Re: Hmmm
"Solar gives you maybe 1kW/m^2 of potential energy, ie solar irradiance at surface. "
When the sun is directly overhead.
At any other solar angle you need to multiply by the cosine of that angle (or the sine if you regard straight up as 90 degrees instead of 0 for this purpose) and even THAT doesn't fully take into account extra atmospheric attentuation at higher latitudes. This applies even if you face your panel directly at the sun.
Solar outside the tropics is pretty much greenwashing and there are major pollution problems associated with solar PV production that make coal ash ponds look relatively minor - just because it's not happening in _your_ backyard doesn't mean it's not happening.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
