And the profits grow

[kandrathe]

"So, 4.2 kWh / square meter is overly optimistic with this model of solar panel." Of course it is, because that number represents the total usable solar power per square meter. My calculation was based on only 10% efficiency (0.42 kWh), and it looks like your device is doing better then that.

4.2 kWh / m2 / day (15,120,000 joules) is the number people throw about as an average usable solar yield. But, we can use your number if you like. It is still an optimistic figure which does involve atmospheric interference, albedo, and angle of incidence. Check out Calculating your daily solar energy harvest. That link refers to the "redbook". So, using the PVWATTS calculator for my area, I get 4.77 kWh/m2/day.

(source)According to the US DOE, 107 million homes used 1.1399 × 10^15 kilowatt hours, or 10,656 kilowatt hours per household per year. Average US household use is 10,656 kWh(/year) / 365 days = 29.195 kWh / day.

I spend about $200 a month on electricity, so figure $2400 per year. Using the Sanyo figure from yesterday, 1.6 m2 solar panel costs $1050, or 656.25 / m -- that of course does not include the DC2AC, batteries, and other components. My household uses about 140 kWh / day (yes, I'm higher than the normal 30 kWh since I'm 100% electric), so I would need 140 / 4.77 = about 30 sq m of solar panels costing about 30 x 656.25 = $19687.5 plus the related storage and transfer infrastructure (let's say another $10k to 15k). Of course, this number is totally fictitious because a solar panel has a peak load, and this particular one peaks at 200 watts over its 1.6 sq m surface area. So, if the sun happens to offer more than 200 watts at any moment in time the excess is wasted. But, let's ignore that fact and say I can use it all. The total initial estimated cost for my 100% solar system is $34687.5, and I get to pay to maintain my own infrastructure. My break even point would never be realized unless my maintenance costs are below my grid energy costs. My instinct is to assume a 10% maintenance cost / year, or another way to think of it is to consider the systems life cycle. Is it 10 years?, 15 years?, 20 years? Now, imagine the cost if we looked at using the actual Sanyo panel which captures much less that the 4.77 kWh available. Anyway I look at it, this seems to be too expensive a solution. I'd rather pay Xcel the 5 cents per kWh to power the grid and maintain it. Centralization in this case is keeping my power costs low enough. Even though my home is fully electric, I'm not subjected to the fluctuating price of petroleum as I would be if I had NG or Fuel Oil for heating.

"If only we had more places that gave 100% optimum solar conditions for 30 days a month." No need for that. The number given is the average solar input for any location. Did you know, btw, that the world's best 'solar panels' operate quite nicely in the long dark night on the North Pole? The black skin and (specialized) white hairs of Polar bears actually work as a solar powered heating coat.

Won't solar panels covering the arctic interfere with caribou migration and polar bear hunting? Isn't that the excuse for not taking 1000 acres of ANWAR to tap into the 3rd largest petroleum reserve in the world?

"The fact is that disposal of the remaining waste is a solved problem, mostly solved by the French." You mean turning it into ammunition and spread around the world? Or store it somewhere and hope nothing happens with it?

The French reprocess their spent fuel to reclaim about 95% of the usable fuel to return it back into the fuel cycle. A yearly waste output from a French reactor is about 700 kg of waste, which they allow to cool, pulverize and seal in molten silicon for long term storage. Put on your chemistry hat. How much mercury is released from a coal fired plant in a year? How about arsenic? How about cadmium? How about lead? Ok, where and how carefully is coal waste (fly ash) stored? Now, how would you track the heavy metals contaminations from the millions of tons of coal waste as they leech into ground water? How would you discover if nuclear waste (which is planned storage) is moving?

Check out this article discussing the radioactivity of coal combustion. Do some googling on heavy metals contamination due to coal combustion to discover how big a problem we have.

"(solar power is) something that's still failing to prove itself after more than four decades of development."

Seems to me that the device that Kandrathe described works pretty well. Even without the huge investments that went into other forms of energy production. And as you said, delocalized application has benefits that could never be reached with nuclear power. Btw, I've explained before (on this forum) why solar power isn't popular for investors.

It's not popular for informed investors. But for the "feel good" crowd trying to assuage their consumption guilt it seems to fit. Much like Mr. Gore's company that will sell you eco-indulgences, or as they refer to them "Carbon Credits". It's nice that he gets to make a profit from forgiving his own usage. Check out the people behind Generation Investment Management LLP and Native Energy. Using the handy calculator, I could assuage my eco-guilt for about $50 per month. [sarcasm]Now, if only some newly elected President would mandate that everyone pay for their eco-guilt.[/sarcasm]

He does say Uranium will last at most 800 years. That's if we manage to find every last atom on earth. Personnally, I think the supplies won't be able to cope with demand long before then (not even speculating on the price of that last atom).

Again, why fixate on Uranium. Many atoms are fissile, or fusible releasing many Mev per atom.

Do we really want to continue 'burning up' resources? Oil, coal, uranium, thorium, our own food...

I'm sorry, I don't understand the question. What is eating, and breathing? What would you use to craft the solar panels? I enjoy having a fire in the fireplace once in awhile. I like using transportation to get to work. I enjoy the fruits of industry. How many hydrogen atoms would I need to fuse into helium to offset my lifetime power consumption? We really don't have a shortage of energy on Earth, just a lack of knowledge and the willpower to extract and use it. Consider that according to E=mC^2, 1kg of fissile or fusible matter will yield 10^17 joules / kg. My household uses 504,000,000 joules per day, meaning that 1kg of matter will power my home for 198,412,698 days, or about 543,596 years. But, I would only need enough for about 100 years, or about 0.184 grams of matter. Would you spare me that much?