PV Gap

Sean Said:

I want to start a small business on solar power or green technology.Anyone know of a business I can start ?

We Answered:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/homebasedfra…

I visit this site all the time for information.
They have a section for franchises and home based business.

First get a P.O. Box address if you are going to have any information mailed to you. You don't want junk mail in your mail box if you are not interested in the material.

Good Luck!

GREAT WEBSITE!

Alfredo Said:

Why is Spain so far ahead of us(US) in solar power technology?

We Answered:

Because their gov't will subsidize small potatoes non-economic power generating schemes that have serious reliability problems.

The project in Spain you refer to is 11 megawatts. One turbine alone at Hoover Dam generates 122 megawatts. Hoover Dam ranks #34 on the world list of hydroelectric dams.

So these solar projects are little more than curiosities, and of little interest to the US that needs a zillion watts of non-interruptible power just to run all the data center servers in California.

(Your third reference is a project in California, not Spain.)

Timothy Said:

Can anyone give me examples of "solar power technology junior stocks"?

We Answered:

FSLR - First Solar - has chip stocks listed as its competitors by Yahoo Finance. Can't get more high-tech than that.

Monica Said:

What are your thoughts on solar power technology?

We Answered:

solar power is awesome - electricity bill is down considerably and a major investment with high returns.

the panels used are large and gives the roof "rabbit ears" - small as a cell phone would be nice.

Rene Said:

Is it economical to use solar power yet or is the technology still priced to high?

We Answered:

Solar Energy as a sole form of energy is not economical for the entire house. You might check into: http://www.geoexchange.org/pdf/cs-032.pd… as to some ideas about Geo Thermal home in Louisiana.

Their home, highly efficient, used around 1,184 KwH (Kilowatt Hours) monthly. I took a look at Solar Home.org and a 140 Watt solar panel was around $1000.00. You would need roughly 10 of these to power a highly efficient home. At a cost of 0.09 KwH it would take you roughly 94 years to make up the cost. I would take a look at offsetting the solar panels with GeoThermal.

You will have much greater savings putting your money into proper insulation, good windows and effecient heating and cooling. As well as how the house is orientated in reference to the standard winds and solar loads and trees to shade the house in the summer and block the wind in the winter.

Seth Said:

Is residential solar power technology mature enough to purchase?

We Answered:

My friend installed 18 months ago a 7Kw (of 33 Sharp panels) system for $43K USD ($50K Canadian?). Don't feel bad about long payback. He is 68 and won't see the return, probably. And he is prevented from selling back power to the grid, as it is a corporation, not government owned. They don't want his excess power at any price. And even though he has minimal electric usage (nights and clouds), he is still charged the distribution fee and a minimum usage fee every month.
Future panel tech may lead to "printed" panels of exotic inks rather than "grown" crystal ones. That might cut the cost per Kw to 10% of today's.