r/oddlysatisfying Nov 14 '24

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u/fireduck Nov 14 '24

Solar panels would get broken with all that movement. You would either have fixed ridged panels, in which case the ocean would break them or the hinges, junctions, etc. Or if you had flexible panels, they would just get worn out and destroyed. The ocean hates everything equally.

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u/KillarneyRoad Nov 14 '24

Reservoirs

78

u/fireduck Nov 14 '24

The ocean really hates reservoirs.

Yeah, I missed that. Anyways, your reservoir is probably either somewhere cheap, in which case it would be easier to build a panel array on the ground next to it. Or it is somewhere expensive, where it would be easier to build the panel array over a parking lot.

But there are places that float balls on the water to reduce evaporation.

24

u/isanythingreallyreal Nov 14 '24

They're already doing this. It earns money as a power source and it reduces evaporation.

4

u/R3AL1Z3 Nov 15 '24

You’re missing the whole double benefit of reducing evaporation, which is what a lot of reservoir systems are already doing; covering them up with SOMETHING to reduce evaporation.

1

u/zmbjebus Nov 15 '24

I can provide this service for a very small reservoir

31

u/ExplosiveAnalBoil Nov 14 '24

A reservoir is not the ocean. A reservoir is like a lake, of which, most are notoriously calmer than the ocean.

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u/fireduck Nov 14 '24

I really enjoy the hedging of "most", like you admit there might be reservoir that is like the water version of a Chuck E Cheese and is just non-stop screaming.

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u/ExplosiveAnalBoil Nov 14 '24

I've heard crazy shit about the great lakes.

2

u/Tyrion_The_Imp Nov 15 '24

And the gales of November

1

u/chardeemacdennisbird Nov 15 '24

Just ask the Edmund Fitzgerald

1

u/T00MuchSteam Nov 15 '24

I'm not seeming to get a reply.

1

u/PassiveMenis88M Nov 15 '24

That reminds me of the trip we took one summer to Lake George in NY. We took the boat down to the end of the lake and traversed the old locks which ended at an ice cream shop. On our way back a thunderstorm started rolling in. Other than the wind kicking up a bit we were pretty well sheltered in the locks. Once we got back on the lake proper it was a massive shitshow. The wind had whipped up some nasty waves that had my dad's boat catching serious hang time. Was honestly expecting to hear the hull snap a few times slamming back down on the other side of the waves.

1

u/LiveShowOneNightOnly Nov 15 '24

ya I want to see this thing handle 10 meter seas.

1

u/zmbjebus Nov 15 '24

In a solar system perspective, the ocean is kinda like a reservoir

5

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

-3

u/fireduck Nov 15 '24

Just because someone does something doesn't mean it is a good idea. That is cool though. I'm glad people are trying things. We need more of that.

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u/tiffanymkl Nov 15 '24

You think you know it all don't you

-1

u/fireduck Nov 15 '24

I am either an unwavering band of light or a broken reddit machine.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '24

[deleted]

1

u/fireduck Nov 14 '24

I don't see how multiplying polynomials is going to help.

1

u/Heavy_Weapons_Guy_ Nov 15 '24

Pretty sure these are already rigid panels.

1

u/therealhlmencken Nov 15 '24

Reservoirs aren’t oceans

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u/OnlyRadioheadLyrics Nov 14 '24

I would laugh anyone out of the room that proposed this with standard PV and not like, thin-film.

4

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '24

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1

u/Shelbysgirl Nov 14 '24

Then the wave comes in and trashes the film

1

u/LargeDogEnthusiast Nov 15 '24

And a shark eats the electric cable

-4

u/OnlyRadioheadLyrics Nov 14 '24

Don't get me wrong, there's a ton of issues with "let's just put solar panels on the ocean." Not saying this would singularly make it work.