Quote:
Originally Posted by Wowbagger
From the nanosolar blog, you can read "In fact, in dry regions, the solar panels even benefit the ecosystem by increasing the moisture level in the soil."
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But, if the moisture levels rose darmatically, wouldn't that alter the competitive advantage of various species? If that was the case it could have a major impact on the ecological system.
Wouldn't it also depend on how isolated the desert ecostystem was from ones with higher moisutre levels? If there was, purely for example, a forest on the edge of the desert, and the solar panels were located nearby, the increase in ground moisture levels may produce conditions under which seeds from the trees could germinate. Even if the trees were cut down to prevent shading of the solar panels, the time taken to sut them down might have been long enough for conditions to develop in which other plants from the forest had migrated, possibly along with some animals. They would be a serious threat to the organisms specially adapted to desert conditions.
I was thinking about the cleaning issue. How possible would it be to develop solar panels with an inbuilt cleaning system? The waster could be stored in a tank, then sprayed on the panels when they were inclined. Admitidely some water would be lost to evapouration, but if it was designed properly, I would have thought it possible to have a drain at the bottom of hte panel which collected the majority of the water. The water could then be passed through a filtration system ready for use next time cleaning was required. It wouldn't prevent the need for any water but it may reduce the quantity required.