Die Schweiz hat 5.000 Sonnenkollektoren an einer Staumauer in 8.000 Fuß Höhe in den eiskalten Alpen befestigt, wo alle sagten, Solar mache keinen Sinn, und die Anlage produziert jetzt dreimal mehr Winterstrom als jeder Bauernhof unten in den Tälern
https://www.ecoportal.net/en/switzerland-5000-alpine-solar-muttsee-dam-winter-power/28487/
47 Kommentare
I mean… they have high altitude direct sunlight with reduced chance of clouds and much reduced chance of mountain shadows… the temperature up there makes much less difference than people assume as these solar panels aren’t using heat to create steam and spin turbines.
Of course you’re going to get more power – you are closer to the sun!
I see no downside as long as it doesn’t compromise the dam’s structural integrity. Not that I’m an engineer. ROI on this must be massive.
_drill baby drill_ done right
I don’t get why „everyone“ would say it makes no sense. It’s not like the math is impossible to work out, and solar exposure survey tools exist.
>where everyone said solar made no sense
Apparently not „everyone“ since they actually went ahead and did it.
It’s just pretty expensive to build and maintain. We voted on a 100 Billion fund over 10 years which could have financed more projects like this but alas, we said no to investing in our future infrastructure.
three times more = four times as much
That’s pretty dam impressive.
Excellent idea. And I just don’t understand how these (obviously flawed) assumptions came to be. Why was it ever seen as a bad idea?
(The text of article unfortunately is just AI slop, but the facts seem to check out.)
We all fell for the clickbait title I see.
The way they apply renewables as a one for one replacement of non-renewables, is just holding back it’s renewables potential. And it’s mostly because they want to use existing infrastructure (both physical and financial).
Renewables like solar and wind, are really great dispersed power generation sources. Great examples are putting solar panels over things like retention, ponds or storm drainage systems. The problem is maintaining the renewable power generation sources, and at least in the USA, its not easy to monitor and decide who takes ownership of these power generations sources.
Throwing it on a dam is great because you already have some of those answered figured out. The company that owns the dam is the same one that is going to be maintaining the solar panels. As long as the structural engineering is able to hold it (which most dams are basically nuked proof so it should), I think this concept is something a lot of company is should consider.
Who is everyone? If they aren’t scientists who uses data on sunlight in that specific area who gives a shit what they had to say.
If “everyone” means people who don’t understand how solar power works then sure.
Trash AI article: „For years the assumption was simple, that solar belongs low and warm, on sunny roofs and flat fields, not up in the freezing thin air of the mountains.“
Actual quotes from actual people: „One of the qualities of alpine solar plants is that especially in winter they produce up to three times more electricity than a comparable facility in the midlands,” Axpo spokesperson Jeanette Schranz told Reuters.
There *is* controversy about some rapidly deploying alpine plants but it’s about projects that are being fast-tracked while in heretofore previously undeveloped mountainsides that have been nature preserves which obviously wasn’t the case with this one. (In fact this kind of Alpine plant over the top of existing development is what environmental groups are pushing for as an alternative to setting up on pristine land)
This everyone is here in the room with us?
Anyone who’s been skiing in Colorado could have told you that the sun can be intense in cold high altitude places. Especially if they learned the hard way.
If you know anything about Swiss culture, they would not have done this if it made no sense. They almost certainly worked out every angle with several studies over the course of a couple of years if not longer. Swiss people take risks, but it’s usually only on skis, mountain bikes, or flying around on jet wings.
> For years the assumption was simple, that solar belongs low and warm, on sunny roofs and flat fields, not up in the freezing thin air of the mountains.
What fucking horseshit, who was it that was saying this?
Nobody.
There are very few places on earth where solar makes no sense
That’s how modern media functions. Unvetted. Listen to the dumbest of us: „They told me it couldn’t be done,…“. Trumpism is it’s own fallacy.
I assume the dam is lucky enough to be south facing. Dams for the most part are in a valley which cast shadows so I assume it is also lucky enough to not have that issue.
Damn lucky!
Everyone did not say that
Why wouldn’t it work? photons are photons
Oo it makes perfect sense there
Cold weather is perfect for solar
The photovoltaic principle that powers solar panels require sunlight, not sun heat.
Do it at Hoover Dam?
„For years the assumption was simple, that solar belongs low and warm, on sunny roofs and flat fields, not up in the freezing thin air of the mountains“ Who in the hell thought that?! All that matters is how much sunlight it receives.
do people really think UV is about warm weather? wow
Who is „everyone“ who supposedly said this made no sense?
Clickbait headline. This makes a lot of sense, which is why they did it.
Who’s that „Everyone“?
Seems like a good idea for the Hoover Dam, given the amount of water it has to process seems to keep getting lower and lower as the Colorado River continues to reach history lows
Whoever said it makes no sense doesn’t understand basic physics… The closer you move to a source of energy… Duh!
What’s it like to have the intelligence to think that you need warmer solar sun for solar panels to work? Is that like saying „there’s no fish in the lakes up in the mountains, it’s to high for them“
Click bait trash
anybody sick of chatgpt articles
Hahah get FUCKED anti-science nerds
It doesn’t need to be hot out for solar panels to work. It doesn’t even need to be all that sunny. Putting solar panels up high makes way more sense than installing them down in the valley where’d they’d get fewer hours of daylight. Or did the author think the idea made no sense, so obviously EVERYONE thinks so too?
I never said it
Sun: exists
People: solar panels don’t make sense here
Firstly, if there’s spare space that isn’t being used then using it for solar panels is objectively a good idea, even if the yield is less than ideal. New solar panels have a much longer lifespan than older panels, and so even low-yield panels can offset the cost of installation over the long-term.
Secondly, dams are great places to put solar panels. You let the water run out into a lower dam, generating electricity, then use the solar to pump it back up. It’s basically an almost completely clean renewable water cycle. Sure the pumps only operate during the daytime, but that’s not a problem because the dam can let out water at any time, like a hydro-electric battery.
As long as evaporation doesn’t exceed the amount of water entering the dam then you’ve got almost free solar and water powered electricity.
And this isn’t a new model. I saw a very old model using simple metal plates in Africa. The idea is pretty simple. The plates heat up with sunlight, causing the warmer water on the surface of the lower pool to rise through pipes back up to the higher pool. No solar panels required, just metal plates. It wasn’t as efficient as solar panels, but it was pretty ingenious.
„Everyone“? Not an engineer in the bunch I reckon.
I see stuff like this and all I can think of is the US could be such a nice place to live. The green eyed monster has taken hold of everyone in this country and it’s just so fucking sad. I see the country my parents had and I just want that. I want to work and make a life but I’ve been denied that. I have to stay up at night and worry about buying groceries or paying my electric bill.
People have a fundamental lack of understanding of what the fuck solar energy is. It’s not a pollutant, it’s NOT associated with heat except by indirectly causing it, it’s definitely not something that can be depleted
How much do you think we’d have progressed by now if there weren’t $billions being lobbied against greener tech
Were the people who said it wouldn’t work the same people who were Google educated?