what about Solar in the pickens plan ?

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Permalink Reply by chuck christensen on July 8, 2008 at 6:42pm

I want solar on my roof! The problem is the 40k innitial outpay. Even my semi-healthy business has problems with that!

It's like the natural gas conversions for cars. It's like buying another car to get the work accomplished

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Permalink Reply by Mike Pierce on July 8, 2008 at 6:42pm

i think the cost per unit area is still pretty high so if you just try and collect what falls on your roof it ends up too expensive relative to other sources. however, big, crude and cheap mirrors can concentrate light onto the expensive solar cells and maybe be more cost effective.

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Permalink Reply by GLENN COCHRAN on July 8, 2008 at 6:45pm

I THINK CONGRESS SHOULD GIVE A $4000 INCOME TAX CREDIT IF A PERSON INSTALLS SOLAR PANELS OR WIND ENERGY ON THEIR PROPERTY. THIS WILL PUT THOUSANDS TO WORK BUILDING THESE UNITS..I WILL THEN BUY A HYBRID AND PLUG INTO MY OWN ENERGY AT NIGHT IN MY GARAGE..THIS WILL PUT THE AUTO WORKERS BACK TO WORK MAKING MORE HYBRID OR 100% BATTERY
POWERED CARS..

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Permalink Reply by mapmakerdude on July 8, 2008 at 6:47pm

Well, you have to think economically. Wind is the best way financially compared to solar. Plus, we can have someone else come up with that plan.

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Permalink Reply by stanley kul on July 8, 2008 at 6:49pm

join the solar power group

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Permalink Reply by Gary L. Hutchins on July 8, 2008 at 6:54pm

Wind power has one huge advantage over photovoltaic. Wind sites can generate 24/7, not just when the sun is out. The next challange is to figure out how you put the coal industry out of business without pissing off all those coal miners. Anybody have any statistics on how many coal miners are killed per year versus the nuclear industry?

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Permalink Reply by Lew Kohl on July 8, 2008 at 7:08pm

Not sure why the plan ignores solar, but we should encourage Mr. Pickens to embrace it. I have a 10 kw solar system on my roof, and I couldn't be happier with it. Better yet, we get all of our heat, hot water and air conditioning from a geothermal heat pump system. The geothermal pumps are powered by electricity produced by the solar. No oil, no gas, no CO2 production.
I am completely baffled why geothermal systems remain a secret.

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Permalink Reply by John Ashman on July 8, 2008 at 7:11pm

This is an ambitious program for wind and I often think of this every time I drive across Texas and Oklahoma where the wind is constant and annoying. BUT, algae biofuel is almost certainly the only think that can kill off foreign oil imports, so he's putting his money in the wrong direction to actually solve, rather than mitigate, the problem. If wind power can only ever generate 20% of the energy, we desperately need to invest in solar, nuclear and algae biofuel. THAT will get us off foreign oil and have other benefits. Nuclear is advantageous for east/west coast cities, solar for the south and algae for all vehicle fuels. And wind power for the center of the country. And coal works for backing up wind power.

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Permalink Reply by Donald Hawkins on July 8, 2008 at 7:22pm

When I watched Boone today on CNBC he was at the board with chalk and what he put on the board was good stuff. Now if my memory serves me right he drew the corridor for wind then he drew a line to the South where he printed solar. What kind of solar to the South?

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Antonucci on July 8, 2008 at 7:30pm

Solar is already a well know alternative energy source. I live in California and a lot of people have solar which works. It is expensive even with government rebates. The cost is in accordance of how much electricity you use for your house. It pays for itself and is very worth it and all of California could have solar installed and save a lot of energy. The people need to want to do it and be able to afford it. I looked into it years ago and it would have cost me $10,000.00 out of my pocket, but still worth it and the system would pay for itself. The government could pay of all of it and then allow us to make montly payments to the government. Solar companies are here and all it would take is a phone call.

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Permalink Reply by Rob Ahler on July 8, 2008 at 7:36pm

First Solar should be like the next Microsoft when Bill Gates said their goal is put a personal computer in every home. First Solar (or some other solar co.) should have the goal of putting solar panels on every roof!

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Permalink Reply by stanley kul on July 8, 2008 at 7:41pm

join solar power group and get the message out

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