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Posted by Neon John on January 27, 2008, 9:55 am
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wrote:
>Is it just me or is solar energy really just a sham. The way I figure
>it we would have to cover 14 million sq km with PV cells by 2050 to
>satisfy world enery needs, assuming current growth rates and all other
>things being equal. Worse, owing to inefficiencies in the system solar
>PV will actually add to global warming. PV might look good on the
>roof, it might 'feel good' but it isn't going to solve the problems we
>face.
You got it. Solar lets a few smug people feel self-righteous, unjustified, of
course, and it's a huge money sink. Actually just another middle class welfare
system.
There's a short article on this month's Power Engineering magazine (that I think
you
can read online) that states that it is going to require something like 1700 MW
of
fast response generation to cover the unstable solar power that Ca has apparently
mandated (the article didn't go into detail on the mandate.) That is, that much
"rotating reserve" must be available to cover for when the sun doesn't shine.
Cloudy
days and all that.
IFF you live in a sunny climate and IFF you're capable of doing your own work
then
solar water heating can nibble around the edges of your energy bill. But you
won't
live long enough to repay the cost of solar, even with the welfare grants, and
that's
ignoring the impact on the grid.
John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
Serenity: That feeling of knowing that your secretary will never tell either of
your wives.
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