By the time solar energy reaches Earth’s surface, it is spread very thin – even midday sunshine will not boil the billy or make toast. And solar collectors will only convert about 20 per cent of that weak energy into electricity. Thus thousands of solar panels are needed to collect significant energy, and lots more to charge the expensive batteries needed to maintain the electricity supply overnight and during cloudy weather.
Despite these disadvantages, force-feeding of ‘green’ energy by all levels of government has given Australia nearly three million solar collectors (mainly imported from China).
It requires scads of land to generate significant electricity from the sun’s weak rays. But even in sunny weather they produce nothing for 16 hours every day. A sprinkling of dust, pollen, ash or salt, or a few splatters of poop from birds or flying foxes can reduce…
Australia’s giant green gamble on solar energy toys
