Green solutions worse than the problem?
As COP28 ends and 98,000 representatives from 197 countries drift back home in a cloud of carbon emissions, George Franklin a retired aerospace engineer who worked on MX Space Shuttle, Hubble and other notable designs for today’s spacecraft raises some interesting facts.
Before we embrace the transition away from fossil fuels, oil and gas production, it should be noted that the USA, China and India amongst others are increasing oil production and coal plants daily.
Mr Franklin’s views on solar panels should be considered before the UK is covered entirely by wind, and solar farms which he considers creates climate change.
He says solar panels are at best 20% efficient and convert 0% of the UV light that hits them. At the same time as they absorb light, they are absorbing heat from the sun, and this heat is radiated into the adjacent atmosphere. As the air warms it rises, and even small differences in ordinary land surfaces can create powerful forces of weather like thunderstorms and tornadoes. These weather phenomena are initiated and reinforced by land features as they are blown downwind.
Solar panels are dark and emit energy to the space above them when they are not being radiated; known as black-body radiation. Satellites flying in space use this phenomenon to cool internal components. If they didn’t, they would fry themselves.
So, his view is that the heat generated by an entire solar farm will become thunderstorm and tornado incubators and magnets. So solar farms not only produce more heat in summer than the original land they were installed on, but they also produce more cooling in winter, thus exacerbating weather extremes.
George Franklin’s interesting conclusion is ‘that there is nothing green about green energy except the dirty money flowing into corrupt pockets. There is no such thing as green energy, the science does not exist, the technology does not exist, the engineering doesn’t exist. We are being pushed to save the planet with solutions that are worse than the problem’.
An interesting concept to be considered before our countryside is completely covered in solar panels which we know are inefficient, and now it is suggested are also causing climate change. No wonder the climate around the world has changed dramatically as deserts are covered in thousands of square miles of solar panels. It is not just the introduction of trees in these regions which has increased the rain fall, it is perhaps also the solar farms which are adding to the dramatic changes to weather patterns, including in the UK.
Christmas has come round again far too quickly. As we look forward to spending time with family and friends in our comfortable and warm homes, spare a thought for the plight of so many desperate communities and families around the world who are struggling to survive as conflict surrounds them. We have so much, they have nothing and very little hope for their future.
Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas