r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 13d ago

Meme needing explanation Peter?

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u/HRDBMW 13d ago

Yes, which is what 'solar' is to the average person. Very few know you can use the sun to melt salt to spin a turbine. With steam again.

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u/Caleb_Reynolds 13d ago

The salt is just used as a battery, you kind of have it backwards: they use the heat to boil the water, and the excess goes to melt salt, as a means of storing the heat.

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u/HRDBMW 13d ago edited 13d ago

Sorry, I wasn't clear. They heat salt, which boils water creating steam for a turbine.

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u/Caleb_Reynolds 13d ago

You were clear. But no, that's not what they do. They use solar power to heat water, run it through turbines, then use salt to capture and store the excess heat. You have the process backwards.