Comments on: Catching rays + cutting emissions

By: SEOaaron

SEOaaron — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:42:24 +0000

The UK's Feed-In Tariff is currently up to 41.3 pence per kWh, so the Solar Photovoltaic market is currently booming! My system size is 3.96kWh, and should have paid for itself within the next 8 years.

By: Erik

Erik — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:05:01 +0000

The sun doesn’t shine that much in Germany either and Seattle is a bit further south (47 degrees north latitude) than Berlin (52 degrees north) so I would imagine there is a reasonable break-even point for Seattle. A lot depends on the level of the feed-in tarif. Berlin only has about 1,700 hours of sunshine per year and it looks like Seattle gets more than that.

By: Pete Cann

Pete Cann — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:36:01 +0000

Khopdi, about breaking even in Seattle, maybe you should wait a couple of years for demand to drive PV prices down. Something to keep in mind is that PV is just starting to be cost-effective for utilities/merchant generators, even when sited in an ideal location, so if it’s a win, it’s probably not a very big one.A vital question is whether you’re going to be on the grid or using batteries. Batteries suck. God how I hate them, and so did my boss. They go bad, chemically, at ant time. And even with luck, they’re said to be the most expensive part of a system. (Somebody did once mention a brand they were pleased with, I think; I forget.)On the other hand, if you’re going to be feeding the grid with a synchronous inverter, the power company won’t be thrilled that you’re an erratic source of generation, and it matters what pricing they give you. That could change and change again due to government antics.None of which is a good answer, and I apologize, but I don’t know the good answer.

By: allecoenergy

allecoenergy — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:28:47 +0000

With energy, it’s use and it’s payback, we are firmly of the opinion that it’s better to make an investment in renewable energy sooner than later and start the pay back period as soon as possible.We’ve done some research on energy prices in the UK and found that there is a distinct upwards trend. http://www.allecoenergy.com/index.php?ma in_page=cat_page&id=9&cat=HomeConsiderin g that renewable technologies have life spans in excess of 25 years, he who invests sooner will save far more in the long run than he who waits 5 or 10 years for energy prices to rise significantly. In 25 or 30 years, if you do need to replace your microgeneration source you’ll be thankful at having saved 25 years worth of energy bills (or at least reduced ones).

By: khopdi

khopdi — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:05:55 +0000

I’ve always wanted to setup PV system on my roof but I live in Seattle. Does anybody know if there is a min number of sunny days required to break even in 10-12 years?

By: Sandy Lawrence

Sandy Lawrence — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:51:43 +0000

re andrew davis “I wish everyone would understand the power of solar here int Texas. “I fully agree with you; however, I think many people in Texas realize how great solar could be, unfortunately most of us (I live in Dallas) get little to no subsidy monies, so 21,000 is way to much to spend.

By: Erik

Erik — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:41:49 +0000

It doesn’t cost German taxpayers anything. The cost for the still-higher price of solar power is paid for by electricity consumers, not the government. (The prices are falling by 10% each year so in about 5-6 years there won’t be any extra cost). The higher feed-in tariff adds about 3 percent to the electricity bills of Germans each month — which is about 2-3 euros per month. Opinion polls show 2/3rds of population willing to pay a bit more for more green electricity.

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:51:25 +0000

This program may cost the government a lot of money but it has a significant impact in the way people are thinking about energy. This program would be perfect for states like Maine who need the economic boost and truly want to reduce their carbon footprint. Thanks for an inspiring story.

By: Pete Cann

Pete Cann — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:36:54 +0000

Your use of the unit of measure kW (kilowatts) is frequently incorrect in your piece. kW is a measure of power. Many of your measurements are measurements of energy and are properly kWh (kilowatthours). (kWh/year is a measure of power.)V. True’s slamming of wind power is interesting. As I recall, my father came to the same conclusion decades ago, but for both wind and photovoltaics. I wonder whether wind is a good source at night, but utilities are starting to use LiIon batteries now, so maybe we’ll soon be able to store solar. (MIT has found that using carbon nanotubes as mechanical springs beats all present-day energy storage, presumably without deterioration, but it’ll take some development.)Another question is whether it makes more sense to use solar panels in cloudy areas, or to use them in sunny areas and build transmission lines. Here in Boston we had many consecutive gray days of rainy weather over the holiday, not unusual, so we would have needed nonsolar capacity if we were normally using local solar, and when the sun was shining we’d be paying interest on the bonds, wages and taxes for that nonsolar capacity and not getting anything.Siting solar in a desert where it’s never cloudy has reliability appeal. I think one transmission line can serve on the order of a million people. That amounts to maybe 5 lines for this state, and 300 lines nationwide (plus subtransmission within an area, which is already there). Significant, but I’m more interested in power reliability than screeching about icky transmission lines.

By: K From Canada

K From Canada — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:46:55 +0000

This is a step forward unlike other countries around the world who are still sitting on the disgusting habit of oil.