General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Nuclear renaissance? US OKs new reactor design [View all]ProgressiveProfessor
(22,144 posts)for the foreseeable future.
I currently have a large solar array here in SoCal, well in excess of my needs. I get paid (somewhat) for the extra power. When the number work, I will triple it, maxing out the line capacity. It will still not light up Riverside or even Corona.
The solar industry is replete with "wondrous improvements right around the corner" press releases. As one who is hands on with it, I know better. For example, this is the second or third time around for the "solar shingle" concept which fails for the same obvious reasons every time. Renewable power is great thing, but its being tremendously oversold and over hyped by the industry and those of us wanting to do the right thing are lapping it up. People need power to live, and the approaches to providing it need to be practical and achievable.
Those studies are at the macro level and while showing the energy is potentially there ignore at various levels the real issues associated with harvesting and distributing it. For example...if the decision is made to power NYC from power from the mid west, is NYC going to pay for generation and transmission of it when it is so much cheaper to replace an aging local plant? The potential is there, but no one is really addressing the costs of development and transportation adequately. Cost per watt is only part of the cost model.