America looks to Solar

[ScreamingEagle]

With ever-increasing improvements, solar energy could become the answer...

As energy costs soar, America looks to solar
Fri Jun 6, 2008

BOSTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc is considering harnessing the sun to power its iPod music players. California's Ironwood prison is installing more than 6,000 solar panels, and Boston's Fenway Park is tapping solar power for Red Sox baseball games.

After decades on the fringe, solar power is closing in on America's mainstream as surging fossil fuel prices and mounting concern over climate change spur states, businesses and homeowners into a quickening embrace with alternative energy.

Panels bolted to roofs to convert sunlight into electricity are still too expensive in most regions to compete with cheaper, less environmentally friendly fuels like coal without generous subsidies. Solar's high costs have kept the resource out of reach for many residences and businesses,.

But not for long, industry analysts and scientists say.

The tipping point at which the world's cleanest, most renewable resource is cost-competitive with other sources of energy on electricity grids could happen within two to five years in some U.S. regions and countries if the price of fossil fuels continues to rise at its current pace, they add.

"In the long run -- as in two to three years -- you should see competitiveness especially with the grid in a number of regions in the world," said Vishal Shah, an analyst who tracks the industry at U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.

Tom Werner, chief executive of SunPower Corp, the largest North American solar company by sales, sees such "grid parity" for solar power in the United States and elsewhere happening in about five years, or possibly as soon as 2010.

........

Under laws in 25 U.S. states and Washington D.C., solar and other clean energy sources such as wind must constitute up to 30 percent of a utility's energy portfolio in five to 15 years. Just 10 states had such requirements in 2003.

And some businesses are bringing solar to the masses. Engineers at computer maker Apple applied for a patent for solar panels that would power mobile devices like its popular iPod digital media player without plugging them in.

The 2007 World Series-winning Red Sox baseball club last month became the first professional sports team to go solar, installing solar hot water panels that will replace a third of the gas used to heat water at Boston's historic Fenway Park.

The United States -- the world's fourth-largest solar power market after Germany, Japan and Spain -- saw nearly 150 megawatts of solar capacity come online in 2007, up 45 percent from 2006, for a total of 750 megawatts, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a U.S. trade group.
That is about enough to power about 550,000 homes.

If its subsidies continue, the United States could generate as much power from solar panels as two-and-a-half typical nuclear reactors in four years -- or about 2.55 gigawatts, according to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association's data. That association sees global nuclear capacity reaching 44 gigawatts in four years -- the equivalent to the power capacity of 44 nuclear reactors.

As energy costs soar, America looks to solar | Environment | Reuters

 

[editec]

I'll happily go solar as would most homeowners...if they could afford it.

 

[Chester Burnett]

i need a solar powered air conditioner

 

[Shogun]

fuck solar per household. We have entire fucking deserts that should be turned into energy farms.

 

[cbi0090]

Solar at homes make sense because they are already connected to the local grid, they are producing power when they demand the least thus making excess for those at work, and their cost can be rolled into the home mortgage.

 

[AllieBaba]

Solar in homes doesn't work very well. They've been experimenting with it for years, and it just doesn't get the job done.

 

[BaronVonBigmeat]

Yeah, but it's really just a matter of price.

Companies like Konarka and Nanosolar are going about it in a totally different way. The traditional manufacturing process is similar to microprocessor fabrication--clean rooms and a million different steps and so forth.

These newer companies have a process where they are literally printing the solar cells onto a flexible substrate, off a machine that's similar to an inkjet printer. It will take a while before they get the process sorted out and perfected enough to get them really dirt cheap, but it's just a matter of time.

And the best part is, you can give them patterns. They can be printed to look like shingles for roofs, or like camoflage for troops, or whatever. Solar shingles will be a popular option for houses in the future, rolled into the mortgage and backed with a warranty. They won't take you off the grid completely, but they will do a fine job of negating your a/c use in the summer. That's nothing to sneeze at; the biggest part of your electric bill if you live in a warm climate, is the electricity used by your a/c. (We can talk about fluorescent bulbs all we want, but lighting is only 10% of your bill, typically.) And putting them on residential houses will also reduce the need to upgrade the grid.

I'm not as optimistic about solar farms. You need a reliable "backbone" for industry, and I think nuclear is the way to go. The issue for wind/solar will always be how to store energy at night. For solar/thermal (focus sunlight, make heat, run a turbine...not photovoltaics), I've heard about molten salt storage, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[editec]

The issue for wind/solar will always be how to store energy at night.

Pump water into reservoirs on high ground when there is excess energy being produced, thus creating a potential energy reservoir.

As needed, allow gravity to take the water down to hydroelectic generating stations.

Voila!

Of course there is a tremendous net loss of energy during the process, so your excess solar energy needs to be pretty damned excessive to make that system work.

 

[BrianH]

fuck solar per household. We have entire fucking deserts that should be turned into energy farms.

