Future PV tech rant…

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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #62
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    Re: Future PV tech rant…

    wow, this went far. coot, on zooming in on that area i find you are technically correct. so windsor is like a suburb of detroit? yuk.

    as to the need of pv power to replace normal power is definitely quite a bit and we'd need to get around the storage problem as well to make it near 100% primary source. many think their roof area or a small portion of their country yards can supply most or all of their power, but there are plenty of properties that this is not possible to do on it. mine is one that would never be able to supply anywhere near 100% and it gets worse when you talk of large factories (what few are left) and other large office buildings including skyscrapers. their consumption is out of this world in thinking solar could do much of anything for them. there are also some that won't even receive the full insolation due to geographics like hills and mountains thus shading areas even before weather or time of year is addressed for the colder seasons.

    i am not saying that solar is bad, but just not our panacea answer to it all. it is still not bad to think how the kwh is 10 cents per while you can have a system of pvs feeding the power to the grid at a cost of about $2 per kwh as you stated. it's more for battery backed systems oi course, but in doing the math the payback periods are nowhere near as bad as they were even just 5yrs back. solar is viable as an additional power source, but just not as a primary utility type source at this time. the way things are advancing though this can change in the next few decades or so.

    as was said the resistance to this is the utilities themselves feeling threatened that their little monopoly niche is in danger and thus their free flowing profits. another part is due to politicians having not a clue of what it is about and what is involved and that includes those in our own department of energy so these clowns listen to the utilities. don't forget that it would also be a tax loss to those in government with solar being provided as a primary source from the populace and so they will try to tax your sunshine somehow. political power and greed are the obstacles and not so much technology.
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  • mahendra
    mahendra Solar Expert Posts: 180 ✭✭✭
    #63
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    Re: Future PV tech rant…

    That very true guys,That is what i was trying to imply we may not have the best of technology as we would like but i like to think that we have enough to make things better.typical example ? For a number of years my country's politicians were very optimistic of getting a hydro power generation which would have been very beneficial and also earlier than that we were offered both wind and solar( commercial scale ) ,Which we are all capable of but they all went down the drain because of mainly politics on both political sides.I do not have the daily experience of developed countries but one blessing and i say BLESSING, underdeveloped countries have is a large degree of personal independence.Grid power has never been able to meet demands.It is unreliable,crappy and its cost is always rising.So, that's the main reasons why i have decide to go Solar.It is very expensive in fact it is much more expensive for us but it is worth it.At least i haven't bought a new tv,refrigerator,light bulbs,and i can go on.So i guess just for about a year on solar i am already seeing positives.To end my boring lecture i would like to say solar may not be our only solution but it is definitely a stepping stone,also i would like to steal from one of our post which mentioned about conservation.
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  • mahendra
    mahendra Solar Expert Posts: 180 ✭✭✭
    #64
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    Re: Future PV tech rant…

    Lol one last bit . One main problem financially here since we don't have grid connected systems ,only off grid , we sure wish someone can come up with great new batteries,in fact they do not have to be great just cheap once it is cheap enough i don't think one may have any problem replacing them now and again.Solar business is booming here and can be way better if we didn't to have to use batteries or have cheaper ones .
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  • northerner
    northerner Solar Expert Posts: 492 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #65
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    Re: Future PV tech rant…
    solar_dave wrote: »
    We really have the technology it is the will to follow that course.

    I agree, although the technology improvements will make renewable energy sources both cheaper and more efficient.
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  • northerner
    northerner Solar Expert Posts: 492 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #66
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    Re: Future PV tech rant…
    Cariboocoot wrote: »
    Ever seen an apartment building? Not every structure has the same square area to energy consumption ration available to a standard house.

    I used to live in an apartment building and I didn't like it.:p
    Again I didn't imply that just because there is enough space on one particular type of house to provide solar electrical needs, that it would apply to all buildings. Solar power plants could also be built to handle power for such places.
    Reduced reliance on fossil fuels is already occurring.

    While that may be true on a per capita basis in some areas, fossil fuel use on a global basis is actually increasing every year.
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