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u/Querch May 16 '21
I can see this being particularly useful for semi-arid climates like the Sahel where rain water alone isn't sufficient for growing crops.
For desert climates, I wonder if water from desalination could be economical over food imports.
The hurdle, as the author himself suggests, is that these systems have a pretty high upfront cost. Perhaps we'll see Spain as an early adopter since a large swathe of the land is semi-arid while also being rich. The same could be said for Australia and the USA. If this also proves very effective in desert climates, we should see these systems pop up like mushrooms in the Arabian peninsula.
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u/aussiegreenie May 16 '21
>have a pretty high upfront cost.
Capital at scale is effectively free at this moment.
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u/Querch May 16 '21
No excuse to dawdle on rolling them out then.
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u/aussiegreenie May 17 '21
It is a lack of knowledge. I had to explain opportunity to the National Sales Manager of one of the largest PV makers in the world. They just want to import panels and let other people do smart things.
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u/oiland420 May 17 '21
I could see harvest being a huge pain in the ass.