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You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > Solar power now cheaper than coal and oil

Solar power now cheaper than coal and oil
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nonhuman
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Dec 24, 2007, 04:53 PM
 
Nanosolar is now shipping their new solar panels. Cost? 30¢/watt to produce, down from about $3/watt. Cost to buy? 90¢/watt. So no more excuses about how renewables are too expensive.
     
TETENAL
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Dec 24, 2007, 05:08 PM
 
SPAM is an all caps word
     
0157988944
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Dec 24, 2007, 05:10 PM
 
Except not, really.
     
peeb
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Dec 24, 2007, 07:56 PM
 
Can you actually buy them yet?
     
nonhuman  (op)
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Dec 24, 2007, 08:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by peeb View Post
Can you actually buy them yet?
I believe they just shipped their first order.
     
imitchellg5
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Dec 24, 2007, 08:23 PM
 
Well, it really shouldn't be hard to make something cheaper than oil.
     
Chuckit
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Dec 24, 2007, 10:04 PM
 
Seriously, I think my damn car is cheaper than oil.
Chuck
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"Instead of either 'multi-talented' or 'multitalented' use 'bisexual'."
     
Cold Warrior
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Dec 25, 2007, 12:18 AM
 
Exciting stuff. However, I only see a couple products, and they look like they're for industry, not individual, residential customers. I'll consider it cheaper than fossil fuels when I can purchase them at a fair price, easily install them on my roof, and feed it simply into my electric grid.
     
BadKosh
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Dec 25, 2007, 07:12 AM
 
Heres a question. The sunlight/heat that strikes the panels and not the planet surface, what is the climate impact?
     
BRussell
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Dec 25, 2007, 08:00 AM
 
A plan was published in January's Scientific American on how to use this type of technology to supply most of the US's energy needs within about 50 years. I haven't read it in detail, but the basic idea is to put a bunch of solar panels in the southwestern US, store it, and develop a backbone to supply the rest of the country with it.
     
alligator
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Dec 25, 2007, 03:52 PM
 
It makes sense to switch to solar, except for those of us in northern climates. When the sun is in the southern hemisphere, the amount of light that actually reaches us is very small. It's useful for maybe only 7-8 hours a day, and even then, only at about 1/4 of what someone on the equator would receive.
     
peeb
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Dec 25, 2007, 05:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by alligator View Post
It makes sense to switch to solar, except for those of us in northern climates. When the sun is in the southern hemisphere, the amount of light that actually reaches us is very small. It's useful for maybe only 7-8 hours a day, and even then, only at about 1/4 of what someone on the equator would receive.
Even this may still be worth while - 7 hours is better than nothing.
As to the effect of striking panels, not the earth, should be no net effect - the energy will be released as heat sooner or later.
     
   
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