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To: chimera
True.

But by reducing the amount of power needed at peak air conditioning times we can put off construction of expensive major power plants.

Solar power doesn't quite make sense on any level, but it is getting closer...
93 posted on 09/07/2002 9:57:34 AM PDT by null and void
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To: null and void
But by reducing the amount of power needed at peak air conditioning times we can put off construction of expensive major power plants.

But not forever. A technological society with a reasonable standard of living will always need baseload power. Peakers won't do it. They're fine for filling in the gaps but just aren't up to the challenge of running full out for the long haul. For that, its hard to beat large baseload units, like nuclear or coal-fired facilities.

Another thing a lot of people don't know about peakers, and that is their incremental costs are high. You can get a reasonably low cost on fuel and dollars per kilowatt of capacity installed for things like gas-fired turbine units, but by nature peaker units sit idle a lot of the time waiting to be called upon to fill in demand. When idle, they generate no revenue. But you still need to pay your loans to build the units, and have a crew available to run it and maintain it when necessary, whether the unit is operating or not. Thus, on the basis of cost per kilowatt of output over a given period, the costs can be quite high.

Same with PV arrays or windmills. You don't stop paying the capital costs when the sun don't shine and the wind don't blow. The bank still wants their payment.

97 posted on 09/07/2002 5:07:08 PM PDT by chimera
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