Solar PV in the Desert
Nobody, at least me, is saying that this is a practical solution, given sandstorms and the challenge of distributing the energy to points of load around the globe.
I post it simply to remind us of the enormous amount of power we receive from the sun–6000 times more that all 8 billion of us are using.
It’s a good reminder that we have ample space to work with for solar, even though using untapped saharan desert is probably not the solution.
I think distributed rooftop solar is the ideal application right now, as most homeowners & businesses are not going to do a further build-out and add another story on top of their home. It means minimal impact to the environment, no additional impermeable surfaces, and keeps the sun from heating up the roof / attic as well.
Good observations. Thanks.