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@antipodean said in Climate Change:
I'd prefer a sea of solar farms out there, at least farmers can still run sheep under them.
That's the problem, they can't as they need to be close to the ground. Sheep graze happily beneath a wind turbine. Will ask about cows.
EDIT: We have birds of prey a-plenty which aren't affected by the turbine - buzzards, Sparrow Hawks, Kestrels. Other species might be though.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Climate Change:
@antipodean said in Climate Change:
I'd prefer a sea of solar farms out there, at least farmers can still run sheep under them.
That's the problem, they can't as they need to be close to the ground. Sheep graze happily beneath a wind turbine. Will ask about cows.
Sheep farmers out here can and do happily run sheep as the grass still grows beneath the sufficiently spaced rows of panels. Unlike cows, sheep don't have the mass to damage the infrastructure either. The rent from the land to energy companies can also help farms during droughts.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Climate Change:
That's the price Siemens sell the hardware at. If they want to sell at a loss that's up to them. A 10% increase in capital cost still makes an IRR of 8-9% attractive.
I can't think of many companies that willingly sell products at a loss. A few that are getting priced squeezed because their input costs make them uncompetitive. Funnily enough the same reason Germany is going to the dogs; the cheap dependable energy that powered its industries no longer exists.
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We don't have that luxury in the UK...
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@antipodean yeah, i actually did some googling as ive definitely seen some solar farms in Vic where the panels are so close to the ground and close together grass barely grows, very barren, but looks like they might be the exception or maybe they are older before people thought to design them to allow sheep to graze
even some suggestion its good as provides shade for them
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@antipodean said in Climate Change:
can't think of many companies that willingly sell products at a loss.
Government subsidies, dear boy.
Funnily enough the same reason
Germanythe EU is going to the dogsFIFY...
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@Kiwiwomble said in Climate Change:
@antipodean yeah, i actually did some googling as ive definitely seen some solar farms in Vic where the panels are so close to the ground and close together grass barely grows, very barren, but looks like they might be the exception or maybe they are older before people thought to design them to allow sheep to graze
even some suggestion its good as provides shade for them
I've heard that as a result they're getting a better consistency from the wool too.
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what impact will these large solar farms have with reflected light?
Cant recall where I saw it (and how true) but was an example saying they could put huge farms in the Sahara that could generate enough to power whole countries, but the resulting environmental changes to other areas would be catastrophic.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Climate Change:
The wind turbine near me probably generates £80-90k of power a year. As part of the planning consent, around 15-20% is used locally to fund local kids education, local charities and the like. Our village hall gets about £2.5k a year and 3 local kids are getting grants while they are at Uni.
The community funding thing is interesting - there is a lot of money that coal power stations give to the local communities here. Shitload cheaper than paying tax and much better PR.
A mate in Sweden lives in a valley where the local community operates small hydro already, and is now considering wind to support that, because of climate change and uncertainty over snowmelt.
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@taniwharugby did it elaborate on how the reflected light would cause these ramifications?
i think Musk may have tweeted or retweeted something about solar farms in the sahara but it was quickly pointed out the math was out by a order of magnitude and kind of ignored the fact you then have to get the power to these countries 100/1000/10000km away
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@Kiwiwomble not sure that was in the same piece that I read, but I expect long term issues with reflective light, probably sit up there with how turbines might affect wind patterns and bird migrations or tidal flow from tidal generators....alot of theoretical stuff?
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@taniwharugby I've often wondered how cutting freeways through hillsides changes local ecosystems long-term. Obviously all the initial destruction is part of the environmental assessment, but what about wind patterns there?
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@Kiwiwomble said in Climate Change:
@taniwharugby did it elaborate on how the reflected light would cause these ramifications?
i think Musk may have tweeted or retweeted something about solar farms in the sahara but it was quickly pointed out the math was out by a order of magnitude and kind of ignored the fact you then have to get the power to these countries 100/1000/10000km away
He suggested some desert in the US, I think like in New Mexico. Large enough would be enough for the entire US energy needs, and not that big.
Real plan long term would be solar panels in space far out (maybe on the moon or super high stable orbits and beam the power down where it’s needed. NASA just tested a prototype of that.
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@antipodean said in Climate Change:
A few months ago I spent half an hour watching two wedge-tailed eagles soaring. In that time I didn't witness them flap their wings and it was fantastic to see. It would be a shame if such apex predators were to be pushed into a conservation status of concern, especially when nature is a balance.
We watch the buzzards circling and hovering over our field - magical. Even more fun when the crows start crowding them...aerial warfare between species
Motorways in the UK are often designed as wildlife havens and attract raptors as well as other species. When I lived near Marlow, you'd often see Red Kites and even Barn Owls at dusk hunting along the verges of the M40. Not expensive and a good way to combat climate change in some ways.
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@antipodean maybe they are solar powered
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Not quite as stupid as it first sounds
The country’s ability to import oil and other raw materials has been exacerbated with a shortage of foreign currency.
“Electricity is produced in Ethiopia and again, the price of electricity is cheaper compared to fuel,” noted Sime. “Ethiopia is a supporter of green development, and it is a country that is working hard for that.”
The ministry has mentioned a ten-year plan to support the import of at least 4,800 electric buses and 148,000 electric cars, cutting VAT, surtax and excise tax on EVs.
Research institute Mordor Intelligence predicts that by 2027, the value of the African EV market will reach approximately $21.4 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2%.
Analysis by McKinsey and the Shell Foundation shows that by 2025, sales of electric vehicles in some African countries may reach 340,000 to 820,000 units.
It's only the importing of ICE vehicles so time to get infrastructure in place.
Also as you might expect not a lot of vehicles full stop
"The Ministry of Transport, in its latest report revealed that the total number of vehicles registered by the authority, at both federal and regional levels, has reached close to 1.3 million vehicles.
Ethiopia — Africa’s second most populous nation with some 120 million inhabitants — had around 1.3 million cars on the road in 2022 according to its transport ministry. That translates to one of the lowest car ownership rates in the world at about 2 cars to 1,000 people. Its auto market is dominated by secondhand cars, many of which are Japanese brands like Toyota. Locals complain that the government’s high import tariffs, totalling over 200%, keep the price of used cars very high and out of reach for most ordinary Ethiopians.
According to the report, a total of 1,200,110 vehicles have been registered nationwide until the last fiscal year ending July 7, 2020."
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Nutcases are running Air NZ
Maybe it's best to fly on another airline if possible
"It's about 1 percent of the total global aviation fuel. So it is hard to source and it's also incredibly expensive - anywhere between three and five times the price of normal jet fuel. So we're very pleased to have got it, but we've got to find a lot more of it as we work incredibly hard to decarbonise."
"It's about 1 percent of the total global aviation fuel. So it is hard to source and it's also incredibly expensive - anywhere between three and five times the price of normal jet fuel. So we're very pleased to have got it, but we've got to find a lot more of it as we work incredibly hard to decarbonise."
Climate Change