alt Hacker NewsI like the transition to renewables , but there is nothing inevitable about it.
We don't produce solar panels or have the materials to produce them in Europe. So we're just as dependent on imports as before.
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fc417fc802 • today at 12:29 AM
Those imports have a much longer half life than barrels of oil.
It's aluminum, glass, silicon, and some conductive metal. Surely you all have those materials.
And even if you don't make them yourselves, they aren't make and then burn like fossil fuels, they are durable infrastructure, you don't have to replace them often - they have an expected lifespan of >30 years. Buy as many as China will sell you, and once you have more than enough installed, you're good for a long time, regardless of whether they cut you off.
I think being reliant on the fossil fuel supply chain for so long, it's a bit tricky to mindset shift that once these things are installed, you're just good. And they're super fungible, you don't need any precision replacement parts, so you can make your own replacement parts if you want.