--- In [email protected], "jim_flanegin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "sparaig" <sparaig@> wrote: > > > > --- In [email protected], Rick Archer <groups@> wrote: > > > > > > on 8/15/06 6:55 PM, jim_flanegin at jflanegi@ wrote: > > > > > > >> >If solar were affordable and widespread, > > > > I'd buy it without question. > > > > > > > Any experts on solar here? I know a couple of people who¹ve put > solar panels > > > on their roof. Is it the kind of technology that is evolving so > rapidly > > > (like computers) that if you wait a year or two you¹ll get > something twice > > > as good for half the price? > > > > > > > Unfortunately, I believe that solar power is quite mature, so the > price isn't going to change > > much. Now Cold Fusion, on the other hand... > > > > What will work in terms of bringing the price down with solar is > massive government investment for mass production.
Not necessarily actually. It may, and would in the short run, increase the production costs of solar units. That is what has happened over the past couple of years as solar demand has moderately accelerated. The high quality silicon needed for most types of solar panels has been in short supply and the price of it has gone up dramatically. Along with the cost of panels. As part of past jobs, I used to analyze the relative cost-effectivness of power plants, renewables and end-use effficiency (aka dmand-side managment -- compact flueroescents being an example of such). 15-20 years ago, it was clear that if the cost of natural gas (the fuel of a majority of new and proposed power plants) doubled, photovoltaics would be more cost-effective. But in just the last five years natural gas has nearly tripled in price. yet, solar is still not competitive -- without incentives. Why -- the increased demand on soalr has increased the demand of high purity silicon -- and its price has gone way up. Thus an immediate large scale- gov't induced renewables plan (see adjacent post) where wind and solar saturations hit 20-60% of all homes and businesses in 5 years) could cause solar PV panels to sky-rocket in price -- short run. But it would accelerate research on other PV methods (using lower grade silicon, or gallium arsenide) or other solar technologies -- hydrogen conversion, solar heat turb ines, etc. long-run, prices could hit increased lows as massive research, spurred by very strong, sustained and high price signals, began to payoff with new technologies. >This is the way > the oil-fed economy is kept going. Massive tax breaks and incentives > for oil companies. Remember the story widely reported a few years > ago that Exxon paid *zero* federal income taxes on billions worth of > revenues? If the same thing were done for solar, we'd eliminate our > dependence on foreign oil in I'm guessing 10-15 years- > To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
