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PVEducation

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PVEducation

As solar cell manufacturing continues to grow at a record-setting pace, increasing demands are placed on universities to educate students on both the practical and theoretical aspects of photovoltaics. As a truly interdisciplinary field, young professionals must be fluent with the science, engineering, policy, and market dimensions of this technology, in the context of a growing renewable energy economy.

West Virginia coal wars – Wikipedia

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West Virginia coal wars – Wikipedia

The West Virginia coal wars (1912–21), also known as the mine wars, arose out of a dispute between coal companies and miners.

The first workers strike, in West Virginia, was the Cabin Creek and Paint Creek strike of 1912-1913. With help from Mary "Mother Jones" Harris Jones, an important figure in unionizing the mine workers, the miners demanded better pay, better work conditions, the right to trade where they pleased (ending the practice of forcing miners to buy from company-owned stores), and recognition of the United Mine Workers (UMW).

The mining companies refused to meet the demands of the workers and instead hired Baldwin-Felts agents equipped with high-powered rifles to guard the mines and act as strikebreakers.[2][1] After the Agents arrived, the miners either moved out or were evicted from the houses they had been renting from the coal companies, and moved into coal camps that were being supported by the Union.[1] Approximately 35,000 people lived in these coal camps.

While I support renewable energy production, especially the solid state energy from solar on roof tops and in urban areas I have many questions about industrial solar facilities, especially when big corporations are asking for exemptions from long standing environmental laws designed to protect our water and land.

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While I support renewable energy production, especially the solid state energy from solar on roof tops and in urban areas I have many questions about industrial solar facilities, especially when big corporations are asking for exemptions from long standing environmental laws designed to protect our water and land. Industrial solar not converts green space – farm land and forest to an industrial wasteland covered with panels made out of hazardous materials. I think we should be skeptical of industrial solar.

Indeed, the whole purpose of the NEPA and SEQRA is to take a hard look at these industrial facilities to review their environmental impacts and take steps to mitigate their impacts. I’m not saying that industrial solar has no role in energy generation but I think we should be skeptical, especially due to the low energy density of the panels – they consume enormous amounts of land for tiny amounts of energy. Unlike agriculture, where a field can be left fallow and revert back to wilderness, industrial solar facilities are littered with hazardous waste and metals that must be removed and disposed off site when the facility closes.

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