Call me stupid but do they have solar power in Alaska?
By callahanb78
@callahanb78 (529)
United States
March 7, 2009 9:15pm CST
Ok so I was thinking about converting to solar power when we move. Currently we pay an average of $250 for electric per month which is INSANE for the small amount of space we have! Then it got my mind wandering to different places and solar power, etc and I thought......Does Alaska have solar power? Don't they have dark for 6 months there? If they have it then I would assume the solar power is saved enough while they have daylight?!? I dont know...my mind has a tendancy to wander ALOT! Anyone from Alaska? How do trees grow over there in all that dark?
See, wanders ALOT!
Good Evening All!
2 responses
@ryryrox13 (26)
• United States
8 Mar 09
Yes, they have solar power, but not the kind you see around sunny places. They have to elevate it higher to catch more energy so you won't see many homes with solar panels.
@eoeoeo (125)
• United States
8 Mar 09
I'm not from Alaska but... to answer your question yes, Alaska does have solar power. The issue is since it's in the higher latitudes the solar power is weaker than say... the Bahamas. It's not necessarily the temperature that affects the solar panels, but the strength of the sunlight. Your answer is a bit mixed. Those 6 months of darkness you're talking about starts to happen from 70 degrees latitude and higher. Starting from the arctic circle (approximately 67.5 degrees latitude, I dunno the exact number) you start to see noticeable differences in the times of sunlight. The northern parts of Alaska does have really weird daylight hours, but regardless, since the sun is so weak you won't really have effective solar power.
