Here's Elon Musk's Plan To Power the US on Solar Energy (inverse.com)

An anonymous reader shares an excerpt from Musk's keynote speech: Tesla CEO Elon Musk -- whose company makes electric cars and has a new solar roof panel division -- reminded more than 30 state governors at the National Governors Association meeting this weekend exactly how much real-estate is needed to make sure America can run totally on solar energy. "If you wanted to power the entire United States with solar panels, it would take a fairly small corner of Nevada or Texas or Utah; you only need about 100 miles by 100 miles of solar panels to power the entire United States," Musk said during his keynote conversation on Saturday at the event in Rhode Island. "The batteries you need to store the energy, so you have 24/7 power, is 1 mile by 1 mile. One square-mile." It's "a little square on the U.S. map, and then there's a little pixel inside there, and that's the size of the battery park that you need to support that. Real tiny."

Comments

Re:He seems to have let off a number....

[cayenne8]

I think that's how I remember it... "Ask not what your country can do for you, because we only do what's cheap and easy." Must be the new American anthem.

Well, that's what you have to do when the country is in DEEP debt, and about half the population is leeching and paying no net federal taxes, not to mention that no one seemingly wants to work any more (unless it is their 'dream' job, that starts out right outta school at $125K or better).

Re:Fantastic!

[bobbied]

Let's take some of these Big Oil subsidies and work on free electricity for the citizens of the lower 48 (corporations are except).

Big Oil Subsidies? And what exactly ARE those? I'm tired of hearing this lie...

Most of the "subsidies" people come up with are nothing but rules about how taxes are figured and most of these rules govern how and what "Big Oil" (and little oil and fractional well owners) get taxed on....

Plus, NONE of these amount to a hill of beans compared to the REAL subsidies, tax credits and government incentives (like loan guarantees) for Solar, Wind and other renewables AND the immensely favorable and accommodating treatment they get by regulators like the EPA and Utilities councils that Oil could only dream about getting...

Re:No Faith.

[sycodon]

How much does it cost to change the batteries in a Tesla?

Ya.

And then:

No Child Left Behind...don't promote morons who didn't learn the material. So I guess you didn't benefit fro that policy.

Trickle Down...only produced the longest expansion of the economy in recent history. As opposed to the last 8 years of trickle up which has stalled growth at 2% or so.

When Musk builds a plant that can power Tuscan, throughout the year, without subsidies, then we can talk taxpayer money.

Re: No Faith.

[ChrisMaple]

The 21st century recessions were due mostly to federal government pressure to loan to insolvent home buyers. That pressure was a result of Democratic party policy then in place, that Republicans were unable to end. The result was inevitable and had nothing to do with your jealousy of rich people.

The people who gained insurance coverage under Obamacare were mostly people who didn't want insurance, and with the end of Obamacare will be free to once again do as they please. You, however, think it's OK to point government guns at their heads and proclaim "Your money or your life."