Thank you for that spot of fungi ID - I may err on the side of caution, because they are growing in very heavy (undiggable) clay, with a very thin topsoil layer, and I don't know it's history. The dead tree stumps in my garden do seem to spring some interesting surprises.
Similar has been done and proved unpopular, plus it needs a far bigger ic engine than you imagine to be reasonably drivable. Both GM's Chevrolet volt and BYD's Astra size car used 2 litre backup engines, both with claimed 80 mile EV capability but in reality nearer your 50 miles. I think both discontinued now, as is BMW's I3 with a very poor smaller auxiliary i.c. engine.
As ever EV problems only exist in the minds of i.c. drivers, where's the problem? As yet another doing mostly low mileage in my 160 mile range Leaf, I only charge very occasionally, once every two or three weeks, just like an i.c. driver only tops up the tank occasionally. Yes I am carrying the battery around, but how is that different from a hybrid carrying around all the IC engine and transmission weight in addition to all the electric drive and fairly large battery anyway? It's not.
It's not the controversy, it's just that there is no gain with hybrid, just more weight, more cost and more service charges, so they are both undesirable and unnecessary. The public have woken up to this which is why hybrid sales are in sharp decline while BEV sales have risen far beyond theirs.
The maths for Hybrid has never made sense, except for top exotica,in which they can claim ridiculous green credentials (80 mpg etc) yet still accelerate at ridiculous rates (utilising both simultaneously)
I'll repeat that installing panels over/round car parks would make much sense. Help keep cars cooler so reduce a/c requirement. Protect pedestrians from the worst of wind and rain.
www.discovermagazine.com
Have you seen a PV panel up close?. The top surface is a sheet of glass .. ,the sides are aluminium strip, and the back is another sheet of aluminium or sometimes more glass. . Were you to grind them up, there would be small quantities of boron , silver, aluminium , phosphorus. There could be trace amounts of antimony used to solder tabs. The metal passivation on the nuts and bolts in the fitting to stanchions would be more significant.
Have you read the article Guerney? The salient point is calling for safe disposal "after" the 30 year expected life..?? I don't think there is a problem the mentioned metals leaching out in usage, even tho the illustrations lead you that way."Studies have shown the heavy metals in solar panels — namely lead and cadmium — can leach out of the cells and get into groundwater, as well as affect plants."
Solutions for Solar Panel Waste Are Just Beginning to Surface
Recycling options and technology are slowly emerging as millions of tons of solar panels reach their end of life, threatening to fill landfills.
Not quite.
I started with a question, and I also question whether the materials used to seal panels are UV stabilised, and how long they're stable for, whether they leech anything toxic - even a small amount of poisonous leeching, over time accumulates to become a hard to remove problem. Rainwater is becoming ever more acidic. Until proven safe beyond their operational lifespan, solar panels should not be used on agricultural land.
It is surely inconceivable they are not UV stabilised? You can see such stuff disintegrating in months and we have been successfully sealing windows, doors, cars, aircraft, for many years.
But your two links say if fitted and maintained correctly they are fine. It's "leached" by the way. I have a 25 year old BMW, the door seals still keep wind and rain out. It's hardly rocket science to seal things correctly. Not much hope for Lithium batteries otherwise.
The seals in my double glazed windows shrunk and disintegrated, and they were sold as "UV stabilised", or maybe it was heator cold that destroyed them, which are other factors.
The quality of the UV stabilisation is another matter. Albeit it ends up with the same problems.
