PV Gap

Joy Said:

solar power energy operates on aircon?

We Answered:

What do you mean by aircon?

Lance Said:

What are some disadvantages and advantages of wind power/energy compared to other sources of energy?

We Answered:

Advantages:

- There are no carbon equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gas emissions once the wind turbine is built, although some are produced in manufacturing and installing the wind turbines.
- Wind has a lower cost per installed megawatt (MW) of generation capacity than some other types of renewable generation (e.g. solar, biomass).
- Wind is a mature and established generation technology, which is widely accepted by energy utility companies (compared with emerging technologies such as biomass gasification/cogeneration, which have more technical risk).

Disadvantages:

- Wind power still has a higher cost per installed MW of capacity than some conventional energy sources (e.g. coal, hydro).
- Power production is intermittent, depending on wind speed (this is also true of solar and marine renewable generation). This means that generation utilities have to either have backup generation (e.g. gas peaking plant), demand reduction systems (e.g. hot water ripple control) or hedging arrangements with other utilities in place to ensure they can deliver power to consumers and maintain the required power quality for the grid.
- Sites that make good wind farm locations (places with bare land and strong, steady wind flow) often are in remote places a long way from major electricity grid connection sites. This means there can be substantial added costs to connect generation sites to the grid.

Comparisons with Geothermal & Solar:
- Geothermal power production is a well established technology (over 100 years old) and can provide high levels of baseload (steady supply) power in large volumes.
- There are a limited number of sites suitable for geothermal power development, even in countries with plenty of geothermal activity (e.g. Italy, New Zealand, Philippines). Not all geothermal wells are suitable for commercial development because a combination of large reservoir, high heat and high pressure is needed to make power in most cases.
- There are companies developing more efficient geothermal technologies (e.g. Ormat) that allow smaller, lower heat or lower pressure wells to be developed.
- The direct heat from geothermal can also be used for industrial processes (e.g. woodpulp processing, timber drying and food processing).
- Geothermal power typically has large startup costs (tens to hundreds of millions of dollars) and for this reason is usually only undertaken by large energy utilities.

Solar:
- Solar has been used for around 30 years in commercial applications (e.g. backup power for telecommunications sites) but has only grown into the mass market in the last ten years or so.
- The cost of making photovoltaic (solar power) panels continues to drop with mass production and competition. Also, new technologies such as concentrating solar thermal and thin-film photovoltaic panels are increasing the choices available to users.
- The solar power market is splitting into two areas: utility solar plant (10MW+) and distributed solar, which includes small rooftop and community installations.

Gabriel Said:

Solar Power/Energy?

We Answered:

Something you should think of to start with is what are you going to use it for? If it is backup electric power it is the cheapest thing going. It don't need to be connected to any power line and what if the power goes down. With a solar backup system you still have power when every one else is dark.

Do you buy a car because of cost? no you buy a car because you think you look cool driving it. Or maybe because it might help you pick up a girl friend or something. But not because it is lower cost then a motorcycle to run. Solar is the same way. You get it for what it is useful for not because it is cheaper.

So comparing solar to a new car.. New cars are kewl to drive and looks kewl in your drive way. Well it is cool to have solar panels on your house. Makes you look like your are richer and smarter then everyone else. So why do people buy cars being they are not cheap to have.

1. Too much info to place in yahoo answers. I have written over 60 pages on it on my web site and only touch the edge of what you are asking.

2. Again this question is too vage and would require hundreds of pages to answer. What state. Do you want to know cost by which town? Grid electric is higher priced then solar in some states.

3. When the fuel prices and taxes are placed on the current fuel yes solar power will low enough for everyone to afford because the other would cost more. And a lot of people don't care because they rent their home and would not want to buy the panels and haul them around from house to house. It will be the home owner who pays for them.

4. I answered this one above but solar energy will be less then buying other types of fuel because the cost of other fuel will go up. The price of solar will go up but not as fast as the other types.

5. You just go buy it if you want it. It is not something that is being hid from the public. I would be happy to sell you all the solar energy you want. What do you want?

6. Solar is not going to effect transportation much at all. You will run your car from hydrogen.

7. Solar, Wind and Hydro electric power is being used together all the time.

You are asking too much in one question to get good answers. Break it up a lot or just do a search on the internet and read everything you find. there is no 3 easy steps to anything in life and solar is a very very large item. There is more to it then just a light shining on a panel and your running you tv on it. It has limits as well.

You are welcome to check my profile and go to the site listed and read all you want. There are links there to take you to other sites for more information if you need more.

Glen Said:

Solar Power Energy!!!?

We Answered:

Solar energy is energy the sun produces in the form of light, heat and other energy "wave" forms such as "gamma". Solar is a natural energy source that can be easily converted into usable forms such as heat and electricity. The sun is like a huge "fusion" power plant and the by-product is what we experience in the forms of heat and light waves. These can be used to produce heated air / water as well as a electrochemical reaction to light called photovoltaic, which converts light to electrical energy.