Solar is competitive

FluffyMcDeath said:
I've thought about that too. The upside is that strategically done you may be able to tap heat in such as way as to reduce the likelihood of eruption - but then again - just installing the infrastructure could set something off.

On the positive side, who the heck is going to be left to sue you either way? :)
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Exactly on all points. You certainly wouldn't want to trigger an eruption, if that is possible. AFAIK this concept hasn't been looked at, so why not have the best geologists in the country and/or world look at it? On a human energy needs level, this is an unlimited free power and clean power source. Free in the sense of the energy itself, not the infrastructure. You just have to tap into this free power source.

The utility companies are powerful entities, no different than the fossil fuel companies. I have no love for them, and actually hate the electrical utilities more than the oil companies by a far margin. If Uncle Sam put them out of business and did a socialist federal power company, it couldn't be any worse than the current situation of localized monopolies with guaranteed profits. There is no free market capitalism when it comes to electricity, and it is getting worse as time goes by.
 
redrumloa said:
I like solar, but on a really large scale the US should go geothermal. More specifically, we should build the world's largest geothermal plant by far in Yellowstone park. Put the crooked regional electrical utilities out of business and power as much of the entire US as possible from Yellowstone.

Before you say how terrible to treat a natural park this way, know that Yellowstone is a literal super volcano that scientists think is past due to erupt. If/when it does erupt it could kill 2/3 the US population in a few months and possibly much worse globally.
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geothermal is quite practical

87 percent of Icelands heat and hot water demand is met with geothermal energy and 25 percent of its electricity demand is supplied by geothermal power.


High-profile Icelandic blogger Lára Hanna Einarsdóttir says that everyone in Iceland “will pay” if the electricity is exported. Instead she wants to keep the resource within the country’s borders for future generations
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totally clueless, its impossible for man to change the earth's temperature around an active volcano. Extract all the geothermal you can get, export it if you can convert it to something that can be exported

18 volcanos have erupted on Iceland since human settlement began circa 900 CE. There are 130 active and extinct volcanic mountains on Iceland

Laki and the adjoining volcano Grímsvötn erupted over an eight-month period between 1783 and 1784 , pouring out lava and clouds of hydrofluoric acid and sulfur dioxide compounds that killed over 50% of Iceland's livestock population, leading to a famine which then killed approximately 25% of the island's human population. The Island was almost abandoned, and all inhabitants evacuated

The Laki eruption and its aftermath caused a drop in global temperatures, causing crop failures throughout Europe and droughts in India. The eruption has been estimated to have killed over six million people globally


redrumloa said:
If Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, two-thirds of America will be left uninhabitable

As much energy as we can extract out of the ground could delay such an event.
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If Yellowstone does erupts again, it will be at a new location to the northeast of Yellowstone, in Montana
Yellowstone Park is where the last 3 eruptions have taken place


HotspotsSRP_update2013.JPG
 
metalman said:
There are 130 active and extinct volcanic mountains on Iceland
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OT: I'm just back from a mini tour of Iceland (four stops around the island over five days) and thoroughly recommend a visit.
Spectacular place and, as you say, apart from transport, their energy is pretty much all renewable.
 
Robert said:
OT: I'm just back from a mini tour of Iceland (four stops around the island over five days) and thoroughly recommend a visit.
Spectacular place and, as you say, apart from transport, their energy is pretty much all renewable.
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Friends visited Iceland last year and they LOVED it.

They also have been using their solar panels all this year and they LOVE that too.
 

Self-sustaining solar house on wheels wants to soak up the Sun​

Students from the Netherlands will take their new solar ride 3,000 km to Spain.​

The Stella Vita hits the road.

The Stella Vita hits the road.

The Stella Vita can go 730 kilometers (450 miles) on a sunny day, assuming none of the amenities inside are used. According to Ter Horst, the vehicle's battery can be charged to full in between two and three days, though it depends on how clear the weather is. So the vehicle is really made for tours that include extended stops. But the battery can also be filled up at electric vehicle charging stations if it’s particularly cloudy out.
 
cecilia said:
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I thought this was fair enough and a good watch until the end where he seems to have lost the plot and went on to sharpen political knives. Assuming the details are correct, 4/5ths of this video are not too surprising. There are some lingering concerns on the supply chain and disposal, but solar with battery backup absolutely SHOULD be competitive and used. I don't know about the AU, In most of the US we have an incestuous relationship between state governments and electrical utilities. They have guaranteed profits including guaranteed safeguards against shortfalls in profit due to act of god, or blind incompetency. Enough on that for now.

The end of the video just glosses over contentious "muh global warming" subjects and even Rupert Murdoch related news outlets. It's almost like in wrestling terms he is making him go from "heel" to "babyface" for embracing solar. To me this is ignoring the obvious. People like him only care about money and nothing else. If the easy public money is in some hot button "renewable" with no recourse should it fail (see Solyndra), they will follow it and pretend to be part of it all along. There's a new cash cow to slaughter. Those of us out here working 9-5 trying to eek out a living are not part of the equation and will never be. It's just a new market to exploit.
 
For the record, I'm intrigued by the idea of going solar. More from a geek standpoint than any real savings (because of the startup cost) but frankly, I can't afford the 20k to 30k for the purchase and installation of solar on my home. It's on my list though, right behind "swimming pool"...

There are dozens of "we'll install solar for free for you" companies, but having done a bit of research, nothing is free and if I ever wanted to sell my house, I'd have to pay for the panels at the new price, even if they had been installed for 20 years..
 
I have been interested in going solar here in Florida. As a place of constant sunshine, it would seem the perfect place to do so. The problem is, the cost of conversion for even me (2100 square foot house) is upwards of $25,000 up front just to do so. $25,000 would pay for utility bills here for pretty much the rest of my life at the moment, even with high energy costs.
 
Haha, didn't see my previous post from like 2 years ago saying pretty much the same thing... :D
 
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