Lets see, where I live I consume 63kw/24hrs for 280 days of the year. So under ideal conditions with tracking arrays I would only need 126kw array to meet my daily need? (Night time remember!)
But, even with tracking my best guess recovery is not 1kw/m2 but 650w/m2, goosh that is more than my home cost, when you even consider solar at $1 a watt. Get real, until solar gets to $0.15/W (installed), it is stupid to consider it for domestic use unless you live on the Sahara. My 25 cents look at solar. -----Original Message----- From: Jones Beene [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 2:27 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Vo]:Stirling Demo Horace > Not at all. My argument was based on current cost per watt. This is a > highly subsidized sweetheart product development deal. All solar before 2006 has subsidized, especially photovoltaic. Here are current retail costs from solarbuzz: Average price in the USA in July 2007 - NOT installed, but just the module - is $4.84/watt. The installed cost for homeowners for a guaranteed turnkey operation is probably double that. The wholesale prices discount can be 30-40%. The module cost represents around 50 - 60% of the total installed cost of a Solar Energy System, depending on size. All prices are exclusive of sales taxes or subsidy. Subsidies have been abolished in many states, but not sales taxes which can add 8-20% to the prices. http://www.solarbuzz.com/moduleprices.htm As of July 2007, there are currently 192 solar module prices below $4.75/Wp or 13.2% of the total sample. This compares with 218 prices below $4.75 per Watt in June. The lowest retail price for a multicrystalline solar module is $3.95/Wp from a US retailer. The lowest retail price for a monocrystalline module is $4.30/Wp (€3.14Wp), also from a US retailer. The lowest thin film module price is at $3.00/Wp from a US retailer. As a general rule, it is typical to expect thin film modules to be at a price discount to crystalline silicon (for like module powers). [thin film may not last as long] IOW the *current* unsubsidized price of photovoltaic appears FAR in excess of $2.00 watt, as best I can determine - but you seem to differ. BTW - One thing that than an apple-to-apple comparison must include is the lack of tracking for panels. This lack of tracking can mean that in the course of a day, the actual wattage of electricity for panels is a fraction of the faceplate (half as much has been mentioned). Has that been factored in ? At any rate, to get to this magical $1 watt figure - you seem to quoting projections and estimates from companies that have never shipped product, rather than current prices. These estimates are notoriously unreliable - especially when they come from PR releases - and from PR designed to raise venture capital. Jones
