Harvard To Install Huge Solar Panel System

How carefully has the eco-friendlyness of the manufacture and ultimate disposal of solar panels been studied? Typically , enthusiasts look only at the presmed operating benefits! ignoring the rest of the picture!Consider, For example, Fuel cells, which provide clean energy at the point of application( in the car) They would be clean and efficient because Hydrogen and Oxegen have a strong affinity for each other and when combined, form water. But that same eagerness to bind together has a down-side, as well: a HUGE amount of energy must be expended to produce the Hydrogen, by separating water into Hydrogen and Oxygen, which is accomplished by running an electric current through water. The energy required to generate the Hydrogen is exactly the same as is recovered later when they recombine( except for inefficiencies in both processes) So feul cells move the polution from the running car back to the electrical power plant!

Did Harvard look into buying these panels from Massachusetts-based Evergreen Solar? Since Harvard has laid off workers at a rapid clip, shut down its Allston project resulting in even more layoffs, and cut back on other university expenditures in the local economy, they could have made more of an effort to help the people in Massachusetts by keeping the money here. “Green” may be “the new Crimson” but around here most folks are seeing red. Whoopee for the 43 cars you took off the road. You took more than a thousand cars of the road when your actions cost people’s jobs!

MDHULK, I’m for your argument.

May I point out that there is no solar power generation by solar at night, or when snow covers its collectors and is limited on days that are cloudy, rainy or have heavy overcast, and when their surface is not pointed at the sun. In other words, the “rated capacity” is rarely achieved. There is no currently economical storage technology to cover these periods, so full backup is required from other sources. Further, there is no infrastructure to support hydrogen generation as a useful energy transmission means. And there are unavoidable efficiency losses. So this and similar installations are currently literally “blue sky” fantasies.

Cristobal, your comment is not productive. Rudolph’s list of the limitations is a statement of fact. Without substantial state and federal government support for installation and operation, Harvard would not be building this installation. We do need more solar power in the world, we also need more nuclear. More importantly we need to be aware of the consequences and limits of all energy generation and consumption.