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Solar panels and dust bowls don't mix

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RichA

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May 18, 2022, 1:56:10 AM5/18/22
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Something to think about before investing in some solar installation in Saudi Arabia or Africa.

https://phys.org/news/2022-05-nasa-insight-lander-lonely-fate.html

StarDust

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May 18, 2022, 3:26:31 AM5/18/22
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On Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 10:56:10 PM UTC-7, RichA wrote:
> Something to think about before investing in some solar installation in Saudi Arabia or Africa.
>
> https://phys.org/news/2022-05-nasa-insight-lander-lonely-fate.html

Last time I heard about the insight, it's drill was stuck.
Did they fix it?

Chris L Peterson

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May 18, 2022, 9:07:48 AM5/18/22
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On Tue, 17 May 2022 22:56:08 -0700 (PDT), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>Something to think about before investing in some solar installation in Saudi Arabia or Africa.
>
> https://phys.org/news/2022-05-nasa-insight-lander-lonely-fate.html

Why? They are not hard to clean, dust blows off of panels in the
denser air of Earth (and because on Earth panels are tipped).

You're silly.

W

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May 18, 2022, 12:39:49 PM5/18/22
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https://www.nrel.gov/news/features/2021/scientists-studying-solar-try-solving-a-dusty-problem.html

You might wish to delete your earlier statement to the OP, lest you look silly.

Chris L Peterson

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May 18, 2022, 12:51:11 PM5/18/22
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On Wed, 18 May 2022 09:39:44 -0700 (PDT), W <wsne...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
It's a very solveable "problem". What they're studying is the most
effective ways of mitigating an issue. Very different from flat panels
sitting on another planet!

You're as silly as Rich.

Quadibloc

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May 18, 2022, 1:09:18 PM5/18/22
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The article he cited noted that, in the Middle East, about 50% of output is lost from
unattended solar panels - so that _is_ quite different than dust and sand being
no problem because it just blows off a tilted solar panel.

Thus, his comment was not entirely without validity - it may have gone too far, but
then so did you.

John Savard

RichA

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May 18, 2022, 4:39:18 PM5/18/22
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You are clueless. FAN blades which spin at thousands of RPMs and are vertical in orientation collect dust. They can collect so much they become unbalanced.
THEY have to be cleaned.

RichA

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May 18, 2022, 4:40:14 PM5/18/22
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Good luck cleaning ACRES of solar panel in MILES LONG installations every single week. Hope there are no labour shortages...

Chris L Peterson

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May 18, 2022, 6:05:06 PM5/18/22
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Nope. It's a readily solvable problem, with many possible solutions.
Not too far at all. It's just whacko Rich passive-aggressively
fetishizing over nuclear powered spacecraft.

Chris L Peterson

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May 18, 2022, 6:05:29 PM5/18/22
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On Wed, 18 May 2022 13:39:16 -0700 (PDT), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>On Wednesday, 18 May 2022 at 09:07:48 UTC-4, Chris L Peterson wrote:
>> On Tue, 17 May 2022 22:56:08 -0700 (PDT), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> >Something to think about before investing in some solar installation in Saudi Arabia or Africa.
>> >
>> > https://phys.org/news/2022-05-nasa-insight-lander-lonely-fate.html
>> Why? They are not hard to clean, dust blows off of panels in the
>> denser air of Earth (and because on Earth panels are tipped).
>>
>> You're silly.
>
>You are clueless. FAN blades which spin at thousands of RPMs and are vertical in orientation collect dust. They can collect so much they become unbalanced.
>THEY have to be cleaned.

Who said they don't? You're silly.

W

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May 18, 2022, 6:12:51 PM5/18/22
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If you read RichA's comment, you will see that my linked article is on topic.

Perhaps if your reading comprehension were better, you would appear less silly.

W

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May 18, 2022, 6:16:00 PM5/18/22
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My comment and link was completely valid. It's peterson who has trouble staying on-topic.


StarDust

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May 18, 2022, 6:22:47 PM5/18/22
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Static!

Quadibloc

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May 19, 2022, 5:54:52 AM5/19/22
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I guess his point is that fan blades move. So if they get clogged up with dust,
just having solar panels tilted isn't going to keep them clean. Dust seems to
accumulate no matter what you do, if you don't go out there and directly scrub
it away.

John Savard

Quadibloc

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May 19, 2022, 5:59:53 AM5/19/22
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On Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 4:05:06 PM UTC-6, Chris L Peterson wrote:

> Nope. It's a readily solvable problem, with many possible solutions.
> Not too far at all. It's just whacko Rich passive-aggressively
> fetishizing over nuclear powered spacecraft.

I don't disagree with that part of it; but that doesn't mean that the article
about Sa'udi Arabia didn't show that some effort is required for a solution.

I'm well aware that Rich takes every opportunity to criticize the failings
or limitations of solar panels, because he seems to think that nuclear
power should be used nearly all the time. And, this time, a mission was
cut short because dust did block the solar panels sooner than expected,
despite an ingenious use of the sample collection arm to dislodge some
of it.

Myself, while I am inclined to agree that there is perhaps an excessive
prejudice against nuclear power, I would still expect it only to be used
when necessary, to keep the safety issue low.

John Savard

Chris L Peterson

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May 19, 2022, 9:00:07 AM5/19/22
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I wasn't disagreeing with the article or the existence of a minor
engieneering problem here on Earth! I was laughing at one of the
regular SAA laughingstocks.

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