News / CO2 emissions in Poland. Should Poland go nuclear or stick with clean coal technologies? [93]

Cost is only one side of a coin. ;)

To make a solar panel (modern one, and starting from abundant natural minerals) you should spend almost the same energy as this panel will produce during their life cycle.

Wind turbine looks better, it will produce about 20 times more energy than will be spent for its production during complete life cycle, and there is more materials to recycle (with losses, though) compared to solar panels.

But anyway you must have powerful energy source to make such panels or turbines. If it is coal plants in China, your "clean" solar panel already produced the same CO2 emissions as it would be produced if same amount of energy was produced in coal/gas power plant. The primary difference is that you cannot produce energy when you need it with solar panel, you will have it in a sunny days. So, you have to install battery banks that again take some energy to produce and must be recycled as toxic waste in 3-5 years.

Life / Installing a solar panel in Poland [14]

aluminum is infinity recyclable

Yes... With 9-12% metal loss in each cycle. And it almost always require adding of primary aluminium to get correct alloy composition in recycled ingots. And, even after this, use of secondary aluminium is usually avoided in critical constructions with large alternating loads (like wind generator rotors).

Concerning thin film silicon cells - maybe, somewhere in future, it will become widespread. But all that I see now in real products is mono- or polycrystalline wafers, 0.5mm (in small cells) or thicker.

Last time I looked into papers, concerning energy efficiency of "green energy" was about a year ago. Latest data showed that modern solar cells return 80-120% of energy spent to their production, and large wind turbines return about 20 times more energy during their life cycle than was spent to produce them.

Life / Installing a solar panel in Poland [14]

Over 20 years a 200watt solar panel will produce say 200*1000*365*20=1,460,000 Kwhr

If you have a full sun over some part of Poland 24 hours a day for 20 years, 200W panel would produce 0.2 kW * 24 h * 365 days* 20 years* 0.9 = 35040 kWh

(0.9 is average based on 80% promised output in the end of 20 year life).

In a real world with average to 2.5 hours of full sun each day over the year it becomes 3650 kWh during full life cycle.

3650 * $0.05 = $182.5, compare to your $72k.

Right now we will not take conversion losses into account, but you are lucky if you'll get more than 80% of this amount into more useful form of 220V AC.

Now I look to older 100W Siemens Solar panel that is in my room now, It was removed to reinstall to another location later. Good, robust panel with 20 year warranty. There is about 2.5 kg of extruded aluminium in their frame and base.

If memory serves me correctly, producing of one ton of primary aluminium require (world's average) 15.6 Mw*h. Around 11 MW*h per ton is used to break chemical bonds in oxide, and rest is losses to heat the mixture.

So, 2.5 kg of aluminium takes around 39 kW*h just to convert oxide into metal (not counting energy expenses to mine the ore, enrich, etc).

For 100W panel will produce (based on calculations above) around 1825 kwh of energy during their 20 years life (in Poland). 91.25 kWh per year. About half year of operation just to "return" energy spent in smelters to produce raw aluminium that was used to make its frame.

With monocrystalline silicon that was used in solar cells things is even worse...

Just to note, most widely used Siemens process take about 250 kWh per kg of pure silicon that can be used for solar cells or further purified for use in electronics.

There is another, more energy-efficient processes in use, but they use rare ultra-pure minerals as feedstock.

Life / Installing a solar panel in Poland [14]

Ignorant rubbish. Solar cells have a 25 year guaranteed life to 80% output. Thats a hell of lot of energy

10 to 25 years, depending of manufacturer. We had some 40W chinese panels (on a off-grid low power telemetry equipment, of course) that survived only 2-3 years.

And try to figure out how much energy is consumed to produce typical panel starting from sand and bauxite. And compare with typical output of such panel during its complete life cycle. You'll be surprised.

Life / Installing a solar panel in Poland [14]

First of all, do you understand, WHY you need solar panel on your house?

Do you have regular blackouts in your area and need backup power source for low-power electronics? Are you totally "off grid"? Do you prepare for war or natural disaster?

Most likely, kw*h of energy, produced by solar panels will cost you 5-10 times more than regular grid power. And you will need to install and support battery bank (3-5 years life before replacement) and power inverter to get usable power while you really need it.

If you just thinking about saving on electricity - replace your regular light bulbs with energy saving ones, like luminiscent or LED lamps.

And remember, that current solar panels will generate about the same energy during their life as used initially to produce it. So, it will not help you to lower your "carbon footprint". The only difference that CO2 and other contamination will be created somwehere in China.

