[ale] Intelligent Power (was global warming) [OT]

[Jeff Lightner]

Of course if you're a utility making money selling power it might be
worth your while to say that economies of scale make solar power (and
other technologies like wind power) useless for homes.  I haven't
researched it myself but phrases like "economies of scale" always make
me suspicious unless I know 
1) Who did the research?
2) Who paid for the research?

It is not much of a surprise for example that the FDA has had to pull
drugs from the market that drug company funded studies initially
suggested were safe and effective but usage by real people proved were
not the former and in some cases (with many anti-depressants for
example) not the latter.

-----Original Message-----
From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of Jim
Lynch
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 9:07 AM
To: ale at ale.org
Subject: Re: [ale] Intelligent Power (was global warming) [OT]

Jim Popovitch wrote:
> On Sun, Mar 2, 2008 at 11:02 PM, George Allen <glallen01 at gmail.com>
wrote:
>   
>>  Say - layout a grid-array of solar panels over say... most of
Nevada...
>>     
>
> Who's land?  :-)
>
> That is one of the big stumbling blocks.
>
> I was down at a south-of-Georgia power company last week (a power
> company that invests heavily in fossil fuel, wind, solar, nuclear and
> wave research, and I had a unusual chance to discuss solar technology
> with some of their engineers.  The key take away was that todays solar
> panel technology just isn't good enough.  In order for solar power to
> be a commercially viable business there needs to be greater cell
> density (watt per square inch).   I forget the exact numbers stated,
> but it was the equivalent of needing a 1 foot square panel to produce
> what a football sized series of panels produce today.
>
> -Jim P.
> _
That's not what I've read.  Today's voltaic solar panels are running 
about $3 - $4.50 per watt.  To compete with more conventional power 
generation methods that number has to come down to $1 per watt.  That's 
about what it costs for a fossil fueled plant.  There are people that 
say some recent developments may get us there.  Besides when oil hits 
$400 a barrel, the conventional power generation methods will cost more 
than $1 per watt.  There are other solar power methods that show great 
promise and are actually being implemented.  Unfortunately due to 
economy of scale, they aren't economical for a single family dwelling to

install.  Remember Jimmy Carter was pushing solar and even installed 
solar hot water heaters for the whitehouse?  Someone took it down to 
repair a leaky roof and it never got put back up.

Jim.
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