General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: With the destroyed power grid on the island of Puerto Rico... [View all]KY_EnviroGuy
(14,488 posts)In a perfect world, that would require 56 sq.-mi. of solar panels. However, for 100% solar, if we were to look at solar generation throughout the day with typical sun exposure and using battery systems to store energy for night use, I would say the capacity might have to be several times that number.
I'm speaking out of school a bit, I don't think it's wise to be totally dependent on a single type of generation. One has to study each location's sunshine availability (worst case), wind availability, fossil fuel cost and availability, peak and average demand data, and many other factors to design an optimum large-scale system. That expertise is widely available, but could take considerable time and money to execute.
The location's ability to maintain these hybrid systems is a huge factor, as well.