U.S. works to speed solar energy development in the West »
Posted By STONERS 5 months ago in Political News
The Obama administration on Monday announced that it would put solar energy development in the West on a fast track, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signing an order that sets aside more than 1,000 square miles of public land for two years of study and environmental reviews.
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STONERS5 months ago
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"President Obama has promised to promote the use of federal land for the production of alternative energy and has set a goal of obtaining 10% of the nation's electricity from renewable sources by 2010. Salazar vowed to have 13 "commercial-scale" solar projects under construction by the end of 2010."
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BB645 months ago
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In a time where money is in very short supply, why would we ever consider building a solar power plant. It's unreliable, the average plant only produces power 20% of the time. The battery or capacitor storage required are not environmentally friendly and a bigger hazard than a coal or natural gas power plant.
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I think if a state or community feels they need to build a plant like they, they should pay for it themselves. Not the tax payers. Raise the money through the sale of bonds like any other power plant. -
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UnusualSuspect5 months ago
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wolfie...
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You negged this story, too?
Whad's tha matta wid you...got a garage full of gas guzzlers...you like breathin carbon monoxide...you like see'in smog in our cities and our purple mountain majesties?
Republicans/conservatives...follow their course and we're all doomed! -
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simonsez5 months ago
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BB:
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Maybe you can answer a question ... these huge solar farms absorbing huge amounts of light and heat that normally would be reflected back up ... is that going to be a problem in the future?
Could we actually "cause" excessive ground level warming with this technology?-
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BB645 months ago
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I'm more concerned about the energy required to build and maintain the plants and their impact on the environment. Since there are few cities located out there, you will have to have a city built near by to house your staff. When you have power available, you have to send it somewhere. That means power lines, grids and other support systems. This isn't like changing a light bulb, you're creating a new energy producing grid. It's a major undertaking that would take decades to actually implement. We're talking 20 years possibly. We will spend almost as much on the building of the plant as the legal fees. You will have your save the desert crowds that would never permit 100 feet much less thousands of miles of roads and infrastructure. This will never get off the ground. That plus, I'm still confused with the math. The technology being claimed exists currently doesn't outside of a lab environment.
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My other question hasn't been mentioned. What is the plan for the recycling and waste containment? I think it's a whole lot of money for an unreliable system.
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Wolfie20075 months ago
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Wind and solar will never produce enough energy to power even 10% of the electricity used in this country. The biggest problem for both forms of energy is neither can be stored. This is very important because the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine. This is just another boondoggle designed to make some folks tons of money but leave most of us poorer. After the scam has been discovered and trillions have been spent, we will have to return to nuclear and fossil fuels for power unless there is a major, and I mean major, scientific breakthrough coming down the pike soon!
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cleare5 months ago
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perhaps you nay-sayers have no imagination or vision. if it had been left to you mankind would never have climbed everest, landed on the moon, built the panama canal and so on.
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10% to 20% energy production for now; if we fund more projects we will achieve ever greater efficiency. battery technologies are evolving... as are solar panel and wind turbine technologies.
20 years ago there was little evidence of the proliferation of powerful personal technologies we all now have at our fingertips...cell phones, computers and iPods.
we MUST invest in fully exploring all energy options. i'm thoroughly fed up with being held hostage to mid-east oil and the vagaries of transnational oil companies.-
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simonsez5 months ago
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It WAS left to us, cleare. We accomplished everything you have and enjoy today including picking up the tab for the top notch educations of your savior and his "finally proud" wife.
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You will miss the low cost and stability you have received from oil companies for the last 60 years. This incredible danger to the planet called oil has allowed for the development of technologies that have brought us to where we are today. You will never have a better deal on energy than you have now or will have in the future.
You may find that all these alternative sources do not live up to their hype. You may discover that building better and better batteries in huge quantities are more detrimental to the planet than their predecessors. They very possibly might turn into a nightmare to dispose of, once used.
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NoWayMan5 months ago
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solar power is the inevitable answer.
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get used to it naysayers.
Fact: The amount of sunshine energy that hits the surface of the Earth every minute is greater than the total amount of energy that the world's human population consumes in a year.
"I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait till oil and coal run out before we tackle that."
- Thomas Edison, 1931-
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BB645 months ago
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I would agree but the technology doesn't exist for what you're trying to create. You will take over thousands of miles of property. You will build about a million miles of roads. You will build thousands of towers and run over a million miles of cable. You will need to build thousands of substations with hundreds of thousands of oil filled transformers. And that's just the new power grid or infrastructure needed. Then there's the solar farms themselves. I've seen someone claim they would only need 100 miles of panels. With current technologies available, it would take a great deal more than that just for California in the winter.
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At this time, keep your current systems operational and add where needed. Again, coal, hydro, gas or nuclear. Keep the research in private hands because that's the only way you will get any of that done successfully. Tom Edison would agree there. Had government stepped in, we might never have had the light bulb, motion pictures, automatic electric switches or anything else. Profit motivated him as much as creativity and curiosity.
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GehlLady5 months ago
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I have very high hopes for solar, but I'd like to see the same zeal applied to the disposal of the inevitable waste products that come with it.
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I'd also like to see better incentives for businesses and homes, panels on every parking garage and suitable commercial buildings. Would we really need such large installations if most buildings powered themselves?
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