Re: Cheap Solar Power Coming

On 12 Mar, 10:01, "Mark Williams" <spam...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Mel Rowing" <mel.row...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
What will be the cost of keeping these acres of palastic reasonable
clean? Free of ice/snow?

With the right materials and a sloping roof, a lot less than maintaining gas
turbines or coal fired boilers.

I don't know of a material that doesn't get dirty. I don't no of a
material that will not get covered in snow (at a time when its output
is most urgently needed)

We are not talking of teams of mechanics routinely servicing
machinery capable of producing hundreds of kilowatts of energy 23/24
hours against the value of which the maintenance cost pales into
insignificance. We are talking of ad hoc maintenance carried out by
householders some of them certainly elderly scrambling about on roofs.
Even the prospect is a little frightening.

The history of power generation in this country has followed a trend
which began with individual units rated at no more than a few
kilowatts to units rated as 1 or 2 GW. This trend was forced through
considerations of economies of scale.
Where is the commercial sense in reversing that trend?

The trend came about from having centralised sources of energy such as gas
fields, coal mines or nuclear reactors, and the costs of distribution of
electricity were much less than the savings from economies of scale and the
need to distribute fuel to small power stations. The commercial sense in
reversing the trend comes from the physical reality that renewable energy
sources, such as wind, solar or biomass are by nature distributed, and that
local generation and use, in large part avoiding transmission is more cost
effective than centralising electricity generation.

And solar and wind sources in particular also have low energy
densities. Why did the old millers install steam engines if they got
the wind for free? Why did shipowners replace sailing ships with
steamships? Why did the olde mill stream turn into a hydroelectric
power station?

As a matter of fact the next village has a mill stream which flows
right through the village. There it is water flowing as fast and as
clear as it did 200 years or more ago. Not one property alongside take
advantage of this free energy available. The old mills have become
swanky houses and tourist shops.


If you want to see plenty of examples of renewable energy producing cost
effective electricity without subsidy, I am happy to show you.

Well if you can do that then no doubt you can explain to me why
governments (note the plural) oblige the distribution companies to
accept every unit of "renewable" or "alternative" energy offered at a
premium price? Why can't the brutality of the market place resolve
these issues?

These houses in Germany, Do they all have roofs with a south facing
pitch?
els
Most buildings have four sides

And its most unusual for each side to exactly face one of the major
points of the compass. A south facing roof would be best at a pitch
angle equal to the angle of latitude. Deviate from these parameters
and efficiency falls off exponentially.

Up the road from where I live the Forestry Commision have built a all
singin' all dancin' visitor centre. It's supposed to be "fully
sustainable" employing wood chip fuelled boiler (bugger all the wood
tar in the smoke) solar panels and the obligatory windmill.

As I say it's supposed to be sustainable. Unfortunately the guy who
reads the meter there also reads the meter here and we give him a cup
of coffee.

Mind you things would be a little better if the solar panels were not
arranged facing on an east-west line and if the windmill were
positoned on the ridge of the valley and not in the bottom. Still
there's no telling some folk!


.

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