* Get Back On Track – with Blue-Skies Thinking *

What exactly is blue skies thinking, Alec-- how does it differ (if at all) from general green trends? 

Alec, much of Blue Sky Thinking, in the past, has resulted in Brown Sky Results. For example:

"Making transport more environmentally friendly is part of his plan. Has he considered how sunshine can make the railways greener with solar panels?"

Let's look at some numbers: as a rough approximation, the most efficient electric passenger trains consume electricity at a maximum rate of 3 MW. The Topaz Solar Farm, with 9 mi² of solar panels in the California desert, constructed at a cost of $2.2 billion, generates electricity at a rate of 550 MW at noon on a sunny day. In that location, a solar farm 1,200 feet square would be required to supply the needs of an electric train, at noon, on a sunny day.

Most solar farms aren't located in such ideal locations, of course. A solar farm in Newark, NJ might generate one-tenth as much electricity. Trains need to run all day long, requiring solar farms measured in square miles. And every solar farm, whatever its size, is useless between 6PM and 6AM, and in cloudy weather.

Yes, sunshine could indeed make railways greener - a tiny, tiny, tiny, bit greener. But in 2020, exaggerating the potential of intermittent power from the sun and wind is making climate change very, very, very much worse. The unfortunate truth is that energy available from the sun and wind, compared to what we consume every day, is a drop in the bucket.