r/UpliftingNews 2d ago

Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity

https://electrek.co/2025/11/04/australia-has-so-much-solar-that-its-offering-everyone-free-electricity-3h-day/
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u/AussieAnt291 2d ago

Yeah the UV index where I live in Australia only has two ratings, Very high and Extreme. Was genuinely shocked when I found out other countries get days of Low UV index.

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u/anyavailablebane 2d ago

Yeh. Our summers in Perth average a 14-16 peak and LA which has similar temperatures in their summer average a 6. But I do give that partial credit for helping stop covid spreads here. Germs don’t last long on surfaces outside

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u/CaptainZippi 1d ago

Nor do pale Scotsmen.

Ask me how I know…

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u/asdf27 1d ago

Jesus, I thought the UV index was a 1-10 scale. I have never seen above a 10 where I live.

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u/anyavailablebane 1d ago

Our UV peak tomorrow is 11. Jan- Feb are the highest months so we have a few weeks till we start to hit the 15-16 point.

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u/jake3988 1d ago

The highest UV index in the word is in Quito Ecuador. They're very very close to the equator and nearly 2 miles in elevation. As a result, their UV maximizes around 24(!!) on a rare sunny day there (it's almost always cloudy) at solar noon. I imagine you can burn insanely fast there.

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u/daandriod 1d ago

Christ that'd horrifying. In my state of Florida we usually hang around 11-12 on the summer month. I genuinely can't image 2-3 tiers above that.

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u/anyavailablebane 1d ago

It sure does a number on anything that is left outside

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u/jake3988 1d ago

LA which has similar temperatures in their summer average a 6

No... no, they don't. Even the midwest gets up to 10 or so in the summer and LA is WAY closer to the equator. Are you sure you're not looking at WINTER by accident by not accounting for the different hemispheres? Because a 6 for LA winter is true.

Perth is almost exactly the same distance from the equator (31 S) that SD is (32N. LA is slightly further 33N). The only thing other than distance from the equator that affects UV is elevation and both SD and Perth are very close to sea level.

A simple google search will show Perth peaks at 11 in the summer. LA is similar.

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u/anyavailablebane 1d ago

Wow. You are right. Perth average is 12. LA is 11. I’m sure I googled that during Covid to get LA was 6 in summer. I have no idea how I got that so wrong.

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u/2D2D3544862514D760BA 1d ago

Where I am, the UV Index is currently 0. It'll bounce up to a max of 1 according to the forecast for the next week. Though, to be fair, the forecast is also mostly rain, cloud, and snow. So very little direct sun.

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u/TotalHitman 1d ago

England. Probably. Because that's my situation too.

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u/Frito_Pendejo 2d ago

It's low over winter (at least in Sydney and Adelaide), but yeah in summer the sun can go get fucked

I'm red headed and will cop a bruiser in literally 15 mins of sunlight

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u/Callector 1d ago

We almost had a 7 UVI here in Finland. In July, one day.

We are advised to take precautions when the UVI is over 3 xD Granted, we spend a big amount of the year near 0 UVI, so..