Coordinated misinformation in mainstream media

I have posted about this plenty of times in the "ethos" tag of my blog. I was reminded a few days ago of what major organizations get up to, this video posted by "The Electric Viking":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yockrXllJRE

He is quite brave, an individual guy making these statements. It doesn't matter if he is telling the truth; the truth doesn't have much to do with it if challenged by a huge organization with enormous legal team and deep pockets.

Sky News has been prosecuted for "misleading information", but it seems that they just pay the fine, then don't change. Or so it seems to me. One thing I have noticed is that Sky News is quite cunning, or again so it seems to me; they will interview someone who fits their agenda. That's cunning, because it is not Sky News saying it directly, just the interviewees opinion.

This for example, one of their pet "experts":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZytIe1qaA40

...quite a few statements made there, that I would contend are misleading, but just picking out one; that Chinese solar panels are "garbage".

Actually, yes, the Chinese make solar panels for many different types of buyers, probably including questionable quality. Panels that are used in Australian commercial or industrial projects must meet Australian standards. They are tested in Australia and certified to meet the standard. There are Chinese panels that meet the standards, right up to standards not yet formalized officially in Australia. In other words, the panels are of very high quality.

The minimum requirement is that the glass must withstand "golf ball size hail", and I think from online reading that usually means 25mm (1 inch) diameter. However, the standards go up from there, see here:

https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2024/10/26/__trashed/

Recent Australian solar projects have featured bifacial panels with 2 mm-thick front and rear glass. Typically certified to minimum International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) test standards, for 25 mm ice ball resistance, they can usually pass 35 mm hail impact tests. Severe Australian hailstorms have always had 35 mm-plus hailstones and climate change means such events are more frequent and more damaging.

Some laboratories have introduced more stringent, bespoke tests beyond minimum IEC requirements. As a result, some manufacturers are offering customised bill of materials featuring 2.5 mm glass front and rear. This increased glass thickness comes with a weight penalty, but in many cases, the modules can pass a 45 mm hail impact test.

Manufacturers have also released “hail- resistant” modules with 3.2 mm front glass and either 2 mm or 1.6 mm rear glass that can pass 50 mm, and in some cases 55 mm hail impact tests.

Sky News and their pet expert are attacking the green revolution, but the building of solar panels on agricultural land, or using panels that meet appropriate standards for hail expected in the area, are administrative issues.

Yes, if what the interviewee states, that approvals have been bull-dozed through without proper consideration, then he has a point. But again, it comes down to an administrative issue. Any authorities doing the wrong thing should be attacked, not Chinese solar panels, nor the green revolution. The project should be built on degraded land not prime agricultural, and solar panels must be certified to withstand extreme hail events expected in the region.

Awhile back, I was reading about world-leading hail-resistant solar panels made in China. Just now doing a quick search... Chinese SunTech panels are certified to withstand 45mm diameter hail, and are sold here in Australia:

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/panels/suntech-review.html

In testing, Suntech panels withstand impacts from 45mm hail travelling at 30.7m/s (111km/h).  This is superior to many panels which are only certified to withstand 25mm hail travelling at 23m/s (83km/h).

I don't normally watch Sky News; however, stumbled upon the above on YouTube, watched most of it, and it just reconfirmed what I already know about them. The host, the interviewer; to me she looks "sly". I got caught by the click-bait title. Of course, everything posted above is just my opinion; make what you want of it -- that's my disclaimer.    

Tags: ethos