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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Every day, the sands of the Sahara Desert\nreach temperatures up to 80° Celsius."
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      "utf8": "Stretching over roughly\nnine million square kilometers,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "this massive desert receives about \n22 million terawatt hours of energy"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "from the Sun every year."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "That’s well over 100 times more energy \nthan humanity consumes annually."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "So, could covering the desert with solar \npanels solve our energy problems for good?"
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      "utf8": "Solar panels work when light particles hit\ntheir surface with enough energy"
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      "utf8": "to knock electrons \nout of their stable bonds."
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      "utf8": "On their journey back to stability, \nthese electrons produce electricity."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "However, there’s a limit to how much power\npanels can generate."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Solar panels can only interact \nwith certain wavelengths of light,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "making it impossible to convert \nover half the sunlight they receive."
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      "utf8": "And even light particles they can convert\noften bounce off them"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "without ever hitting an electron."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "But thanks to clever scientists \nand engineers"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Anti-reflective coatings and patterns \non the panels’ surface"
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      "utf8": "create more opportunities for incoming \nlight particles to hit electrons."
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      "utf8": "These techniques have increased commercial\nsolar panel efficiency"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "from the low-teens to 25%,"
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      "utf8": "with experimental models reaching\nup to 47%."
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      "utf8": "What’s more, solar has gotten \n89% cheaper over the last decade,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "thanks in part to global supply chains\nfor other technologies"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "that use the same materials."
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      "utf8": "Together, these factors have \nmade solar power"
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      "utf8": "the cheapest source of electricity \non Earth."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Countries including India, China, \nEgypt, and the US,"
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      "utf8": "have already taken\nthese new panels into the desert."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Their massive solar farms range \nfrom 15 to 56 square kilometers,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and when the sun is high in the sky,"
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      "utf8": "these plants can provide energy"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "for hundreds of thousands\nof local residents."
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      "utf8": "But these farms also get\nextremely hot."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Light that solar cells don’t convert \nor reflect is absorbed as heat,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "which reduces a panel’s efficiency."
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      "utf8": "And the cooling systems employed by many\nfarms can use huge amounts of energy"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "powering fans or moving water \nto maintain optimal temperatures."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Even with these systems, solar panels \nin the desert absorb far more heat"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "than the natural sandy environment."
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      "utf8": "This hasn’t been a problem\non the scale of existing solar farms."
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      "utf8": "But if we tried to cover the Sahara,"
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      "utf8": "this effect could create massive changes\nin the region's climate."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Constructing solar farms already\ndisrupts local ecosystems,"
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      "utf8": "but a plant of this scale could \ndramatically transform"
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      "utf8": "Thankfully, solar panels\naren’t our only option."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Morocco’s Noor Power Plant,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "which will eventually cover roughly \n30 square kilometers of the Sahara,"
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      "utf8": "is a concentrated solar power plant."
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      "utf8": "This design reflects light \nonto a receiver,"
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      "utf8": "which converts that energy to heat,\nand then electricity."
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      "utf8": "These mirrors still create a dangerous\ntemperature shift for local wildlife,"
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      "utf8": "but they have less potential\nto transform the landscape."
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      "utf8": "And since it takes time for the materials\nbeing heated to cool off,"
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      "utf8": "these plants often continue producing\nelectricity past sunset."
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      "utf8": "However, getting their electricity beyond\nlocal power grids is much more difficult."
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      "utf8": "Some countries are working on ways to\nconnect electric grids across the globe."
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      "utf8": "And many farm store energy\nin massive batteries,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "or convert their electricity \ninto clean gas that can be used later."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "But right now, these techniques are still\ntoo expensive and inefficient to rely on."
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