Comments on: Can Solar Energy Completely Replace Fossil Fuel and Other Sources?

By: SolarByTheWatt.com - Wind Capacity Needed to Replace Certain Levels Current Resources Used for Electricty Produciton

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:37:09 +0000

[...] Can Solar Energy Completely Replace Fossil Fuel and Other Sources? [...]

By: I Was Too Early on Solar Power — Let’s Not Be Too Late « Spartacus

I Was Too Early on Solar Power — Let’s Not Be Too Late « Spartacus — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:05:50 +0000

[...] Solar is very close to becoming of-scale, affordable, and able to replace at least the most critical out of the poisonous ways we make electricity now. – a comment on Robert Redford’s article on Huffington Post – I Was Too Early on Solar Power — Let’s Not Be Too Late [...]

By: SolarByTheWatt.com

SolarByTheWatt.com — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:26:28 +0000

Alan, absolutely. I do not know why the people who oppose solar and other renewables think and pull an argument that 100% won’t happen overnight or it will not be able to replace everything else because it is not available 24 hours. You are right, solar (and wind for that matter) can have it’s own place in providing (cheaper and cheaper as prices dramatically drop – we will see in our further surveys) energy when they are available. It just so happens that solar capacity in terms of the 24 hours day scale peaks when the demand in the grid peaks. Plus the US (continental) has 4 times zones with the added ability export / import from Canada and Mexico, which should add to the opportunities to use the peak production whenever it is available. Technologies for storing energy are gaining pace too so that will help in that respect. You are correct that other clean sources, while solar is getting bigger can compliment for when solar and wind is not available. You mention bio-diesel from vegetable oil. What abut bio-diesel from waste oils and fats that currently are basically poisonous pollution, but when burned in diesel electric generators create times less pollution than regular sources (oil and coal).
Other cleaner electric energy sources can be used to balance too – natural gas – though not renewable is very clean and is on demand. Though I am not a supporter od nuclear to be expanded, as we grow solar and wind nuclear can be used to balance off. My biggest problem with nuclear is the security exposure.
So, yes at least for the beginning or the small portion which solar is contributing now, we see great and easy ways to compliment it so that we are not short on energy in the nights.
It is al a question of balance and step by step move towards something that is obviously beter.
You mention about price. Here is my standing – if the grid pays the solar sources as much as their product costs plus some profit, solar is so small now that every one of us now has to pay like an additional $0.000001 per kilowatt hour. Why would we not do that to simply give incentive to the solar industry? Simple right?

By: Alan Campbell

Alan Campbell — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:25:16 +0000

I have heard and read a number of times that the US can only get about 20-25 % of its electricity from renewable sources and that for solar to ever produce a large amount of electricity the US will have to have better storage batteries. I do not know exactly what those who have large solar generating are doing about the fact they can not produce electricity on demand, but one thing I was wondering about is having them get some sort of backup generation for example if someone has 10 MW worth of solar generating equipment they might get 10 MW of diesel generators that have been converted to use used vegetable oil. They could set up a system to collect used vegetable oil to have a cheep, renewable fuel supply. That way they could generate 10 MW all day long for 8 hours a day. If you look at the usage of a utilities customers you will see that usage goes up for the first part of the morning. All the peak above where solar starts producing in the morning could be taken care of by solar alone. I do not have access to any date from a utility, but I believe it would be about 20% of the total electricity used. Because the solar person above would replace 10 MW of 24 hour a day electricity with 10 MW of 8 hour a day the utility could afford to pay them more per MW and still save money.

Alan Campbell

By: WSJ.com - Let’s Get Real About Renewable Energy - Article is closed for commenst so I am commenting here. « Spartacus

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:20:19 +0000

[...] http://SolarByTheWatt.com/2009/03/05/can-solar-replace-fossil-fuels/#secondgraph [...]

By: Josh Maxwell

Josh Maxwell — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:31:10 +0000

I’ve been reading along for a while now. I just wanted to drop you a comment to say keep up the good work.