History / Whom do the people in Poland hate more: Germans or Russians? [871]


You mean that it is the only possible life style tor anyone residing between two superpowers? ;)

News / Tragedy in Russia - shouldn`t Poland declare national mourning? [41]


One of ships was loaded oil tanker, large and with just a few people in a crew. I doubt they was able to do very much in rescue effort but would cause additional dangers trying to maneuver near area of river with survivors.

It will be investigated anyway...

News / Tragedy in Russia - shouldn`t Poland declare national mourning? [41]


In reality, it was initially designed for 253 passengers. Later, during renovation, number of passengers onboard was decreased (it was made more spacious and comfortable for a smaller number of passengers). So, 200 persons was not overload for this ship.

News / Poland reveals its new super car. [56]


YES! Are you surprised?

Even best heat pumps that I know, ones that use sea water (around +2C at winter there) as source of heat energy can provide equivalent of 4 kWh of heat per every 1 kWh spent. And sea water circulate constantly, so you have little risk to get a large blob of super-cold ice around your outside pipes and nearly zero efficiency of your heat pump. The ones who plan to pump heat out of underground water and soil is not so lucky. Cold air as source of heat is even worse than soil - there is plenty of air, but you need constant flow of air to get heat from, you need whole hurricane to extract enough to heat multi-storey building at -30C.


For sure... ;) In germany, companies that have wind generator farms complain that solar energy producers consume 40% of total state subsidies amount producing only 10% of "green" electricity. ;)

But where you'll get energy to produce solar panels? For now, the best solar panels during whole lifetime produce just a bit less energy total, compared to energy that was spent to produce solar panel itself. So, for now solar panels is energy-wasting and pollution-creating devices.

Even if efficiency will be increased tenfold (litle chances), it will be problematic to produce new panels to replace aging ones and to expand generating farms and spend some energy for other industry with photovoltatic generation only.

News / Poland reveals its new super car. [56]


I have experience with installation and servicing solar-powered telemetry units in climate of central Russia. So, I'm not enthusiastic at all about PV (except in african deserts).


But where you'll get energy to power heat pumps? Even if new developments will make heat pumps reasonably cheap, reliable and not containing either poisonous, ozone depleting or highly flammable/explosive liquids.

News / Poland reveals its new super car. [56]


Especially useful for Norway or northern Russia. ;)

BTW: Maybe heating at winter in all northern countries also will be solar powered? ;)

News / Poland reveals its new super car. [56]


It will. Sometime. But not very soon.
Sooner if investments to nuclear/thermonuclear power technologies will be increased.

News / Poland reveals its new super car. [56]


For now - pure toys. Until someone invent rechargeable batteries with similar energy/volume and energy/weight properties as gasoline tank.


What will be your electric train do on a track without contact wires?

I seen large Belaz and Caterpillar trucks at work. There is electric transmission but still diesel engine.

News / Poland reveals its new super car. [56]


Photos only. I think it will be toy for guys that don't know where to spend few more of that boring millions.. ;)

News / Poland reveals its new super car. [56]


Hm...
Why vast majority of people prefer real sex to any adult toys money can buy? ;)
Why believers believe in God/Allah/You_Name_It while there is lots of things that is much easier to believe in? ;)

News / CO2 emissions in Poland. Should Poland go nuclear or stick with clean coal technologies? [93]


Yes, it is possible. But backup systems that does not require electricity must exist anyway - otherwise severe snowstorm or ice rain (like the one that almost paralyzed some cities around Moscow and Domodedovo airport this winter) may cause real disaster. Combined heater that can automatically switch to LPG in emergency situations looks like adequate solution.

News / CO2 emissions in Poland. Should Poland go nuclear or stick with clean coal technologies? [93]


It is equal to negative result, and you know it. ;) Even if you'll put obvious and really vital question to referendum, there will be a lot of people that will vote against. For a number of irrational reasons...

Vote of brainwashed drug addict is equal to vote world class scientist that may know correct solution for sure... This is greatest "acheivment" of democracy in their present form. Very convenient for someone who control mass media.

History / Tuchola in Poland - roots of Katyn? [220]


This is not only russian problem. There is lots of cases when same mistake was done without russians ever been close.

History / Tuchola in Poland - roots of Katyn? [220]


That was one of main problems of SU. Great looking ideas, but practical implementation....

May be my translation of following quote is not perfect, but... "Revolutions is planned by geniuses, performed by enthusiasts, and bastards use their fruits".

News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]

Three dead as of 8pm, Jan 1.

itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15833506&PageNum=0

_Very_ strange explosion. I will not be surprised if they will find proofs of sabotage .

