2009/9/17 Jed Rothwell <[email protected]>: > He did not mention any of the problems with photovoltaic devices such as the > long energy payback time.
Not any more Jed! It used to be a significant portion of the ~25 years lifetime, but with new thin-film technologies it's only months now: http://www.nanosolar.com/power-plants/ground-mounted "In fact, each Nanosolar panel pays back its lifetime energy usage (including decommissioning) within 3 months of operation." The way they mount their panels on large flat rooftops is surprising, it's an unusually low tilt design, see: http://www.nanosolar.com/power-plants/large-roofs Michel
