Oregon greenlights 1,200 MW Sunstone Solar project, America's largest solar farm

[Redaktion]

The Sunstone Solar project will generate 1,200 megawatts—enough to power 800,000 homes—while investing millions in local agriculture to ensure sustainable development.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Oregon-greenlights-1-200-MW-Sunstone-Solar-project-America-s-largest-solar-farm.929737.0.html

[the future is now]

That's enough to power around 800,000 homes every year.

that's amazing! imagine if everyone had solar roofs to also generate their own power and cut their energy bills.

[Not enough]

Which is nothing in the grand scheme of things, considering there is like what, 131+ million homes in the states?

I wonder if there is a way to harness extreme temperatures as energy, not just sunlight. Like if a place is constantly 50+ degrees celsius year round or -50 C.. if there is a way to collect / harness this in a form of raw energy?

[Steve corwin]

It's time to get real
The solar farms that are going up all over this state if placed in the right place are not absolutely bad. The bad part is that to maximize profits they tend to be placed in areas that ruin winter habitat for wildlife. Not against them but let's not put profit ahead of our natural environment.

[A]

Which is nothing in the grand scheme of things, considering there is like what, 131+ million homes in the states?

I wonder if there is a way to harness extreme temperatures as energy, not just sunlight. Like if a place is constantly 50+ degrees celsius year round or -50 C.. if there is a way to collect / harness this in a form of raw energy?

You mean like heat pumps?

There are also solar panels that collect heat from sunlight called solar thermal panels. You can combine both photovoltic and thermal to get maximum benefit. But the issue is that to do thermal for anything that isn't just heating a pool, you are going to have to run pipes through the roof that go through the house. So unless you are building a house from scratch or doing major remodeling that includes the house, it isn't worth it.

It's time to get real
The solar farms that are going up all over this state if placed in the right place are not absolutely bad. The bad part is that to maximize profits they tend to be placed in areas that ruin winter habitat for wildlife. Not against them but let's not put profit ahead of our natural environment.

A bigger issue is people only care about the environment when it is solar or wind, yet could care less when it is fossil fuels. The environment has no future unless we get off fossil fuels asap. While loss of habitat isn't ideal, if your choice is being shot or nuked. The answer is a no brainer