(Images: Supersize solar power)

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RE: (Images: Supersize solar power)

I think the cost of oil has forced a realization among the politicians in the SouthWest states.

Imagine if you had an oil field that wouldn't run dry for billions of years...

OOOH. Nice !

Well, that's what they HAVE. No need to worry about the costs of photovoltaic panels, or how long the panels last.

Just put up some parabolic troughs and a steam-driven generator and you have BOTH high-paying jobs and a bulletproof revenue stream for your State.

Need more energy? Add another plant next to the first.

Unlike nuclear power, there's no problem with regulation, insurance liability, waste disposal or radiation contamination.

Kramer Junction has been running for decades and makes about 2% of the power used in California.

And storing the power overnight isn't hard. Just hot water tanks keep the turbines running for three hours past sundown.

If you want +24 hours of storage, molten salt will store heat for days.

The sad irony is that we could have had this breakthrough twenty years ago.

I did some consulting for a retired Exxon executive in the early 90's.

He was rabidly against solar power, and insisted Exxon had researched solar power and proven it was impossible to make a commercial profit.

If Exxon HAD seen the writing on the wall and started building Concentrating Solar Plants back then, they'd have nearly cornered the electricity market by now and we'd be driving electric cars to work.

Posted by: Jkirk3279   Posted on: 06/02/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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