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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (61967)	4/27/2008 7:39:40 AM
From: Bearcatbob	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541777

Mary - forget oil for electricity. Think coal. "or have the cost of oil go through the roof." Bob

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (61967)	4/27/2008 12:50:17 PM
From: Cogito	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 541777

>>I have a stake in solar (FSLR) having been in it for more than 1 year, but I have yet been able to do the math. My sense is that it is not there yet on a purely mathematical basis. My bet is that it will get there. Of course the sooner the better. My sense is that it could take longer than we would like but once we get there it becomes a game breaker - it will take off like the Internet. << Mary - First Solar (FSLR) makes photovoltaic solar modules. As work continues on photovoltaic modules, the cost is coming down. You are correct that we are not there yet, in terms of an absolute cost parity between photovoltaic and coal. Photovoltaic solar installations are best suited for distributed appliciations, such as private homes and buildings. However, there is also solar thermal technology, which is better suited to large scale power plants. Solar thermal power plants have several advantages over photovoltaic. First, they cost less to build, since they use standard raw materials. Second, some solar thermal designs allow for the storage of solar heat, so they can continue to produce electricity even after the sun goes down. Solar One, a 64MW solar thermal plant in Nevada, went online after just a one year construction schedule, providing electricity for 15,000 homes. It provides electricity at a cost of roughly 15 to 17 cents per megawatt, but cost parity with conventional energy is expected within 12 years. Nevada is subsidizing the cost for users, so they will be paying 7 cents a megawatt. Cost parity has not been achieved for solar energy, but it's very close. Considering all the other advantages - no pollution, unlimited supply of the source energy - it seems like a winner to me. - Allen