Pierre Gosselin points out this absurdity on his website:
Weed-Covered, Neglected Solar Park: 20 Acres, $11 Million, Only One And Half Years Old!
German solar skeptic website SOLARKRITIK.DE here provides the background on the rundown, weed-covered solar facility in former communist (and now “green”) East Germany, which I presented in my last post here.
It’s much worse than we thought. The story behind the above photo and the project itself appears here at the online Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper. The facility is sprawled over an area of 20 acres. The Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper wrote just before the facility went into operation:
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Looks like they run a mower between the rows, but have’nt figured out how to keep the weeds down under the panels.
I suppose “RoundUp” would be sacrilege to them.
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I hope they use organic methods to clear those weeds 🙂
Now, with all that power being generated, you’d think they could at least afford to hire somebody to push a weed-whacker-on-wheels down the aisles, which would cut off the weeds under the panels.
Green Jobs? We’re looking right at an opportunity. Not happening, is it?
So this build & forget technology: How is it any different than urban sprawl?
I’m guessing that the profits were guaranteed to Go Green at near 100%, so maintenance is not an option.
Now, the weeds themselves are quite the story in the story. Simply change the environment a little, and nature rushes in with a weed to begin the process of reclaiming. The weeds have something to say about climate change, do they not?
Epic picture that is worth more than a thousand words. The future of green energy!
John G
It seems there are a few gaps in the theory.
Looks like my green job of the future will be hand pulling the weeds from beneath solar panels. It’s either that or squeegee man on a wind turbine, but I’m afraid of heights.
UK’s Daily Mail is on a warming mission of late, so here they go again, no writer attribution again as well:
5 July: UK Daily Mail: Attack of the jellyfish: Sea creatures shut down ANOTHER power station amid claims climate change has caused population surge
By Daily Mail Reporter
A huge swarm clogged up the Orot Rabin plant in Hadera, Israel, a day after the Torness nuclear facility in Scotland was closed in a similar incident…
Almost 2,000 beach-goers were stung as they celebrated Independence Day weekend in the surf at Volusia County, Florida.
Beach Patrol spokeswoman Captain Tamara Marris reported the staggering statistics but stressed that no victims were seriously injured…
The influx was thought to be down to onshore winds bringing more jellyfish into contact with bathers…
Scientists say the number of jellyfish are on the rise thanks to the increasing acidity of the world’s oceans…
Studies have shown that higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doesn’t just trigger climate change but can make the oceans more acid…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2011565/Jellyfish-shut-power-station-amid-claims-climate-change-caused-population-surge.html
there are obviously a variety of reasons other than CAGW that could provide an explanation, but “scientists say”….
*facepalm*
I am just waiting to snap a similar picture at a big solar farm next to a school near Easton, MD.
Plants compete with each other for sunlight. Now we have introduced a new competitor for sunlight, and it isn’t very good.
“Looks like they run a mower between the rows, but have’nt figured out how to keep the weeds down under the panels.” …. Do the Germans know there are weed whackers, I think they are invented by a German
Ganz komisch. Kann man das Photo für eine Vorlesung benutzen?
The panels absorb sunlight, the weeds absorb CO2 — isn’t that win-win? It’s, you know, Sustainable!
Surely if the panels were absorbing all the sunlight properly there would be no weeds.
Or are they deemed to be ‘bio-fuel’ ?
Solar power is not feasible on this scale. It is pretty obvious.
Solar power is, however, something that can be added to a home or business. In fact, instead of painting those ceilings white (as some cities have been doing), why not put solar panels up there? The grid can hang around to back things up. That is a much more feasible plan. In fact, it is the common sense way to go. The only problem I really see is the capital intensive nature of generating electrical power. Power would likely be more expensive by kilowatt hour if this went into effect widespread, which would likely skew prices geographically as areas like Seattle would probably end up bearing the brunt of costs.
Now why would anyone want to disturb that lovely green carbon storage? That would also be disrupting the new habitat for the wildlife, they appreciate both the foliage and the shelter from the weather. Gee, I wonder if over time trees will grow there and lift up whole sections of panels.
Strange, I don’t see any provision for tilting the panels and they look set rather low to the ground for the location. Doesn’t look like they are expecting much production during the winter months. Are the windmills going to be making up the difference?
Apparently they can’t afford to send someone around with a weed eater.
A couple of observations . The idea that PV electricity is free is idiotic. It costs money to keep weeds and undergrowth from taking over. And the panels need to be cleansed of dust and bird droppings regularly. My guess is this costs more than the feed in tariff generates and the owner is just walking away from it. Subsidies probably paid for the purchase and instalatlion of the panels, so it’s the government that’s taking a bath, not the operator.
The other is the total misdesign of the project. There is no room to get mechanized mowing equipment under the panels. They should be 8 feet (2.5 meters) high so mowing equipment can get under it. Also there is no edge protection for the panels. They are vulnerable to contact from maintenance equipment.
I thought Germans did better design work.
Ve need a vipper-schnipper.
No goats in Germany?
http://www.noble.org/ag/livestock/goatvegetation/
Oh, wait, don’t they turn the weeds into methane?
Naturandyscrase says:
July 5, 2011 at 9:09 pm
I hope they use organic methods to clear those weeds 🙂
Ah, the joy of weeds!
I know of only 1 organic method of weed control: Get down on your hands & knees, insert long screwdriver and pop it up by the roots. Replaces with native grasses as the years go by.
A perfect job for the Green-minded, and for those of us who don’t take kindly to weed-killers that work better on humans than the darn weeds.
Of course, you know how to differentiate between native grasses and weeds, don’t you?
The native grasses like trimming, but take years to spread inches by slow-growing roots.
The infernal weeds multiply by billions as you weed-whack them into new shoot material, flinging the debris about and spreading the joy. OMG…Nature saw us coming with weed-whackers, and had its thorny revenge all worked out millions of years in advance.
I am puzzled about the effect of putting a large solar farm in the middle of a desert might have on the region. The farm will absorb a LOT of energy, and may have quite a significant effect on the local climate. Will the shade encourage plants to grow? How will it affect evaporation etc,
Do they even know what affect it will have ??
Maybe that is exactly what is required to bring the plant life back to the Sahara….. seems to have worked in Germany 😉
Does anyone know?
Why not corn?
They are wasting green space.
Some links to Australian articles about solar…
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/energy-smart/73-workers-a-day-losing-jobs-solar-industry-20110706-1h1q4.html
http://smh.domain.com.au/green/faults-found-in-nsw-home-solar-systems-20110706-1h1m1.html
I suppose that the green answer to those weeds would be goats.
But, I have some trouble figuring out how solar can be viable in places like Canada and northern Europe. In December in Berlin, the day is only 8 hours long and the sun angle at noon is only 17 degrees. That means that the panels would need to be pitched at what? 70-80 degrees? and spaced appropriately to avoid shading each other? Yes, solar might work in June, but in Winter you’d probably do better with candles for heat and warmth.
Solar is certainly a viable technology for heating water and generating electricity … in the tropics and subtropics. And, unlike wind, it should interface rationally with power grids. But … in Germany????? I have a lot of trouble seeing how it can be successful that far North.
I’m surprised no one here saw this:
There is no sun! The sky is completely clouded.
Installing solar panels in places like that are truly a waste of time and money. And of course – payment is on the citizens – courtesy of the government via heavy subsidy.
No wonder they cannot afford maintenance.