>Texas is the national leader in wind power and we have the potential to
>meet the rest of our energy needs with solar power. In fact, if we put solar
>panels on an area thirty miles by thirty miles in west Texas, we could
.generate enough electricity to power the entire state at prices competitive
.with new nuclear plants!
Hmm. Read that again, slowly. "...at prices competitive.with _new nuclear
plants_!
Ever wondered why you haven't seen any new nuclear plants in the last 30
years? Aside from the waste containment issue, they're really, really
expensive to build (more so than new oil refineries!), and that cost has to be
amortized in the retail price of the 'product'...So yeah, solar probably IS
competitive with new nuclear; but neither is an affordable or near-term
solution.
Don't get me wrong -- I'm all for encouraging, subsidizing, incentivizing every
possible form of sustainable energy. But the graph of the onset of
renewable energy does not offset the graph of post-peak-oil energy. We've
started this project way too late with way too little, and are in for some tough
times ahead.
Alex
