Solar panels are made up of solar cells which are diodes or silicon junctions or check valves that put out 0.5 to 0.6 volts each without load (open circuit). To charge a 12 volt battery, you put 10 solar cells in series to get roughly 20 volts which under load will drop down to closer to 15 volts.
Every solar cell is a diode and not only prevents the backwards flow of current it also prohibits forward flow of current without sunlight to excite the electrons and bridge the junctions.
As solar panels are strings diodes wired in series, if you partially block one diode by providing less light due to a shadow the performance of the entire panel suffers disproportionately. It’s actually bad for the panel to be exposed to shadows continously as when you are blocking flow of current due to shadows you are starting to wear down the silicon junctions in other cells eventually causing permanent damage to the panel.
Historic oil refinery in Warren, PA that continues to produce both high-quality lubricants and motor fuel with supplies both locally source and imported from the western states.
Grid tied solar, at least the businesses that promote it for corporate profits are so woke. And they really want your business, installing now-relatively inexpensive solar panels on your roof in a few hours, paying an electrician then charging you for decades to finance the panels. Liberals really don’t want to admit it – but a lot of these solar companies are scams. And when they’re not, they are ripping off other ratepayers by subsidizing other, often wealthier,people’s solar.
Truth is the solar subsidies were needed at first, as the technology was immature. Grid tied solar makes a lot of sense, even for the suburbanite homeowner, but it should not be subsidized. Instead, solar systems should have battery storage and work with the grid to support and enhance everybody’s energy reliability while reducing homeowners electricity costs. Homeowners with grid tied solar should avoid sending power to grid whenever possible, storing it for their own use in batteries, and only tapping the grid when there is insufficient battery storage. That’s really what is best for the grid and the environment.
Grid-tied solar doesn’t have to be a drag on other consumers, while still being a way for homeowners to get low-cost, environmentally friendly-energy into their homes. Battery storage can ensure the home is a little reliant on the grid as possible, and if they lack insufficient power, tapping the grid only at times when there isn’t enough power remaining in the batteries. It can also tap into the grid to top of batteries in times when there is excessive grid capacity, such as at night when electricity rates are low.
Now if I was interested in a suburban house, whettther it be one that smells like cow shit or otherwise, maybe I would be more interested in Grid-tied solar. But I really want to do that fully off-grid thing when I buy my own land, so I never have a pay a utility bill, and are in full control of my system. So I don’t have to live somewhere next to major road, near neighbors that would complain or otherwise annoy myself. Of course the greenie advertisers don’t understand such things, and instead will fill my social media feeds with advertising for grid-tied solar finacing scams.
"Albany Steam Power Station first began operations in 1952 as a coal-fired station and was converted to oil in 1970. It was further modified in 1981 for natural gas and became a 400MW oil and natural gas-fired power plant. The BEC has cut emissions of smog-causing nitrogen oxide by 90%, and reduced sulphur dioxide emissions by 94%. The BEC generates 50% less waste heat than the Albany Steam Station and has reduced air emissions by at least 95%."
"The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment (Siting Board) has announced approval of plans to make hardware and software changes at the Bethlehem Energy Center in Glenmont that are designed to help improve the plant’s energy efficiency. The petition was submitted by the plant’s owner, PSEG Power New York LLC. The approved changes will allow for the replacement of certain components of the three combustion turbines and certain changes to related software programs. The equipment being replaced are components of the combustion turbines themselves. According to the Siting Board, the upgrades will result in very little, if any, impact on the environment or the surrounding community, and will not result in any increase in air emissions from the facility."
It's interesting how in some parts of state there is a lot of large-scale industrial solar facilities being built while in other parts of state, not so many. Very few have been built in the Adirondack or Catskill Parks so far.
