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[-] LurkingLuddite@piefed.social 70 points 5 months ago

Solar panel projects, which many have outstripped this and other projects in power limitations, do not boil water to generate electricity.

[-] lauha@lemmy.world 54 points 5 months ago

And wind turbines, and hydroelectric plants.

But all but solar cells are pretty much turbines all the way down

[-] ViatorOmnium@piefed.social 15 points 5 months ago

Hydroelectric power stations still rely on steam, it's just in another part of the cycle.

[-] ByteJunk@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

What? Hydroelectric power stations use gravity and the falling or flowing water makes the turbines turn. No steam.

Thermal plants (nuclear, coal, gas), including solar thermal plants, use steam.

[-] TheOctonaut@piefed.zip 34 points 5 months ago

He means water vapour, ie the rain cycle.

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago
[-] TheOctonaut@piefed.zip 9 points 5 months ago

I didn't say it was a good quip

[-] anotherspinelessdem@lemmy.ml 4 points 5 months ago

It probably was at some point.

[-] guy@piefed.social 5 points 5 months ago

Would not like to be the technician working on the hydrostation where part of the rain cycle is steam

[-] bryndos@fedia.io 3 points 5 months ago

I reckon some of the water vapour in the atmosphere will have once been steam rising and cooling. But probably not very much, so it's fair to say hydroelectric generation may happen to use some water that was once steam, but I don't think they can be said to rely on steam.

I think the thing that all dynamo based based electricity generators depend on in common is probably the pressure difference.

[-] guy@piefed.social 2 points 5 months ago

Yeah, I tried to make a joke about where the rain forms from steam and not regular evaporation. Imagine working in an environment where it's as a hot sauna all the time

[-] whoxtank28@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

The southern US 😖

[-] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 months ago

Another couple decades of oil wars and we’ll get there.

[-] ByteJunk@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago
[-] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 months ago

They use steam condensed in a pressurized environment

[-] lauha@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

And to be fair, those none steam sources, i.e. hydro, wind and solar are all just solar basically.

this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2026
980 points (98.9% liked)

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