what about Solar in the pickens plan ?
there are millions of roof tops that do nothing all day, connected to the grid .
i think we should use these to produce power as well as wind and gas
anybody have any thoughts on this ?
Why does the plan not have this in it?
i think we should use these to produce power as well as wind and gas
anybody have any thoughts on this ?
Why does the plan not have this in it?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Stephen on -
Stanley,
I think Mr. Pickens is going with wind because it's right there and cheaper than solar..
I live in the sunshine state and we have no solar panels anywhere.. You can do what the former
cia chief james wosley did.. he has solar and a micro wind turbine right off his sail boat.. they power
the whole house to back up batteries... check out http://airbreeze.com/ and maybe this option will
help you save power $ !!!!
Stephen
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Permalink Reply by Mike M. on -
After doing research on solar, I think it is an awesome solution, but it is too early to be effective in creating large amounts of electricity. Currently, solar panels are inefficient in converting sunlight to electricity, and the silicon used in the panels is becoming more scarce. As silicon runs out prices will go higher and higher. Solar will be the wave of the future, but for now it needs some work.
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Permalink Reply by John on -
While I agree with your statement, there are a few things to be considered. Number one would be the fact that solar panels although not hideous, are not the most beautiful things and most people (and probably even companies) would prefer not to have them on top of their roofs. I really think that until solar technology that doesn't stick out is released most people will not want to use it.
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Permalink Reply by stanley kul on -
there are new companies emerging like sun run in california and solar city that will put solar on your roof for little or no money down and you pay per kwh produced at rates less than the electricity companies charge i dont know how they do there contracts its some kind of power agreement for 20 years at the same rate . electricity keeps going up in price . to lock in and have no real cost it might be an alternative to buying the panels and maintaining them .
i thought it was a good idea
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Permalink Reply by Jack Harrell on -
Stanley,
Don't forget Citizenre. I know there is concern by some that the company has not succeeded in finding the funds to build the 500,000 sf factoryto manufacture all of the components needed to install the REnU Solar Electric System. Latest word from the company to the independent associates is that they are verrry close to getting up and running. Please don't count us out yet.
Solar certainly should be a part of the Pickens Plan. As you said Stanley there are millions of roof tops just sitting there receiving the power from the sun. There is enough solar hitting the earth in one hour to provide energy for the world for one year. Adding that energy to the grid is easily done with grid tied solar electric systems. Unfortunately the high upfront cost prohibits many homeowners from adoping solar. A better idea is to rent the solar system without the upfront cost and no maintenance fees. The monthly rental fee is determined by the amount of energy your home uses and is usually at par with what you are already paying for electricity each month and you can lock that rate in for up to 25 years. Reserve a system now without paying anything until the system is designed and ready to be installed. The $500 - $1000 security deposit is invested in treasury bills and returned back to the homeowner with interest at the end of the contract. Reserve your system now. More than 32,000 homeowners already have.
www.jointhesolution.com/affordable_energy
Jack Harrell
Citizenre Independent Associate
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Permalink Reply by Chris on -
Here is my thought.
1. US Energy Consumption (2005) - 3.35 TW (Tera Watt) according to [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_use_in_the_United_States[/url]. I'm sure the current usage is much higher, probably over 4 TW.
2. World Energy Consumption (2005) - 15 TW
3. How much does it cost to product 1W by solar power? $1 according to [url]http://www.enn.com/business/article/28057[/url].
4. How much is the US annual budget? $3T according to [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget[/url].
Now, here is what I think US can do to turn around the economy, reduce oil dependency, and help the environment. By setting aside a budget of $200B per year for solar plants for the next 20 years, US could completely remove the dependency of coal, oil and gas power plants even considering the annual increase of energy use. This will definitely create lots of jobs and contribute to the health of environment.
Somthing to think about...
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Permalink Reply by stanley kul on
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I'm glad this discussion is going on thank you mr, Pickens
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Permalink Reply by Mike Smith on -
Photovoltaic generation has, for many years, remained cost prohibitive for most people, given that the cost per generated Watt is now, on average, $4.82 in the U.S according to http://www.solarbuzz.com/ModulePrices.htm. There have, however, been most exciting developments in PV technology recently from Konarka, http://www.konarka.com, that produce photovoltaic elements on a printing press, using multiple colored inks on rolls of plastic that not only convert much more of the light spectrum, but do so at a much lower cost. In prototypical runs, cost per Watt is approximately $1.00, with costs in full scale production to drop below $0.50, according to information available on the Web. Fuji, in cooperation with Konarka, have developed an ink-jet printer that accomplishes the process most effectively. http://www.pv-tech.org/r_and_d/article/konarka_reveals_inkjet_thin_...
They have sized substrate that fits between the ridges on commonly available steel roofing, making it practical to make one's entire roof a photovoltaic array, at a cost acceptable to the average homeowner. Such an array would provide a substantial surplus of electrical power for most any homeowner, and is very close to production.
It is often thought that PV is only effective where the sun shines brightly, such as in Arizona and other desert states, but that is not the case. PV is not dependent upon heat but light in the form of photons. Even on a cloudy day, light sufficient to generate substantial electricity is available and, with low cost per generated Watt, the entire roof of one's home can be used.
Low-cost Photovoltaic generation is the key to our transition from fossil fuel to distributed generation of hydrogen for most needs. Prior to the work of Konarka, in conjunction with NREL, this solution was always just out of reach, but now appears to be so very close to reality, say within the next 24 months.
Please check the provided links to confirm this post.
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Permalink Reply by Gregg Schwinn on -
Mr. Pickens has nothing against solar or geothermal, or nuclear. He wants to see all alternatives built up. He just thinks this plan which takes natural gas out of electric generation and puts it towards transportation will relieve us of our overwhelming dependency on foreign oil faster. This and accelerating the development of electric and fuel cell cars will get us there sooner than most people realize.
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Permalink Reply by Eric Prigge on -
Hi Mike,
These guys are also using a printing type production process: http://www.nanosolar.com/. Very interesting stuff. $1/watt would be outstanding... and with no silicon production bottleneck.
Eric
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