eli5: Why do we not run heavily on solar energy as a society or at least in sunny places?
In: 8
We actually do a lot of solar PV in AZ. It’s one of the fastest growing sources of energy. In other locations, it has to do with economics.
Check out this interactive map that shows which energy source is cheapest in every county (LCOE). You can adjust variables like overnight (or setup) costs, lifetime of plant, and any CO2 taxes.
https://calculators.energy.utexas.edu/lcoe_map/#/county/tech
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