Large-Scale Solar and Wind Farms in Sahara Would Increase Rain and Vegetation

Sci-News.com ^ | Sept 10, 2018 | News Staff / Source

[353FMG]

The air, downstream of the turbine will be cooler than upstream of the turbine because energy was created and, dependent on wetbulb temperature, could create rain downstream of the turbine.

[JD_UTDallas]

Metals are denser in energy per KG than even hydrocarbons on a BTU per KG basis. With massive amounts of spare power the best way to move it would be to refine metal oxides electrochemically into base metals(this is done worldwide by the millions of KG commercially every day) then transport the metal by the thousands of tons via ship to where you need the power and then feed that metal into metal-air fuel cells. Once the fuel cells convert it back to metal oxides return that to the desert and electrorefine it again in an endless loop.

We already bulk transport oil via tankers half way around the world and send the empty tankers back. A similar sized ship carrying aluminum metal would have almost three times the energy stored as chemical energy than hydrocarbons as aluminum is 3 times denser than oil with comparable BTU per gram of free gibbs energy. Check out the link below that alum-air battery would give an EV a 1000 mile range with only 55KG of AL metal. Gasoline is 0.77kg/L so converting to gallons and Lbs 20 gallons of gas weights 54.22 Kg. the fuel cell never gets replaced only the metal plates of about a KG each would be replaced, slide in slide out. Metal air batteries are the future they have energy density that rival gasoline and electric motors are 90% efficient vs at most 50% for a ICE. It is not a matter of if but when EVs replace ICE vehicles.

I work in the oil industry as a petroleum geologist and even I know this is coming in my life time for sure. Oil is arguably too valuable to burn we need it for all the other things like plastics, medicines, fertilizers, fibers, lubricants ect. Oil is the Lego blocks, and the glue that holds modern society together.

https://phys.org/news/2013-03-phinergy-aluminum-air-battery-capable-fueling.html

[JAKraig]

Yes, that’s what I was thinking of. Thanks.
I think we should shoot for the optimum, 1500 ppm.

Four-fold increase.

Nothing but the best for Mother Earth.

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I don’t know if your comment was meant to be tongue in cheek or not but there is nothing wrong with 1500PPM although most scientists think 1000PPM is where you start getting diminishing returns.

[Pontiac]

The. Point being the desert is not friendly to technology.

[dila813]

Locals will recycle them as quick as they are built, throwing money away

[Mrs. Don-o]

I am by no means an expert, but I went for 1500 ppm for two reasons.
First, you can get commercial plant nursery/greenhouse CO₂ generations (like the Johnson Gas Generator) which enriches to 1500 ppm output; and
second, when the earth's atmosphere was overall around 1500 CO₂, the earth supported vast forests of tree ferns averaging 15-30 meters tall!

[JohnBovenmyer]

IIRC through Roman and Visigoth times the north African coastal areas produced a lot of agriculture, including olive trees. Until overrun by nomadic, grazing rather than planting, culture c 700. Soon it was only fit for goats and camels.

[justa-hairyape]

How in the world can solar farms cause a temperature increase ? Are they bleeding off a lot of infrared ? The panels themselves remove solar energy from the atmosphere. Ie - Cool.

[spokeshave2]

Remember Operation Desert Storm when the turbines in our helicopters and aircraft were destroyed in a few days of operation by the desert sand.

If you see any of the older semi trailers in ME countries....the cabs are stripped bare of paint by wind blown sand erosion.