What If the Sahara Desert Was Covered With Solar Panels?



In a world exhausted of fossil fuels, solar panels can provide a sustainable solution to our energy problems. But they also come with a couple of issues: for one, solar farms are massive, and they have to be set up somewhere that gets a lot of sunlight.

Now, if only we had a large mass of unused land that gets guaranteed sunlight everyday… Could we cover an entire desert in solar panels? Would that be enough to power the entire world? What kind of problems could we run into?

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20 comments

  2. It’s good to see how solar energy works but it’s also good to know where the materials used to build them are coming from and in which condition we’re getting them
    Drcongo provides 60% of the world materials used for solar energy including electrical transportation
    But in which condition we get those materials?
    Millions of people already died from conflicts caused by army groups sponsored by multinational companies with complicity of the so called powerful nations
    Are we going to stay quiet and let those innocent people being killed just because we want to drive a nice car or having electricity in house ?
    We all concerned about what it’s going on right now in east of Congo
    Take time to think how you love your family and the pain you would have you to loose your love one
    Me and you we can give hope to those people who have been rejected and killed for no reason
    Thanks

    Reply

  5. As you say, when covered the space, more rain get fall down, and as such less sun, so it wil work for a short time for the whole world, and we need a
    bigger solar farms. I am sceptic about windfarms, can change weather patron in the world. Nice when nature getting back there, afraid for terrorists in these country,s
    tell them the dessert wil be green again and beautifull paradise. Solar panels has to be local used, on homes, but in winter yes the dessert is better. when transport it needs high voltage conversion, and how further away the higher the voltage to tackle losses.

    Reply

  6. Sounds great but if it happens than would will suffer from one of the worst natural disasters. You didn't included why it's never going to happen. The rain he's talking about aren't gonna be from newly created clouds but the rain that we get in closer geographical locations. It means you'll have drought where there's proper vegetation today. Another thing is that even if whole world will come together to create Panels just for sahara than also it would take decades to cover just a portion of it. Don't forget the sand on solar panels will avoid sun rays to reach the panels. So please drop your thoughts as it's almost impossible. Another point solar panels are mostly effective for temperature upto 40°C but in deserts the temperature is usually found to be above 45°C -50°C which makes solar panels less effective over there.

    Reply

  14. Some people would try to transition into solar panels and have sugery to help them , and then moan you don't see their point of view , that's what would happen.

    Reply

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