each day they did paperwork that usually took approximately 2 hours out of the 10-12 hour work day. Each weld has a number, each welding rod has a serial number. The welding rods used on each pipe weld are recorded and the rod stubs kept in a bucket. He says that in case of a failure in the pipe weld they would know who did the weld, which rods were used and day, time, conditions etc.

I like the nuclear option for power but the hoops they have to jump through have made construction of new plants such a money pit that I dont forsee them becoming wide spread.

Sorry to take the post of the solar field even further off topic.

Interesting! Good recording all the same but phew - expensive! Yes, solar best or wind! With some big batteries!

 

[icecoldgin]

I love it when folks that live where the sun shines a minimum of 10 hours a day and temps that never get near freezing tell me that solar is the future. Maybe for you it is.

True. But the only problem is that going solar is still so expensive in this part of the world that it has not taken off.

Add to that the lack of incentives from our own government (i.e. tax incentives) and even private companies (solar providers) thus you won't see this earth friendly technology becoming the norm.

Very sad

 

[teeroy]

True. But the only problem is that going solar is still so expensive in this part of the world that it has not taken off.

Add to that the lack of incentives from our own government (i.e. tax incentives) and even private companies (solar providers) thus you won't see this earth friendly technology becoming the norm.

Very sad

The panels themselves are becoming more affordable, but the required batteries for electrical storage to run an average home with a stand alone solar power system is astronomical in cost. Along with wood heating, a complete off-grid system in my part of the world still requires the use of a backup generator that runs on...you guessed it...diesel fuel/natural gas/LPG/gasoline.

 

[MA2 317]

Along with wood heating, a complete off-grid system in my part of the world still requires the use of a backup generator that runs on...you guessed it...diesel fuel/natural gas/LPG/gasoline.

Thank gosh for fossil fuels to keep the world running when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine. ??

 

[anotherlab]

I love it when folks that live where the sun shines a minimum of 10 hours a day and temps that never get near freezing tell me that solar is the future. Maybe for you it is.

Try using only solar at -40C and 4 hours of useable sun if it isn't cloudy or snowing. Hydrocarbon utilization for heat and transportation aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Solar isn't the only choice for renewable energy choices. Kodiak Island is slightly more North of your location and they went to being powered by 100% renewable resources.

 

[teeroy]

Solar isn't the only choice for renewable energy choices. Kodiak Island is slightly more North of your location and they went to being powered by 100% renewable resources.

I had a look and that is very impressive, but the winter temperatures of Kodiak Island are much warmer than my location. Their average low winter temperature in January is -0.8C whereas the winter average in my location is -18C. And Kodiak Island also employs a full diesel powered backup generator system.

the lowest temperature ever recorded on Kodiak Island is -26.7C. The coldest recorded temperature here is -56.7C.

 

[anotherlab]

I had a look and that is very impressive, but the winter temperatures of Kodiak Island are much warmer than my location. Their average low winter temperature in January is -0.8C whereas the winter average in my location is -18C. And Kodiak Island also employs a full diesel powered backup generator system.

the lowest temperature ever recorded on Kodiak Island is -26.7C. The coldest recorded temperature here is -56.7C.

How does the temperature differential between Kodiak Island, AK, and Roma, AB, affect the generation of power from wind turbines? There's a decent amount of wind farms in Alberta already.

 

[teeroy]

How does the temperature differential between Kodiak Island, AK, and Roma, AB, affect the generation of power from wind turbines? There's a decent amount of wind farms in Alberta already.

The wind on Kodiak Island is far more reliable than in Roma Alberta. All the wind farms in Alberta are in areas where wind is also very reliable and frequent. If you look at the locations of every listed wind farm on your chart you will see they are all located in areas of frequent wind near or around the plains or foothills of the Rocky Mountains. We don't get that here. It takes a lot of electricity to warm a home in the temperatures we see here in the winter. It was you that pointed out that Kodiak Island is in a latitude farther north than my locale, I just pointed out it is irrelevant to the topic of cold temperatures in this situation. Wind or solar will never be a viable option in my location.
Nuclear maybe, but not renewables.

 

[anotherlab]

The wind on Kodiak Island is far more reliable than in Roma Alberta. All the wind farms in Alberta are in areas where wind is also very reliable and frequent. If you look at the locations of every listed wind farm on your chart you will see they are all located in areas of frequent wind near or around the plains or foothills of the Rocky Mountains. We don't get that here. It takes a lot of electricity to warm a home in the temperatures we see here in the winter. It was you that pointed out that Kodiak Island is in a latitude farther north than my locale, I just pointed out it is irrelevant to the topic of cold temperatures in this situation. Wind or solar will never be a viable option in my location.
Nuclear maybe, but not renewables.

You may not have reliable wind in your town, but are you able to buy electricity from the Power Pool of Alberta? Wind may not be a viable option in your town, but as a province, you should have access to power generated by in-province wind farms. And you also have hydro-electric generation plants in AB. 5% of the power in my state comes from Hydro‑Québec.

 

[teeroy]

You may not have reliable wind in your town, but are you able to buy electricity from the Power Pool of Alberta? Wind may not be a viable option in your town, but as a province, you should have access to power generated by in-province wind farms. And you also have hydro-electric generation plants in AB. 5% of the power in my state comes from Hydro‑Québec.

All the power generated by the renewable projects (wind, solar, water) are gobbled up by the cities and municipalities in their respective areas. Our electricity in the north of the province is generated by coal or natural gas. None of which is used for home heating. There are a few hydro electric generating stations in BC, but the majority of their power goes to service that province.