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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed
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To: edamo who wrote (102608)5/20/2001 5:27:27 PM
From: Art Bechhoefer  Read Replies (1) of 436258
 
>>"photovoltaic" will never become practical for large scale power generation....<<

People who think only in terms of large scale power generation have a difficult time considering small scale alternatives. The solar photovoltaic units sold by AstroPower are designed for residential use, mounted on the roof, or actually replacing roofing tiles or roof paper. They can be stand alone, in which case, as you note, a fairly expensive battery system would be needed. But most of the units sold in the U.S. are intended for connection to the grid. There is an entire housing development in San Diego that will use about 100 of these units.

People who assume that we must rely only on large, centralized generating plants obviously don't see the advantages of having solar residential rooftop units feeding power into the grid on hot afternnons, just when peak power requirements tend to be the greatest. In fact, the solar alternative is ideal for places like California and would go a long way toward reducing the rolling blackouts that now are essential until the out of state power monopolies decide not to restrict the supply of power to CA. I'm sure the Texas based power companies, who seem to be conspiring to make sure California has a continuing shortage, in order to charge higher prices, don't like the idea of solar units alleviating the problem. Nor would they take kindly to wind power, which is now competitive with conventional fossil fuel generating plants, at current prices.

Art
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