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Solar farm wrecked by giant hail!
Marco:
--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on July 04, 2023, 02:01:59 am ---That's just a quantum effect!
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More likely a resonance effect. One hailstone does nothing, one hailstone meeting the glass on a rebound of another cracks it. Once there is one crack, the whole thing is weakened.
Marco:
--- Quote from: Alti on July 04, 2023, 01:05:14 pm ---As for protecting panels against hail - I guess there is some hail size probability vs toughness equation that governs the cost it takes to make 1kWh long term. If it is ultimately cheaper to make 1kWh with thinner panel - why not? If it is cheaper to make 1kWh with thicker panel - go for it. They are the most competent to answer those questions.
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IMO PV is going to move to minimal mounting, minimal materials. There's tricks you can play like connecting segments of PV to each other with serpentine conductors to vastly increase their ability to flex.
It's going to be so cheap that every new building surface can just have it without increasing its cost.
thm_w:
--- Quote from: Haenk on July 04, 2023, 11:37:20 am ---
--- Quote from: langwadt on July 03, 2023, 10:13:09 pm ---flip them upside down?
--- End quote ---
That certainly won't help. Depending an the module, there even might be only a plastic film on the back instead of glass on top.
After all, this is just a question of cost saving - I'd say it is overall cheaper to replace weather damaged panels (due to extremely heavy weather) than protect them all from damage in the first place.
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You'd have some foam on the bottom, or a triangular shield to divert the wind, etc. pennies worth of material.
It wouldn't be that difficult if the panels could rotate 360 degrees, but, since most panels are only designed around moving within ~15 degrees its probably not realistic cost wise.
tautech:
--- Quote from: RJHayward on July 03, 2023, 10:28:20 pm --- Tom66 has it right, you have to consider that conventional coal fired plants have the distribution issues where individual pockets of damage happen, regularly, such as tree falling on overhead wires...so it could end up being a wash as to which major system is at the most risk.
Seems like the distribution infrastructure dominates the economics, with the generation plant being a close second.
That, however, still means that HAIL damage is a serious concern.
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Only because authorities are too gutless to insist any tree that can reach/compromise critical power infrastructure should have a death warrant out on it.
Ranayna:
--- Quote from: tautech on July 05, 2023, 01:59:40 am ---
--- Quote from: RJHayward on July 03, 2023, 10:28:20 pm --- Tom66 has it right, you have to consider that conventional coal fired plants have the distribution issues where individual pockets of damage happen, regularly, such as tree falling on overhead wires...so it could end up being a wash as to which major system is at the most risk.
Seems like the distribution infrastructure dominates the economics, with the generation plant being a close second.
That, however, still means that HAIL damage is a serious concern.
--- End quote ---
Only because authorities are too gutless to insist any tree that can reach/compromise critical power infrastructure should have a death warrant out on it.
--- End quote ---
Not in Germany :D At least not 20 years back.
I vividly remember a troop of forest workers cutting a lane through a small piece of forest where our overhead line went through. That line was only 220 volts, so not much was actually cut, a falling tree would still have been able to knock it down i think, but anything in danger to actually touch the line was cut.
This was on our land, and we had to pay for that every couple of years.
By now the line has been buried though, as have been almost all power lines in my area.
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