I’m still betting on whale oil to make a comeback. The next bio-fuel.
Well if the price of electricity gets up to the 50 cents a kilowatt range it might : ) But you are right, it is a suckers bet.
Of course, they aren't afraid to use nuclear energy either. Neither are they afraid to disturb the habitat of the Albertan sand flea to partner with Canada on developing tar sands either.
The day may come that they will be refining and sending us petroleum products as well.
This article makes no sense without context.
Sales are sliding because people (like me) who have spend small fortunes on them learn that they are crappy things that just don't work, need to be constantly maintained and replacement every five years, won't buy anymore. "Grid" power is cheaper and much less bother.
For all the carbon created manufacturing solar cells, you'd think they'd just build a nuclear reactor instead.
The article says 15% more Americans will learn this this year, and 24% more Europeons will learn this as well.
In other news,Brits have already learned that roof top windmills are equally useless, noisy, and generally a waste of money just like solar cells. If you want to try wind, you need to go big. That means tall towers, which are banned in most rural communities because of the visible eyesores that they become, plus annoying noises they make. (they aren't bad if you live way out in the country though)
The current state of photovoltaic cells is still relatively inefficient, and most probably, the Japanese are looking for something with a much faster payback in terms of energy produced per units of currency spent for the system. How do the photovoltaic cells distribute and store the energy produced? Is there some kind of battery charging system, or does the power from the photovoltaic cells get augmented from the availability of distributed current from the power delivery grid?
Unless the system can make the electric meter spin backward, there is not much hope for the light-energy to electricity future.
I am holding out for bioluminescence.
All that needs to be done is to set the the price to sell a KWH back to the grid higher then what is costs to purchase a KWH from the utility company as they have done in Germany, and you will have every roof in America making electricity. Germany ingenuity coupled with cutting-edge technology, now... Who would have thought of that? Luddites need not reply.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/german-sun-powers-a-revolution/2007/08/10/1186530617828.html
Japan's housing starts in November (07) plummeted 27.0 percent year on year to 84,252 units, declining for the fifth consecutive month, due to the lingering effects of tougher building regulations introduced June 20, the government said Thursday.
The annual total for 2007 seems set to slip below the 1.1 million mark for the first time in 40 yearswith the figure for January through November amounting...
I don't think you can blame PV's for the fact that they aren't selling in Japan. Who knows what those "tougher building regulations" say.
Hmmm...
You post an article showing dropping sales and state the tech will never work.
Then you state several posts into the thread that you have solar installed on your roof and are at the break even point.
People that argue with themselves like this are usually the same kind of kooks still living off the Y2K supplies stored in their bomb shelters.
Have you actually been to Japan? Few Japanese actually have a roof of their own. Those that do, do not have a lot of surface area.
I would like to have a system of my own, but here in Minnesota high sun days are rare and power from the grid is still pretty cheap.