We Could Power the Entire World by Harnessing Solar Energy from 1% of the Sahara

forbes.com

3 pointsawb3 comments

Yes, but UHV cables under the atlantic and the mediterraneum would cost quite a bit, and if a trawler dragged the cable, sparks would fly = months to fix.

That isn't even taking in to consideration the material cost of constructing that many solar panels. We would likely deplete the available supply, or come very close to, of minerals needed to manufacture those panels. And we would need to do so about every 15-20 years based on current panel efficiency.

Yes, lifetime is a major factor. One hopes evolving solar cell tech will increase the efficiency as well as the endurance, however there may be a limit, as yet not fully defined, thatdetermines the maximum durability. I know that multi material cells(research grade) have efficiencies in the high 46-7% arena.Download this chart for max resolution. https://www.nrel.gov/pv/cell-efficiency.html

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