History / Poland in a Slavic Union/Alliance/Federation? [335]


One version of what happens if we mix Germans and Slavs is well known - Russian Empire. ;) Ruled by royal family of mostly German descent. ;) Looks like Poles wasn't so happy about it. ;)

BTW: Catherine II the Great, Empress and Autocrat of all Russians (formerly Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg) was quite critical about Germans in general... ;)

By the way, there IS chances for Slavic Alliance, and even Slavic-German Alliance. But, historically, Poles never ever thinked to agree on something less that domination. I'd say, Poles is quite hard to agree on anything at all. ;) If you take together three poles, you'll have 4 opposing points of view on almost any question.. ;)

News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]


Yeah... Slavs is major force anyway. If they united, they is geopolitical force. If they separated -- they are workforce. Cheap workforce. ;)

News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]

Last news I seen was around Dec 17. Nothing official yet. They still working on recorders - some critical parts of voice recording was quite noisy and required processing. No intermediate results will be published until public report is sanctioned by official investigators.

Earlier there was rumors about fuel system malfunction or contaminated fuel. But three (if my memory serves me correctly) other planes, fueled from same tank, had no problems.

News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]


Look at airline name, and everything will be clear.

It is Caucasus... Imagine that there is one well paid and responsible job position and two candidates - one competent and one relative of some local "authority"... Try to imagine who will get this job.

And, please, do not ask why we (russians) consider serious health problems while traveling there as a double disaster. ;) Good chances that doctor will also be "son-of-nephew-of-granduncle-of-cousin" of some local "boss".

News / Chechen Congress in Poland, Russia frowns [90]


Last comment for today...

In the past it was independent (relatively) territory, and one of main sources of income was robbery and supplying slaves to markets of Osman empire. The same as with Crimean Tatars that supplied turkish garems with nice Russian, Ukrainian and Polish girls.

Lots of russian soldiers died there, Russia take control of Caucasus, and south of Russia become much more safe place to live after that.

In facto, they get independence in 1990's, and as you can imagine, one of most popular sources of income again become kidnapping for ransom, together with slave labor exploitation. They tried to expand for Daghestan one time, and together with massive terror bombing in Moscow caused second massive conflict, finally killing any hopes for independence (Russia MUST control this territory just for their own safety). I do not expect any changes there.

If they will get independence third time - it will last not so long, because of chechen national "business style"... We will have to fight them again and very soon.


As I said, I'm electronic engineer. Can say which requests we constantly got in 1990's... "Some device (transmiter) that covertly worn on a kid and matching compact receiver with direction finding capabilities carried by parent. Must indicate that transmitter is out of reasonable range and allow to send signal by pressing on top of transmiter."

So, I don't think that people living in southern Russia has nothing from it.

News / Chechen Congress in Poland, Russia frowns [90]


Russia is demolished and rebuilt Grozny in Chechnya. Do you think it was great investment for my tax money? ;)

PS: Good luck to everyone, will fly to Vilnius in less than 10 hours and then 1000++ km trip on a car so need to sleep little bit.

News / Chechen Congress in Poland, Russia frowns [90]


Yeah... Looks like you are dream of any government in any country...

"Recht oder Unrecht mein Vaterland"

News / Chechen Congress in Poland, Russia frowns [90]


It was a pretty large box filled with something like this... ;) (Few sets mixed together to allow building of something decent, with all available options like electric motors and various gears).


Looks like your recent childhood was not so good... ;)

News / Chechen Congress in Poland, Russia frowns [90]


And, highly possible, my so liberal and humanity-filled brain will be well mixed with my not so pleasant looking sh*t and that mix will be fried well with kerosene flames, if the guy in that building is lucky one.

And even if the guy is not so lucky, I would prefer to face (maybe, sometime in future) with judges of Hague tribunal rather than face with field tribunal of my own army. ;)


And I'm currently electronics engineer, head of R&D department of small company manufacturing some aftermarket automotive electronics. And, as I said above, reserve officer of tank forces... ;)

Believe me, I would always prefer to visit Poland as electronics engineer on a car... ;)

News / Chechen Congress in Poland, Russia frowns [90]


Well, I'm officer (in reserve) of Russian Army, tank forces.

Imagine that I'm tank commander and hear the order radioed to me - "red brick building, second right from the road, ATM launcher inside, destroy"...

Here is two options of what I will do...

1. I'll say "Sorry, Sir, I cannot see through walls, there may be civilians inside as well. Think what tribunal in Hague would say..."

2. Quickly select HE shell on loading system (if not loaded already), target well and happily press the trigger, praying that the guy in that building didn't manage to press their first.

Try to imagine, which option I will select in real life....