TOT - "Community solar farm"?

[jgh]

Is that the one with a connecting railway station that's down a country lane, across a delivery yard, over a bridge, and past the leopards?

jgh

[Tim Streater]

So presumably near sunset and sunrise the light will be reflected UP rather than DOWN. Does the Air Ministry have anything to say about this?

[The Natural Philosopher]

No. They are designed to absorb sunlight. Teh angle is typically a compromise between getting the best out of the midday highs and getting something out of the lows as well, so they are somewhat less angled than the midday sun would indicate.

on the other hand, close stacking means they cant receive low angle sun anyway. They shade each other.

But such an angle as there is is always toward the noonday sun, so at ground level its unlikely that low sun will strike them from the front, only the side.

So glare is possible but its less likely than e,g. the task of driving into a setting or rising sun already is.

I have great objections to solar panels, but few of them are environmental. My basic objection is that they are a very expensive way of not producing very much electricity extremely intermittently. Not that they are a blot on the landscape. Polytunnels are far worse.

As are wind follies

[The Natural Philosopher]

no.

But those things you mention are actually useful to humanity...

[Martin Brown]

I think they have done away with the leopards now but Teesside Airport Railway station is notoriously unbusy with just two trains a week stopping there now on Sundays to avoid formal closure.

Don't even think of trying to reach it carrying heavy luggage.

I hate to quote Wiki but according to sources they had a whopping eight passengers (and they were probably train geeks) board trains at it last year making it by far the least busy station on the entire network.

[Dave Liquorice]

Another thing to add to the list of questions... Civil and military as well.

[harryagain]

No, they are at the wrong angle and the cells are black anyway. Are you complaining about other forms of generartion or iis this your particualr fixation?

[harryagain]

Drivel. You are displaying what's called paranoia.

[harryagain]

Drivel. They are matt black and reflect very little light. Why do you rant on about stuff you have zero knowledge about?

[harryagain]

Only if you want to look stupid.

[harryagain]

They are sized to maximise electricity production.

[Chris French]

How reflective are these things though? (sensible question, I've never really paid any attention to it) - given that the aim is to absorb energy from the sun, not reflect it.

We've plenty of big glass house around East Anglia that reflect sunlight (I've seen very bright flashes from them when driving at times) presumably these aren't an issue for the pilots.

[Martin Brown]

Probably not as they are static and do not make clutter on radar.

More accurately they are semigloss navy blue with around 4% of white light backscattered at the air to glass cover interface. eg

Perhaps marginally better than glasshouses in this respect.

PV looks OK on a slate roof but ridiculous against orange clay pantiles.

[Dave Liquorice]

about

military

The only stupid question is the one that isn't asked.

The only people to look stupid will be the developers when they can't answer a simple and perfectly valid question with real factual evidence. If they have to commission a report from "expert witness's" and this costs 'em a few grand and/or delays the planning approval tough. Not being able to fully answer with clear facts straight away shows they haven't thought things through fully. What else have they, conveniently, "not thought through"?

Concerned citizens have a duty to ask "awkward" questions to get at the real facts and eliminate the greenwash. I don't take anything at face value, particularly when it comes from the entity(s) with a vested interest in what ever it is.

[Tim Streater]

Note the weaselly use of the word "could" in describing what money one cold save or make.

Note also that the ones shown in the BG picture are hardly "matt black and reflecting very little light". Looks like its harry who as usual is "ranting on about stuff he has zero knowledge about".

[Tim Streater]

+1

[john james]

Yes, but not normally onto anything on the ground.

It's very hard to get an accidental focus that way.

Unlikely to be on the ground tho.

No they don't with horizontal angles.

Not really given it isnt going to happen accidentally.

There isnt going to be a focus.

No.

Yes, but in practice it's just not a problem.

[Adrian]

That's a phrase that predates the internet...

[john james]

Unlikely given that the sun will normally be well away from the axis the panel is pointing at at that time of day.

The Air Ministry doesn?t say anything about those very large buildings that are entirely glass or acres of greenhouses either.

[charles]

not really surprising since the UK doesn't have an "Air Ministry". When we did have one it was the Gove department respsible for the RAF. It became on of the constituent parts of the Ministry of Defence in 1964.

Do you mean the Civil Aviation Authority?