PV Gap

Lois Said:

PV Solar - for home hydrogen production ?

We Answered:

Natural gas is still dirt cheap even though it has risen dramatically over the last few years. As it stands, natural gas is still a waste product that is essentially flared off at the well head because it is too expensive to build a second set of pipelines and the pumping facilities to bring the gas to market. There are efforts to use portable gasification and Fischer Tropsch reactors to convert the natural gas to a form of synthetic crude which can be brought to market with the rest of the crude from the well.

It's also important to note that when Sandia Labs looked for more efficient means of obtaining hydrogen from H2O, they concluded that the process could also produce CO from CO2 resulting in a mixture of CO and H2 from which any linear hydrocarbon could be synthesized via Fischer Tropsch synthesis. It would make more sense to use the solar power to produce both H2 and CO and hence CH4 or even C8H18 (iso-octane i.e.: gasoline) in order to avoid the storage issues of hydrogen. It would also make more sense to use solar thermal as they did with the Sandia Labs CR5 reactor instead of photovoltaics. PV only converts energy in the light frequencies absorbed by the outer valence shells of the semiconductor whereas solar thermal collects energy from all wavelengths.

Note under just water pressure, the volume of the hydrogen to be stored would be much larger than the house itself, even compressed at 150 bar (2,200 psi), hydrogen gas only has an energy density of 405 WH/l compared with the energy density of gasoline of over 9,000 WH/l

It would make far more sense to use solar thermal collectors to provide for the bulk of the home energy usage in terms of water heating, residential heating and via absorption air conditioners, air-conditioning thereby reducing the size of a PV array needed dramatically. Solar thermal is currently one tenth the cost of PV and has a payback period of 2 to 5 years instead of 25 to 30 years with PV. Mind you, PV costs have been dropping very rapidly so the economics will be very different in 5 to 10 years. Of course, the profit margin for providing the most economic solution is not always the most profitable for the solar outfitting company hence the promotion of PV where installation and design requirements are minimal.

I have never heard of a large company using PV driven electrolysis as a method to store solar energy, very few companies have pressure vessels larger than their facilities. However there are many commercial implementations of solar thermal absorption air conditioning mostly because absorption air conditioners are available in commercial sizes of hundreds of tons of AC, there are very few absorption chillers in the residential sizes (the Robur unit being the only one marketed to the residential market).

Angela Said:

Do you think solar power has an undeservedly bad rap?

We Answered:

There is a new green concept that I think even the conservatives and AGW deniers can get behind if they love their country... it is called ECONOMIC RE-LOCALIZATION.

It advocates the transition back to community based services, food, energy generation, water, construction and natural resource utilization. It allows the diversity and uniqueness that has been lost by corporatization to be restored. It is a great way to create green collar jobs of every type in any community around the world.

The multinational corporations and the Wall Street elite hate this concept because it returns power to the people in more ways than lighting and heating their homes. It is a way to divide and conquer the consolidation of political and economic power that they have been working to consolidate for so long now for the benefit of a tiny minority at the expense of everyone else while they rape the planet.

SOLAR is best used as a decentralized type of local energy generation, on every roof not huge centralized systems that continue to consolidate wealth and power and turn us all into tax and wage slaves!. As well as WIND, GEOTHERMAL and HYDRO. Why do you think investment hates the alternatives?

You've been duped if you think nuclear is the solution, because you will still have to buy power from a centralized for profit supplier. And sorry, THE WASTE PROBLEM has not been solved and probably never will be.

I have 500 watts (ten 50 watt panels) of solar on my home, it is more than enough power for all my modern technology and a shop too. I choose to still be conected to the grid, because I don't like the hazzards of batteries. Right now I have a credit of $500.00 on my electricity bill. I did the install myself, and with the cost of the inverter system it came in under $9,000.00. I have calculated that based on the cost of energy from centralized sources in my area, this decentralized system paid for it's self in 4 years 2 months and is now generating a monthly profit of $45.00 for me and my family, not some Wall Street Hedge Fund Manager!!!

DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT YET ???

Wake up people, smell the green alternatives growing all around you and get with the program. Take control of your life and help promote economic re-localization! It is how we can wage peace and prosperity for all of mankind and save the planet at the same time.

Ft. Collins Colorado just made it possible for people to have their own chickens in town. Some communities are buying foreclosed homes and re-zoning for small businesses to come in and offer goods and services within walking distance of the neighborhoods that were once suburban islands, Walmart and the big box stores are very concerned... this is the beginning of economic re-localization!

When we take back our water, energy and transpration sytems, make them public and not for profit we begin to restore the COMMONS that this country was founded on. PRIVATIZATION IS THE PATH TO SLAVERY !!!

WE BEGIN TO RECREATE COMMUNITY as we travel down the path of economic re-localization. And recreate places we want to live in and interact with others in a positive way, political polerization is seen as the cruel joke the corporations have been playing on for years with wedge issues about what we do in our bedrooms! Let's dismantle the current competetive live or die don't touch me world that has been given to us by the corporate world for their greedy benefit at the expense of our quality of life, liberty, freedom and pursuit of happiness!

Rachel Said:

When will the next generation of solar energy systems hit the markets, highly efficient and cheap?

We Answered:

Nanosolar and first solar are selling panels rated at 1 dollar per watt. Thats about 4 times cheaper tha anything on the market, although i have seen chinese vendors offering poly-Si panels at 2-2.5 dollars per watt.

1 dollar per watt is similar to the costs of coal fired generation, but you wont be buying these panels anytime soon. They are sold only to power utilities. Demand is high and there are no surpluses for individual consumers. One day, as production expands, there will be.

Tiffany Said:

When will next generation solar PV energy systems hit the markets, highly efficient and cheap?

We Answered:

Solar photovoltaic panels are cheap enough right now to be a good investment with 10-15 years payback. Solar water heating is even better with payback at 5-8 years. Conventional Chinese-made solar electric panels are expected to reach grid parity (straight-up competition with fossil fuel produced electricity, no investment considerations) within 2 years.

Rosa Said:

Sourcing Solar PV (Solar Panels) Cheaply In The UK?

We Answered:

Try ebay..

Gina Said:

Would having a Solar PV, Solar Hot Water & Heat or Small Wind Turbine, SUCK or be GOOD?

We Answered:

You are correct Peace . There are many ways to have small systems and even multiple small systems . There is nothing better than selling power back to the system ...