PV Gap

Jean Said:

need help with science homework?

We Answered:

Advantages:

1) Once built the cost of upkeep is relatively low
2) Environmentally friendly (not that non-renewables are as harmful as they are made out to be)

Disadvantages:

1) Extremely expensive intial build costs, if the plant only produces 2 megawatts (about 1% of a common gas turbine) it will take over 100 years to pay for itself.
2) Very low output. A plant can cover 2 acres of land and only produce 2 megawatts, the same land could have 6 gas turbines on it and produce over 1000.
3) Energy sources are not always present. The sun goes down or gets covered by clouds or the wind can die.

Edith Said:

To use screen as the solar panel?

We Answered:

A couple of years ago there was news that Apple was patenting a solar LCD screen for use in their devices.

Yvonne Said:

Is it worth getting a solar panel for the sole purpose of feeding elecricity back to the grid?

We Answered:

Can you economically break even with solar energy as an individual? Sure. It will take a while, even with support from the government, unless you have a very good electricity tariff, in which case you can't. But then you would have more money over for solar panels, anyway... :-)

The question I would ask myself is if solar energy is the best investment of my money to help the environment. In my case it wasn't, YET. For one thing, we had old appliances. Replacement of all incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent lights, a new fridge for $800 and a new washer/drier for $1000 have cut our consumption from 280kWh/month to 150kWh/month. We got a hybrid a couple months ago, which cuts our CO2 budget for commuting by more than half.

I also replaced a bunch of bulbs at work and I have optimized my computers not to run when I am not there. These measures cost only a few dollars, yet save solar panels worth $10,000.

Next thing will be to insulate the windows better for winter.

And then, some way down the road, I will invest more in solar with the goal of actually becoming a net producer at home to offset my energy use in agriculture etc.. But personally I am not doing it for financial return, anyway.

Solar energy and carbon budgeting are an economics 101 problem. One should invest money first in things that return the most the cheapest. Solar cells amortize in three to five years energetically, luminescent bulbs in probably three to six months. The new car amortizes financially almost immediately, leaving more money over for investments in other energy saving/producing technology. So if you have exhausted all your other options, go for solar. But there are usually a lot of things before that which make more sense - for you AND the environment.

Darren Said:

Does anyone have any good ideas on how to profit from climate change?

We Answered:

Re-usable, inexpensive, washable but leak-resistant grocery bags. Or, a practical contraption to allow you to safely wash zipper-type food bags in the dishwasher. Or plastic bags and wraps made from organic (renewable) resources that are bio-degradable. Imagine fertilizing corn fields by spreading a mixture of ground-up plastic bags over the top!

Tiffany Said:

Discuss the use of nuclear power as a future energy source?

We Answered:

Nuclear energy is the choice for a future energy source.Building 100's of new nuclear power plants would improve the economy, reduce or eliminate dependence on foreign oil, create jobs, reduce pollution, and provide for future technological advancement.
I have been working with nuclear power for about 30 years, I would be glad to have a Nuclear power plant or high level waste disposal facility in my backyard. My family and I live in a home within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant. (where I work)
Nuclear power has the smallest environmental impact of any current energy production method per unit of energy produced. It is base-load, continuous reliable, centralized power.
Uranium is very abundant (about as abundant as tin) on land and in the oceans. http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf75.html
Solar/wind power would be an excellent distributed power source to compliment nuclear power.
Thousands of solar and or wind powered generators at individual users could reduce the amount of power needed to be transmitted across long distances at peak power times.