While I agree with the "potential", solar powered homes would get the energy companies off your back. If you take electricity from a giant solar field in the desert, you'll be charged for the electricity, maintenance, personell, etc... If you have solar panels on your home, you pay to maintain your own solar panel and that's it.

 

[solarefficiency]

I am not doubting the Energy potential of the Sun, however, today's solar panels are on average 20 to 30% efficient at converting the Sun's energy into electricity. That is comparable to the efficiency of most of today's automobiles which rely on the internal combustion engine. Before we rush into new technologies, we must evalute the pluses and minues of those new technologies.

The pluses of installing current technology photovoltaic panels is that they are a renewable, plentiful source of energy. As long as the sun shines there will be energy. The minues of solar energy is it is not relyable, sun doesn't always shine on rainy days, solar panels are currently inefficient, and storage of solar energy presents a problem, what happens at night time when you need light or electricity. The high cost of silicon is also a minus, as there is a limited supply and life expectancy of a solar panel is 20 years.

With all of these factors, it is clear the move to solar energy solely as our energy source today is not feasible. What is needed is the search for a new material that is more efficient and last longer at converting the sun's energy into electricity. Until we find that material, we are just shifting the problem of our energy needs from one area to another.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Solar for electricity is mediocre at best for residential purposes. But a solar hot water system is rather inexpensive and in some states eligible for tax credits

DSIRE: DSIRE Home

Since nearly a third of the average home owner's energy usage goes to heating water, a solar water heater makes sense. This mag is a pretty good resource for sustainable living

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Solar Hot Water for Cold Climates: Part II - Drainback Systems

Solar Water Heating Projects and Plans

 

[editec]

Iheat my water with my oil furnace.

No way in hell heating water costs me 1/3 my oil bill.

Throw in the energy costs for electric and I doubt it's 1/10 my overall energy consumption.

When people say "solar power" I assume that includes WIND power, yes?

 

[Chris]

Every home in America should have solar shingles and a small wind turbine. That is the most patriotic thing any American could do.

The Israelis are building the largest solar power station in the world...

Israel to Build World's Largest Solar Power Plant - Inside Israel - Israel News - Arutz Sheva

 

[Charles_Main]

fuck solar per household. We have entire fucking deserts that should be turned into energy farms.

What about the plight of the orange ringed desert shrew????

JK

 

[Shogun]

hopefully, the muadib and his fremen would understand


did you catch that article i posted today about Solar farms in the Desert supplying Europe with power?

 

[Charles_Main]

Pump water into reservoirs on high ground when there is excess energy being produced, thus creating a potential energy reservoir.

As needed, allow gravity to take the water down to hydroelectic generating stations.

Voila!

Of course there is a tremendous net loss of energy during the process, so your excess solar energy needs to be pretty damned excessive to make that system work.

Me thinks the environmentalist would fight all the those new reservoirs

 

[CA95380]

<sniplet>

Under laws in 25 U.S. states and Washington D.C., solar and other clean energy sources such as wind must constitute up to 30 percent of a utility's energy portfolio in five to 15 years. Just 10 states had such requirements in 2003.

And what happened since 2003?

Oh nevermind, I forgot! Washington D.C. was busy relocating people living in New Orleans after Katrina! Don't worry ... FEMA will be there for you when your lights go out. They have a surplus of moldy mobilehomes sitting in Arkansas ..... waiting for you to move right in! Right?

 

[Bern80]

Every home in America should have solar shingles and a small wind turbine. That is the most patriotic thing any American could do.

The Israelis are building the largest solar power station in the world...

Israel to Build World's Largest Solar Power Plant - Inside Israel - Israel News - Arutz Sheva

What on earth does patriotism have to do with it? You seem to be the only person incapable of an open mind or reason. You're not gonna get a lot of support telling people how to live their lives. This is the reason you get the crap you get on these boards. It isn't because you're a died in the wool AGW fanatic, it's your complete and utter refusal to acknowledge or objectively consider anything that you don't currently agree with. Have you considered that people disagree with you really only because you're a disagreeable person?

You get a lot of crap for your staunch AGW stance and go green or else mentality when the truth of the matter is that whether you believe in it or not, whether solar energy, wind energy, etc. works or not at the end of the day is irrelevent. While various people will disagree as to the extent things will help or hurt at the end of the day very, very few are going to disagree that we should be stewards of the environment. Whether that be cleaner energy, recycling and just plain being concientious of your impact on the environment makes no difference it is definately something to strive for.

As a country we have well passed the hump of moving on to cleaner alternatives. In the immediate future it isn't the U.S. that is going to be the problem, it is all of the developing and currently industrialising countries, like China and Inida. If you're going to insist on your my way or the highway bent, perhaps your energy would be better spent barking up their tree.

 

[Charles_Main]

<sniplet>



And what happened since 2003?

We surpassed Germany as the worlds biggest producer of wind power for one

 

[wayne]

fuck solar per household. We have entire fucking deserts that should be turned into energy farms.

And, highly skilled slaves that can produce the solar cells. How else can they be produce cheap enough?