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lukanlast Friday at 6:53 AM1 replyview on HN

Maybe have a look at that by now old old image. Notice the red square. It is a bit larger today, but the principle stays the same

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DESERTEC-Map_large.jpg

There are enough roofs and waste lands for solar.

But out of curiosity, would you like to live next to a nuclear plant/uran mining/radioactive waste deposit?


Replies

remarkEonyesterday at 4:33 PM

Sorry is the idea here that we’d cover the Sahara in PVs? The Sahara desert, in Africa, the most dysfunctional continent on the planet. And, what, we’d lay a billion miles of transmission lines? You can’t keep reliable electricity running in those countries today because of how frequent copper theft is. You think building a solar farm is going to work?

This is the problem with PV boosters. It’s just fantasy about a supranational government doing mega projects, when in reality you can just build reactors today for an order of magnitude less in complexity and real estate. “Would I live next to a reactor” of course I would, because if I had that option my electricity would be free. Asking me if I’d want to live next to a uranium mine, well would you live next to a lithium mine? Disingenuous environmental activists have been using this bullshit argument for 30 years now, it doesn’t work on me.