Thread

1. nbf_1995 · 1790086541 · focus · HN ↗

   It seems like it would be more effective to simply put all the solar panels in a field, and construct a cheap shade over the entire canal no? The supports in the picture are massive and don't look cheap. Also I would imagine the solar array uses more copper than a similar capacity array just built in a field. You can't daisy chain multiple miles of solar panels together, so you need an extra power line to run alongside the whole thing.

   Put the solar panels in a field: The solar array uses less copper. The shade supports don't have to hold up solar panels: Shade supports cost less.

   The best reasoning they give is that California has insane permitting requirements, and it takes 1/6 the time to build on developed land compared to undeveloped land.

   1. schnevets · 1790111056 · focus · HN ↗

      Anecdotally speaking, I have heard of a massive California solar farm in an undeveloped area that has serious vandalism problems. Junkies will find ways through the fencing at night, strip copper and other materials from panels, and cause thousands in damages and lost energy just to extract enough scrap for a fix.

      Nothing short of a face-to-face security response will deter these criminals, so there it is a challenging cost-benefit balance. At least panels in parking lots and other developed spaces have the benefit of witnesses. I'm sure a 20 foot climb up a steel beam over running water is a decent deterrent as well.

      1. Henchman21 · 1790118107 · focus · HN ↗

         I’m willing to bet if we gave them their fix they wouldn’t steal a thing. But because their fix is illegal they have to steal to get their fix.

         Seems to me like the root cause is the illegality of the drugs. I hope you never have to deal with substance abuse problems yourself. You won’t like being on the dehumanizing end of the stick that you’re presently poking with.

         1. dylan604 · 1790118983 · focus · HN ↗

            If you're going to give junkies their fix, are you going to buy my alcohol too? What about my gambling debts? What about my escort bill for my sex addiction? Shy are you differentiating addiction to drugs?

            1. ulrikrasmussen · 1790135845 · focus · HN ↗

               No differentiation here, alcohol is widely available from legal sources and very affordable compared to illegal drugs.

               I come from a country with social healthcare, and here we also heavily subsidize drugs for people who need them because of their own lifestyle choices, e.g. diabetes medicine due to obesity. Why do people who have become addicted to psychoactive drugs not deserve the same compassion?

               1. kelnos · 1790136480 · focus · HN ↗

                  [delayed]

                  1. ulrikrasmussen · 1790136734 · focus · HN ↗

                     So is drug addiction, and that's my point.

                     1. dylan604 · 1790136941 · focus · HN ↗

                        You can become addicted if you're mom is a junkie. You can become addicted from scripts given to you by Dr.Feelgood. There are many ways of becoming an addict without waking up one day and deciding "I'm going to become an addict today".

                        1. ulrikrasmussen · 1790137739 · focus · HN ↗

                           Exactly, noone decides to become an addict, it's a long sequence of lines that are crossed until you find you crossed one that would seem unthinkable before. You also don't become obese from one day to the other, and I genuinely also don't think that it's peoples own fault.

                           I am frankly appalled by the absence of compassion towards other people in this thread.

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