I never understood why wind turbines are so apart from each other....,(reply>), There's less scope for solar power in the UK since we don't get much sunlight overall.,(reply>), @***** it really depends on the climate. the UK usually doesn't get much sunlight, but it does have a lot of wind, but not too many hurricanes, so wind farms are ideal in the UK. Solar panels can take a lot of materials to produce, so it's only really better if you can get a lot of electricity from them.<br><br>With that said, photovoltaics don't capture all of the solar energy that lands on them, they could become a viable alternative if nanotechnology allows them to capture more energy, which would make them a lot more efficient.,(reply>), +Rodrigo Graça solar panels are possibly the answer but they're still a relatively unstable source due to unpredictable weather. Currently the most effective use is as water heating into steam to... Drive turbines. The PV panels (the ones which turn the sunlight straight to electricity) are relatively low efficiency right now, somewhere between 10-20% at an affordable price. It has lots of potential no doubt. The losses are due to the panel construction and it's 'tuning' to specific EM wavelengths which prevents you collecting all the possible energy from the incoming light. It is possible to effectively 'stack' the PV junctions to broaden the panels ability to absorb photons of various wavelengths but this increases the panel cost exponentially whilst the improvement in efficiency reduces with each added junction. You also have problems with the panels themselves breaking down over time and dropping in efficiency that way.<br><br>But you're correct, solar is the most promising renewable IMO,(reply>), @Christian Challiner Thanks for the clarification!<br>What about solar panels? Are they better? IMHO we could cover roofs, roads, etc (the entire world!) with them and have infinite energy.....! :)<br>They can solve "frequency problem" outlined on this video on solar panels right? so....,(reply>), +Rodrigo Graça efficiency basically. The oncoming air has momentum, the turbine takes this energy out of the air which results in the air exiting the turbine slower than it entered (so carrying less momentum) and it is also turbulent. Therefore, you must allow for the flow to recover and stabilise before it reaches the next turbine. The distance should be approximately 5 times the turbine rotor diameter. So for a turbine of 50 m span, the nearest you can place the next one is 250 m away. This affect also applies to a lesser extent when considering placing turbines adjacent to each other.<br><br>Honestly these things are crap though. The source is too unstable to be of use and the only reason so many turbines exist is through what are effectively government backhand schemes.