<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for An interview with Travis Bradford, author of Solar Revolution]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by sunflower http://www.grist.org/article/roberts1/ Thu, 30 Nov 2006 04:53:33 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/roberts1/1 Channeling Barry Commoner

I do agree with the emotions of Travis. Coal is the enemy of the human race.  More dirty coal electricity will be used for home heat and hot water.

"By the mid 1980s cost reductions and improvements in photovoltaic cells, in small engines powered from solar sources, and in solar collectors may bring down the cost of electricity for residences and commercial buildings to the range of $.04 to $.10/kWh, a price which would probably be competitive with electricity delivered to these customers from conventional utilities."  The Politics of Energy, Barry Commoner, 1979, p.40.

Travis lost me when he wrote that pv electricity will be used for hot water, even in Seattle.  Solar thermal hot water is far more cost effective and dispatchable.

]]> Channeling Barry Commoner

I do agree with the emotions of Travis. Coal is the enemy of the human race.  More dirty coal electricity will be used for home heat and hot water.

"By the mid 1980s cost reductions and improvements in photovoltaic cells, in small engines powered from solar sources, and in solar collectors may bring down the cost of electricity for residences and commercial buildings to the range of $.04 to $.10/kWh, a price which would probably be competitive with electricity delivered to these customers from conventional utilities."  The Politics of Energy, Barry Commoner, 1979, p.40.

Travis lost me when he wrote that pv electricity will be used for hot water, even in Seattle.  Solar thermal hot water is far more cost effective and dispatchable.

]]> Comment #2 by Fourmyle http://www.grist.org/article/roberts1/ Fri, 01 Dec 2006 09:10:03 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/roberts1/2 Solar technology

We all seem to live with blinders to older solutions . Where a good photovoltaic can convert 15% of the incomming solar energy to electricity, Stirling engines have done 30% including all the losses in the mechanical conversion to electricity. Once you get up to the killowatt range the more complex Stirling system ends up costing less, presents several energy storage options other then batteries, and uses much lower tech. materials. That's just an example, I'm sure there are other old technologies out there that I'm overlooking too. We don't need the newest technology, just the one best suited to the problem.

]]> Solar technology

We all seem to live with blinders to older solutions . Where a good photovoltaic can convert 15% of the incomming solar energy to electricity, Stirling engines have done 30% including all the losses in the mechanical conversion to electricity. Once you get up to the killowatt range the more complex Stirling system ends up costing less, presents several energy storage options other then batteries, and uses much lower tech. materials. That's just an example, I'm sure there are other old technologies out there that I'm overlooking too. We don't need the newest technology, just the one best suited to the problem.

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