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To: yard_man who wrote (102184)	5/15/2001 9:32:33 AM
From: Art Bechhoefer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

tippet--solar and wind power might be somewhat erratic in a stand alone system, but are economically feasible when connected to the grid. My son just completed a design for a wind power facility designed to produce between 5 kw and 15 kw in winds varying from 6 knots to 40 knots. The equipment relies on software that feeds power into the grid whenever the output of the system exceeds the power requirements of the residential or small commercial user. The windmill runs at a constant speed, continually regulated by the amount of power going into the grid. On the rare occasion that the grid is knocked out due to a storm or other event, the windmill will either heat water, such as a swimming pool, or shut down. Because of the unique software and other features of the system, it can be built for $6,000 and can offer a reasonable pay back period to the owner. Obviously, a wind power unit works well only in areas where there is a fair amount of wind most of the time, and many places qualify. As for solar, the most economical units are now made by AstroPower, a Delaware based company with a patent on the manufacture of crystaline silicon on large sheets, rather than on individual wafers. The large sheets eliminate many of the wired connections between smaller cells, making solar for the first time competitive at a price of about $0.18/kwh. Solar power units connected to the grid are ideal for reducing peak power requirements, such as occur in the afternoon on hot days, when air conditioners are running full blast. A lot of people may pooh pooh the relatively small size of these solar and wind units, claiming that a few kilowatts here and there are not going to change the overall demand for power measured in thousands of megawatts, as might be produced by nuclear. But one advantage of small units is that you have many of them, and less chance of a single failure in a big system depriving everyone of power. The point is that both solar and wind are now economically feasible, given the higher prices for conventional power. Instead of subsidizing oil and gas exploration or nuclear power, the government would be far better off providing low interest loans, tax credits, etc. to encourage the production and sale of solar and wind units whose innovative designs make the U.S. once again a leader in this power technology. Another aspect is that if we are able to rely more on solar and wind, which are inherently clean technologies, then it makes the pollution from traditional fossil fuel sources less significant, as those sources would supply a lower percentage of total power requirements. At a time when our manufacturing plant utilization is running at a very low 78 percent of capacity (really a recession figure, since normally one looks for about 83 percent), we ought to be thinking about switching that excess capacity to solar and wind production. Art