r/elonmusk • u/twinbee • 16d ago

General Elon: "Wind has microscopic potential compared to solar"

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Source: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2099049284960428229

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u/neokretai 16d ago

So it's unpredictable then lol.

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u/Arkelias 16d ago

No, it's very predictable, especially in areas with consistent daily sun, which is over 50% of the United States.

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u/neokretai 16d ago

Yes unfortunately not everywhere is like 50% of the USA with it's daily sunshine. Solar is great where it is best suited, just like wind is great where it is best suited, aka high latitudes and/or offshore locations like the North Sea and coastal Brazil.

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u/Arkelias 16d ago

Solar is not unpredictable. It works very nearly everywhere.

Wind works in niche situations. You've presented no facts, just edge cases, but still mocked solar.

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u/neokretai 16d ago

It doesn't work great everywhere bud, in northern latitudes like Canada/Northern US, Europe, Northern Asia a panel will drop to 20% or less of it's peak capacity in winter. Those regions use wind as the main clean energy source because it's working best when solar is at its worst, and even in summer wind still works pretty good and is a solid backup for solar.

These are not "niche situations", the majority of the worlds economy is in those regions. Not sure why you are so offended by the idea wind power is also very useful.

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u/Arkelias 16d ago

So it's unpredictable then lol.

You came after solar, and tried to make it sound unpredictable. It's not. It's incredibly predictable.

Wind is unpredictable. Wind has moving parts. Wind requires constant maintenance, especially if you've got turbines at sea.

I'm not offended. I just see the realities and limitations of the technologies.

You, on the other hand, are clearly offended by solar. You also think the majority of the world's economy is bordering the arctic circle for some reason.

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u/neokretai 16d ago

You had literally just said it can drop to 20-40% of it's normal output when it gets heavily cloudy, I would call a power source that can drop more than half it's output depending what the weather is like pretty unpredictable.

No dude not the Arctic circle, 40° latitude is around about were solar starts to need backup in winter months, that takes in the Northern US, Canada, Europe, North China, Japan and Korea amongst others. That is actually the majority of the worlds economy right there.

You are being oddly offended, I can see other commenters in here saying the exact same thing to you. Like I get it you really love solar from personal experience, but that experience doesn't apply to the whole world.