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I'm surprised at the negative response to this proposal. If you're going to have a freestanding structure in an area full of sunlight, why not add solar panels?
Regarding vandalism by residents of foreign countries, if the US is so poor at protecting itself from violent aggression against government structures, then we have a much bigger issue that only underscores a need for a wall. Is our country so weak that we are afraid to do something that benefits our country (lots and lots of solar panels) simply because they may be destroyed by nationals of another country. Yikes.
Also, I'm surprised that we finally have a government proposal that ISN'T full of financial waste and people act as though it is some evil enterprise to derive a profit. I would LOVE it if more of our government projects had revenue-producing elements to defray the costs.
Is our "us against him" mentality so strong that we are going to treat every single proposal as instantly terrible?
That "freestanding structure" needs to be scrapped. First of all it has a very negative environmental impact, and second, the cost would be $67 Billion to US tax payers. As far as solar panels, less than 2 percent of the U.S. population live within 40 miles of the Mexico border, so how would the electricity be transported to other households? Transmission lines could be built, but those are costly. Solar panels also degrade and need to be replaced and, even under optimal conditions, they operate at approx. 20% efficiency. So let's just say NO to the costly, ridiculous border wall idea. Especially since there has been a 90% drop in illegal entry into the US in the past decade.
That "freestanding structure" needs to be scrapped. First of all it has a very negative environmental impact, and second, the cost would be $67 Billion to US tax payers. As far as solar panels, less than 2 percent of the U.S. population live within 40 miles of the Mexico border, so how would the electricity be transported to other households? Transmission lines could be built, but those are costly. Solar panels also degrade and need to be replaced and, even under optimal conditions, they operate at approx. 20% efficiency. So let's just say NO to the costly, ridiculous border wall idea. Especially since there has been a 90% drop in illegal entry into the US in the past decade.
I find it hard to believe that miles and miles of solar panels would have an overall net negative environmental impact. You say that 2% of the population lives within 40 miles of the border, but where are you coming up with 40 miles as your cutoff for whether a plan should be scrapped? Transmission lines can transmit power hundreds of miles. San Diego, an entire city, is essentially touching the border wall.
Is $67 billion a lot of money for such a great addition to the power generation and security to our nation? We spend billions a year supporting other nations, why can't we spend some to help ourselves?
Solar panels have twenty year warranties, so your comment about degradation are a straw man at best. They produce enough power to pay for themselves (using today's prices per KW) at least three times over during their lifetime, but if (WHEN) inflation sets in, they are an even better investment since they are installed using today dollars but offset power costs in future dollars.
Regarding efficiency- what does that have to do with the price of bananas in Panama? A 200 watt panel produces 200 watts. Efficiency is just an academic figure that companies focus on because increasing panel efficiency will bring production costs down in the future, but I've NEVER heard of someone using panel efficiency as a reason not to buy something.
If you say that the border wall plan is "costly and ridiculous", then please explain to me why solar farms exist anywhere? I'm sure that private companies would jump at the opportunity to install and run the border wall solar farm.
I find it hard to believe that miles and miles of solar panels would have an overall net negative environmental impact. You say that 2% of the population lives within 40 miles of the border, but where are you coming up with 40 miles as your cutoff for whether a plan should be scrapped? Transmission lines can transmit power hundreds of miles. San Diego, an entire city, is essentially touching the border wall.
Is $67 billion a lot of money for such a great addition to the power generation and security to our nation? We spend billions a year supporting other nations, why can't we spend some to help ourselves?
Solar panels have twenty year warranties, so your comment about degradation are a straw man at best. They produce enough power to pay for themselves (using today's prices per KW) at least three times over during their lifetime, but if (WHEN) inflation sets in, they are an even better investment since they are installed using today dollars but offset power costs in future dollars.
Regarding efficiency- what does that have to do with the price of bananas in Panama? A 200 watt panel produces 200 watts. Efficiency is just an academic figure that companies focus on because increasing panel efficiency will bring production costs down in the future, but I've NEVER heard of someone using panel efficiency as a reason not to buy something.
If you say that the border wall plan is "costly and ridiculous", then please explain to me why solar farms exist anywhere? I'm sure that private companies would jump at the opportunity to install and run the border wall solar farm.
A wall isn't secure. Building a wall, no matter how big, will not be a "great addition" to security in our nation. Even years ago back when there were no airplanes, the great wall of China couldn't stop the Mongols, and today, with planes, drones, and - you know, shovels - a wall won't stop anyone. It's ridiculous to think it will.
First of all it has a very negative environmental impact, and second, the cost would be $67 Billion to US tax payers.
Where did you get $67 billion from? I've heard $20 billion, and even that was meant to be a scary number. Do they just keep adding a few billion every week to make it even scarier?
Exactly! PV panels would have to be on south side of the wall, i.e., the Mexico side. Then we'd need a wall to protect the solar wall, haha!
So you're saying that the US is incapable of defending itself against foreign attacks on US soil? Sad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtab4994
Where did you get $67 billion from? I've heard $20 billion, and even that was meant to be a scary number. Do they just keep adding a few billion every week to make it even scarier?
Ha, good point! Honestly, after $1b (or even $1m), I don't think it really matters to anyone. It's all just filed away in everyone's head as "insert generic large number here". Meanwhile, whether it's $20b or $67b, these are immaterial to our annual budget which itself is well into the trillions.
Sure, that way he can charge for electricity...another way to fill his coffers. This idea clearly appropriated from already in-place cooperatives in Mexico and the US that are sharing solar grids...
So you're saying that the US is incapable of defending itself against foreign attacks on US soil? Sad.
Stealing panels would be theft, not an attack.
What's sad is we can't/won't keep people from living and working here illegally. Seeing some solar panels go missing is trivial compared to what we're tolerating as a country today.
So you're saying that the US is incapable of defending itself against foreign attacks on US soil? Sad.
Unless we deploy the military in strength, our civilian forces are incapable of protecting our borders. This is not a disparaging remark to those agencies, just the task has become such a political sound stage that they spend more on the political aspects than they do on actual border security. As such, solar panels would never survive a week before being stolen or vandalized.
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