How Many Solar Panels Could Power The World?
The YouTube channel “Corridor Crew” has shared an awesome video demonstrating just how many solar panels it would take to power the world. The video starts off with the host showing us a future time, 2100, and what it would be like if the world successfully transitioned to sustainability and there were no more climate change impacts. Then, he switched it up on us and showed us the reverse. Revealing the greenscreen, he then pointed out that we are at that critical point in time where we choose which future we truly want and asked the question, just how many solar panels could power the world?
“How many solar panels could power the world? 23 billion solar panels. That is how many we will need.” (Naturally, the world will never be 100% solar powered. Other sources, like wind power and hydropower, have big roles to play. This is more of a fun thought exercise.)
Right after he said this, the cameras stopped rolling and the crew came out and said “good job,” and then he explained that this was a simple answer to a complicated question. Then he shared the journey of just how complicated answering this question truly was.
“Energy is really complicated and just simply talking how much energy we use and figuring out how many panels could supply that power is not only wrong, it’s meaningless.”
He explained that there are lots of misconceptions as to how energy works, and the video is his way of clearing that up and debunking the myths. One of the key problems he pointed out is that humanity is power hungry, and clean energy needs to match that appetite.
The idea that we are just fine and that global warming is a myth is often pushed by many on the far right — conservatives/Republicans. Those who don’t agree with the basic science tend to profit off of the burning of oil, methane gas, and coal.
In the video, the host explained that in a year, humanity uses around the same amount of energy that the sun blasts the earth with every single hour: 162,000,000,000,000,00 watt-hours. He got that number from 2017’s total world energy supply. That is a lot of energy. Naturally, this is impractical on several levels, but imagine being able to get the same amount of energy we use annually from the sun in just one hour.
The video is definitely a must-watch. You can watch it here.
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Swedish multinational Sandvik says it’s successfully deployed a pair of fully autonomous Toro LH518iB battery-electric underground loaders at the New Gold Inc. ($NGD) New Afton mine in British Columbia, Canada.
The heavy mining equipment experts at Sandvik say that the revolutionary new 18 ton loaders have been in service since mid-November, working in a designated test area of the mine’s “Lift 1” footwall. The mine’s operators are preparing to move the automated machines to the mine’s “C-Zone” any time now, putting them into regular service by the first of the new year.
“This is a significant milestone for Canadian mining, as these are North America’s first fully automated battery-electric loaders,” Sandvik said in a LinkedIn post. “(The Toro LH518iB’s) introduction highlights the potential of automation and electrification in mining.”
The company says the addition of the new heavy loaders will enable New Afton’s operations to “enhance cycle times and reduce heat, noise and greenhouse gas emissions” at the block cave mine – the only such operation (currently) in Canada.
Electrek’s Take
From drilling and rigging to heavy haul solutions, companies like Sandvik are proving that electric equipment is more than up to the task of moving dirt and pulling stuff out of the ground. At the same time, rising demand for nickel, lithium, and phosphates combined with the natural benefits of electrification are driving the adoption of electric mining machines while a persistent operator shortage is boosting demand for autonomous tech in those machines.
The combined factors listed above are rapidly accelerating the rate at which machines that are already in service are becoming obsolete – and, while some companies are exploring the cost/benefit of converting existing vehicles to electric or, in some cases, hydrogen, the general consensus seems to be that more companies will be be buying more new equipment more often in the years ahead.
What’s more, more of that equipment will be more and more likely to be autonomous as time goes on.
We covered the market outlook for autonomous and electric mining equipment earlier this summer, and I posted an episode exploring the growing demand for electric equipment on an episode of Quick Charge I’ve embedded, below. Check it out, then let us know what you think of the future of electric mining in the comments.
More EVs means more mines, equipment
SOURCE | IMAGES: Sandvik, via LinkedIn.
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European logistics firm Contargo is adding twenty of Mercedes’ new, 600 km-capable eActros battery electric semi trucks to its trimodal delivery fleet, bringing zero-emission shipping to Germany’s hinterland.
With over 300 miles of all-electric range, the new Mercedes eActros 600 electric semi truck was designed for (what a European would call) long-haul trucking. Now, after officially entering production at the company’s Wörth plant in Bavaria last month, the eActros 600 is reaching its first customer: Contargo.
With the addition of the twenty new Mercedes, Contargo’s electric truck fleet has grown to 60 BEVs, with plans to increase that total to 90. And, according to Mercedes, Contargo is just the first.
The German truck company says it has plans to deliver fifty (50) of the 600 kWh battery-equipped electric semi trucks to German shipping companies by the close of 2024.
Contargo’s 20 eActros 600 trucks were funded in part by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport as part of a broader plan to replace a total of 86 diesel-engined commercial vehicles with more climate-friendly alternatives. The funding directive is coordinated by NOW GmbH, and the applications were approved by the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility.
Electrek’s Take
Electric semi trucks are racking up millions of miles in the US, and abroad. As more and more pilot programs begin to pay off, they’re going to lead to more orders for battery electric trucks and more reductions in both diesel demand and harmful carbon emissions.
We can’t wait to see more.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Contargo, via Electrive.
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