@ Highup, you said
Have you seen how much barren desert we have in AZ alone? Not to mention New Mexico, Texas, Nevada and California? I don't think allocating land is a problem. We could generate all the power for the country in AZ alone me thinks.
Do you know how much China maniplulates their currency, and how much they subsidize their companys? Every government subsidizes their companys. Would you like to just sit on the sidelines and give up?
I think the movers and shakers are realizing that without manufacturing base here in the states that people will not have jobs, and people without jobs won't be buying large ticket items.
I just heard Ford is going to bring back a plant from Mehico.
Don't fight it, embrace it. Now what was that about them not working in the winter again?
And thats that.
There are a LOT of things people leave out about solar............ it has it's place I totally agree, but it's a pipe dream to a point.
First and foremost, we will
always need a 100% ...OK...OK a 98% foolproof backup for cloudy and windless days. That's a given. We cannot operate as a country without power on demand 24/7. An aluminum smelter cannot have a 2 day or even a two hour .........ooooops, the wind stopped blowing episode.
Traffic lights, airports, hospitals and you can name many, many more. The list is virtually endless.
We need ...........and currently have an extremely efficient source of electricity governed by affordability from suppliers.
Green power is kinda pretty, ....................but outrageously expensive in comparison. .......we are talkin two to 6 times as expensive especially so if you remove the never ending subsidies. Will they ever end? Will companies ever survive without them? Yes, ......maybe if we take away the subsidies and
force them make the product affordable. Maybe then will it become a reality.
The industry has made tremendous leaps in the past 5 or 10 or 40 years, but ending subsidized energy is nowhere in sight.
OK, the reality of the pipe dream.
Solar farms, no matter solar heat farms or solar cell farms have a wee bit of a problem. (many of them)
They work best the closer one gets to the equator.............. the US isn't on the equator.
The companies and "greenies" only tell us the numbers on the bright side of the subject............ ideal conditions and maximum output.
That's not reality.
For solar, they can brag all they want about megawatts per square mile, but factor that in REALITY, divided by less than a factor of 4.
On the average day, you will get a good 6 hours of good sun angle to power the stuff............... the "day" has 24 of them.
Do some math............ 100% very quickly becomes 30% 25% or less.
In the winter, some locations have these things called clouds, fog and haze, so now we are getting even
LESS now than 24% of the bragged about by the "greenies" and the companies when promoting their wares.
Wind has the same issues. The companies that promote their heavily subsidized power output do so bragging about their power per mill.......... they tell you the max power. They don't tell you the reality which includes down time and costs for repairs and maintenance, or when wind conditions are not at their peak, or totally windless or days when there is not enough wind to turn the turbines............which happens.
Again, you
MUST average these factors out over the entire "average year".
What is the average wind speed at a given location? What if it goes above the limits of the mill and they need to shut down from excessive winds?
OK, one more tiny detail.
Nukes and coal or other power sources would need to be able to instantly pick up the slack of solar or wind power that can change in an instant.
The power we all use now is from sources that cannot just flip a switch or turn a dial to ramp up or ramp down like we so easily do with a dimmer switch.
Unpredictable power surges or power losses create havoc.... be it wind that stops blowing, then starts again 10 minutes later, or clouds coming in and going away minute by minute or hour by hour............. who pays for the havoc?
No sun at night, and the wind often stops then too............ At this point we need a 100% backup system in place.......... and guess what.... we already have it.
So if we are somehow able to get as much as 20% renewable energy from the sun or wind.
We will still need our
entire backup system, (our current system), ready and waiting minute by minute day by day, year by year.
This is the pipe dream I mentioned. We will pay for our current power system since we will always need to have it ready as needed when the alternatives fail to produce.
How does a power company charge for power if some of the power demand is provided by a constantly changing and sometimes unpredictable or unreliable power source?
This is a very complicated issue, both logistically and financially.
Green will cost more......... a lot more.
........but then again, just like the subsidies to those green power companies, and subsidies to the people that purchase their products, the almighty government will (and does) subsidize these new higher costs by giving people vouchers or credits (subsidies) because they can't afford the high costs of these renewable power sources.
Heck, I worked for a doctor last year that put in some fancy new shades on his windows.
......... he
would NOT have bough them without the "energy credit" (another subsidy)
Where's my subsidy?
In ending, I do like the idea of renewable..
........... and I'd like to have some of that "free" solar and wind power ...that is if "free" wasn't 4 times more expensive than what I have now.
![MORE Luxury Vinyl Floor Cleaner for Vinyl Plank Flooring - Ready to Use, Daily Cleaning Formula for Tile, Vinyl Surfaces [Gallon / 128oz]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/413LZHZiqCL._SL500_.jpg)
