Fascinating thread--many new bookmarks for in depth perusal!
I actually have a solar question that I was hoping one of the other solar enthusiasts could point me to a website that could help me figure out the answer.
A little background:
The local school district has been covering all the high-school parking lots with a "roof" of solar panels--evidently they expect to get a substantial percentage of each school's power needs this way--with the added benefit of shading the cars from the hot summer sun.
On another thread, I read that the "Desertexpress" is expecting to start construction later this year. For those unfamiliar--it's a high-speed-rail that would go from Las Vegas to Victorville, CA and then on to Palmdale in order to essentially be fully connected with the new CA HSR in the works, connecting SoCal with NorCal--and thus, Las Vegas with all the big California cities.
It occurred to me that the 185 mile stretch through the desert, would benefit from just that type of solar panel "roof"--throughout the full length:
--It would provide power, something HSR needs alot of.
--It would provide shade for the tracks. It's my understanding they can warp/buckle in extreme temps, and that area can hit 120F in the summer!
--It would also provide shade for the train, which should at least slightly reduce air-conditioning needs on it, thus saving some power.
--I don't see a drawback, in the sense that the space is already being used for tracks, so why not use the space above the tracks and train in order to make it more efficient energy-wise and safer?
Finally, to my question:
I've determined that 185 miles x 10ft(random, easy figure to use), works out to 224 acres of solar panels! What I'm trying to figure out is, how much power would that produce potentially(given that the sun shines almost everyday of the year)?
If anybody can guide me to a site that will help me figure it out, I'd appreciate it. BTW, a metric site is OK, too--I can do math. Ultimately, I want to come up with a figure for the power produced and compare it to the expected power needs of the train itself. I'll be happy to report my findings here, if there's interest.
Thanks in advance.
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"There is no endeavour more noble than the attempt to achieve a collective dream. When a city accepts as its mandate its quality of life; when it respects the people who live in it; when it respects the environment; when it prepares for future generations, the people share responsibility for that mandate, and this shared cause is the only way to achieve that collective dream." - Jaime Lerner
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