Solar power isn't economical at present. Solar power storage even less so.

Storing coal power requires space for a pile of coal.

 

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aggressive plan of government subsidies to allow solar energy to compete fairly with oil and other fossil fuels

Solar Grand Plan, published in Scientific American in December 2007, which outlined a plan to supply 69% of U.S. electricity and 35% of its total energy by 2050.


http://cleantechnica.com/2008/06/29/molten-salt-may-be-solution-to-solar-energy-storage/


and how dose this power an 18 wheeler and dose it save one red cent on your power bill ?

 

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aggressive plan of government subsidies to allow solar energy to compete fairly with oil and other fossil fuels


By fairly you mean take money from one and give it to another; forcing consumers to pay more for both? There is not much about the free market you understand. Not much about the meaning of "fair" you understand. Not that I'm shocked. You see such ignorance from almost every liberal on this subject.

 

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Seems like the more power we can get effectively and efficiently from solar, the more oil we will have around for other critical needs and the less reliant we will be on power sources from foreign governments. Seems pretty win/win to me.


Of course, if the 3d tech takes off and some current solar designers / providers go broke because they can't compete, I expect the haters will crow in triumph about the failure of solar power and/or the waste of government subsidies into alternate energy.

 

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Why subsidize technology that we know isn't economically viable. Companies will produce whatever is subsidized. If we pay them to create bad technology then you can be certain that is exactly what they will produce.

 

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Why do you say the excess day energy can't be stored for night use?

This is assuming story was a typo.

 

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My understanding is that one problem with solar power generation has been finding a method of power storage that can deal with the various instant power demands of large populations. There have been a variety of methods in development and I know some have been successful in limited testing, but I haven't read up on it for a while so this may already be a solved problem.

 

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If the government was serious about Solar power they would have them on every roof in america

 

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It can't be stored at anywhere near the cost of coal energy.

It's a price thing.

 

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Storing solar energy is as simple as pumping water to a high place, then reclaiming it after the sun goes down.

Another recent innovation (LOL at the dude talking about 2007 - solar has advanced dramatically in the last 5 years) is the addition of quantum dots, which allows the panels to capture not only visible light, but ultraviolet. The addition of just four quantum dots increase the efficiency of a standard cell by upwards of 50%.

As far as cost competitive, in Ontario the cost of solar panels dropped 75% in the last TWO YEARS, from about $4/W to $1/W. And solar is being forced to compete 'fairly' against companies recieving billions in government subsidies.

If solar was actually competing in a 'fair' market, those subsidies would either be removed, or solar would recieve a similar benefit. I laugh at people like fist who talk about fair markets, but really just want to preserve the old ways. Solar is a real, viable technology. Battery technology is behind, but not for long.

 

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