Posted on 07/31/2009 12:08:23 PM PDT by LuxMaker
Trial deployment being started to test the waters
Interest in solar power remains high -- as do the costs associated with deploying the technology. The field is an interesting case; costs have been progressively dropping as efficiencies have been rising. However, there's also concerns about materials and potentially easier to harvest alternatives such as wind and nuclear energy to consider. Ultimately, major adopters could help to tip the scale in solar power's favor by offering the kind of funding needed to create mass production on the massive scale needed to drop cost.
One such major adopter may soon commit to solar power -- Walmart. Known for its financial savvy and cutthroat competitive nature, Walmart has started a trial deployment at a few stores. If it deems the results acceptable, it plans to roll out solar panels on the roofs of all its stores.
That makes for a deployment of approximately 35 square miles. That in turn would result in -- estimating conservatively 3 watts per square foot -- about 3 GW of total capacity.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailytech.com ...
You don't want to know the details of what kind of water I cooked with in Alaska, while with the military. It was good and safe, when we finished, but I tried not to think of where it came from.
Boiling surface or sub-surface water is always an option, if you can't drill 160-400 ft and run a well.
Always pour boiled drinking water between two containers for a few minutes to re-oxygenate it and make it more palatable.
/johnny
I have a house built in 1985 and it isn't bad for insulation. We have NG for heat and domestic use, and the cost is reasonable for this area. Electricity for A/C but that is only used occasionally. Not too much this year especially because it's been "a year without summer" in this area. So much for global warming, I guess. Anything new I build will probably be on the water somewhere down south. SC is looking pretty good right now. We'll look at passive solar ideas if we get to that point (finances are an issue right now). I like natural lighting, so skylights and open spaces would be of interest (which is what I hear a certain ranch down in Crawford has, as opposed to a mansion in Tennessee I've heard about).
Explosives, eh? That sounds like a really "permanent" cure for hemorroids...:-)
I used the paint when I floored the attic space above my garage. My AC broke a few weeks ago and the coolest room in the house was the garage. Amazing stuff. ( also, the Carrier Infinity System’s a great AC) I’ll check out pyecrete ... Thanks :)
It was a quote provided by a residential solar contractor in the Denver area. It includes the total cost of the system. I did call a representative from the local power company who dealt with the solar installations (independent power producers). She indicated that the total cost was inline with other contracts she had seen.
However, your point is on target. These contract prices are inflated because of the massive subsidies. Without subsidies, the contract price would have been at least 1/3 lower. Who really knows the cost of the solar systems with such large amounts of subsidies involved.
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