RE: [Vo]:U.S. Freezes Solar Energy Projects

[Lawrence de Bivort]

Years ago, the EPA was given the mandate to carry out environmental impact
assessments on large federal projects. It would have been prudent and
forward looking for EPA some years ago to have studied the impacts of
large-scale solar paneling. There was nothing -- except a lack of
responsibility and forethought -- to stop them doing so.

These impact statements are fairly rigorous efforts, involving 1) a study of
the technology, 2) a study of the environmental (defined broadly) secondary
and tertiary impacts, and 3) extensive processes for public comment and
influence. Thus the two-year estimate, and I have seen them drag on far
longer if the public parties dispute the study findings.

My guess is that there is plenty of room for constructing solar farms on a
trial basis and using them to study the impacts, while at the same time
beginning to generate appreciable amounts of electricity.  

But best of all, in my opinion, would have been an administration that was
capable of thinking effectively about the future of energy in this country
and of proactively launching superior solutions, accompanied by the
necessary regulatory studies and procedures for using the requisite public
lands.

Lawrence




-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Carrell [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2008 3:39 PM
To: vortex-l@eskimo.com
Subject: Re: [Vo]:U.S. Freezes Solar Energy Projects

No need for apoplexy, don't blame the administrators, they did not make the 
rules and Congress and the greens had only the best of intentions when 
lobbying for the protection of the land and all the green and creepy things 
thereon. When your are promoting a technology that may lead to covering 
square miles of land in our thirst for energy, it is well take a look at the

environmental consequences of doing so. *Not* doing so got us where we are.

The informaltion about Nanosolar with printed PV with 14% efficiency looks 
most interesting, but you need to deploy a few square miles to find the 
'gotchas' through wind, sand and rain.

Meanwhile watch Blacklight Power over the next few years. Utility-scale 
reactors are on their ajenda. Hydrogen from water.

Mike Carrell