Re: Fusion

Steve Litt wrote on 2025-10-03 09:03:

> I would have thought just the opposite. One drown spraying
> permanent, quick setting paint could take out many photovoltaic
> cells.

That would require full coverage of the panels with very opaque paint.
Which is quite a payload. A gallon of paint thinly applied by hand would
cover how many panels? A small fraction of an installation is my guess.

That would require a full drone air force. At which point, fly them
around airports and cause real economic damage (see: recent news in
Denmark, UK, Munich,...)


> Kids with paint balloons could do huge damage to PV.

No they couldn't. A home system? Maybe.

But they could just hit the walls & windows and cause more damage. Paint
could be removed from glass panels easier than walls (as someone whose
sloppy painting got onto unintended surfaces, I have undesired expertise
here).


> A hailstorm? A tornado?

Those could be devastating.  But, the beauty of renewables is that they
can be distributed. No need to put them all in one location. Only a
fraction of a region's generating should be taken out by a direct hit on
a PV installation, where a direct hit on the region's oil/coal/gas
plant? Much bigger impact.

Thinking about it a bit, I imagine a panel with cracked glass could
still generate some electricity; close to full capacity wouldn't
surprise me.


> A few M80 firecrackers?

That's really reaching now - I can't see much - if any damage.  If 
placed manually... just cut wiring then if that close.


> A kid with a 22 rifle?

And a truck full of ammo? A couple damaged panels is nothing.

Substations are favourite targets of far-right lunatics with rifles, and 
that's where to target for maximum impact, not individual panels.