Comments for Solar Lily Pads May Spring Up in Scotland at http://www.ecogeek.org , comment 1 to 7 out of 7 comments http://www.ecogeek.org Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:34:04 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.ecogeek.org/solar-power/1634#comment-13058 they are pictured as far `downstream as the finnieston crane! that would make navigation difficult for the PS Waverley, the last clyde steamer, which berths right near there. - gerda Wed, 14 May 2008 10:40:25 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/solar-power/1634#comment-13057 Upon closer reading I see that the designers talk about slanted panel installation. That isn't obvious from the illustration. But, cranked up to 55 23? That's a lot of wind resistance - think sailboat. And they are talking about rotating the panels on a horizontal plane to track the sun during the day. That's not the path the sun follows most of the year. - Bob Wallace Wed, 14 May 2008 10:38:38 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/solar-power/1634#comment-13056 they are pictured as far downstream as the finniestown crane! might make navigation a bit difficult for the PS Waverley which berths there.... - gerda Wed, 14 May 2008 10:37:37 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/solar-power/1634#comment-13041 These would be perfect for rivers where power plants are located. It would help offset the river heating from the power plants, plug right into existing power grid, and stave off power plant upsizing. - spfl49 Wed, 14 May 2008 00:12:48 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/solar-power/1634#comment-13040 Just because it's feasible doesn't make it decent. It wouldn't be bad to shade a river, but do it with trees along the bank. Solar belongs on a roof- who are these passersby that are in danger, spiderman? Roofs are out of the way and out of sight. Often AC units or water towers are up on roofs- utilities- so why not solar? Solar panels on rivers... hahaha. - steven montain Tue, 13 May 2008 23:20:41 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/solar-power/1634#comment-13035 Placing solar panels flat, especially at 55 degrees North, is just not a very effective way to harvest energy. Look at all that available roof top space in the left hand picture. You can put racks there, get a lot more energy per watt of panel, and not uglify the river. - Bob Wallace Tue, 13 May 2008 18:35:02 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/solar-power/1634#comment-13032 [i]Solar thermal plants, which focus the sun's rays to create extreme heat in order to turn turbines, cannot be used in cities. Because of the extreme heat, and the danger of someone stumbling across (or into) one of them, they have to be carefully guarded and separated from passersby.[/i] This is only true when you get near the focal point. The mirror sites themselves are barely over ambient sunlight temperatures, so in fact, you COULD do rooftop mirrors for a central solar thermal site in cities. The problems with a rooftop model lie mainly in mirror maintenance, land owners, and several other nontechnical issues. - Kieth Conner Tue, 13 May 2008 17:11:47 +0100