States of Water

[jasoncran]

Then what's the solution to this greenhouse gas? i want to here those, not the same ole green tech, which isnt there yet, nor will be for sometime.

wind turbines wont power a large city, they may reduce the load on that grid, but still people reproduce and cities grow.

 

[Spectator]

I think you are a coming off a little hostile. Best thing to do right now is just to observe you own habits of using power and gasoline. Car companies in China and Japan are jumping on hybrid cars that use less Gas then the Prius and would actually pull power during the down time, actually making electricity cheaper because we won't be paying for wasted energy anymore.

Solar is expanding in the Western States, and there is now more umf to use cardboard instead of plastic in disposable products.

 

[jasoncran]

I think you are a coming off a little hostile. Best thing to do right now is just to observe you own habits of using power and gasoline. Car companies in China and Japan are jumping on hybrid cars that use less Gas then the Prius and would actually pull power during the down time, actually making electricity cheaper because we won't be paying for wasted energy anymore.

Solar is expanding in the Western States, and there is now more umf to use cardboard instead of plastic in disposable products.

solar isnt even feasible in the sunshine state, as it too ineffincent. I do believe in having homes built to have those, these only reduce, but not eliminate. With the climate change push that isnt enough.

Rick is an electrical engineer and will better explain that limits of green tech,The prius is on a recall due to the sticking throtte issue. and until that issue is fixed.

 

[Rick W]

I worked for a company making solar cells. The problem is getting the silicon to make the substrate for the cells. There had been many days we did busy work and other days when we didn't work at all because of the lack of silicon which is mined, extracted from ore, purified and transported using fossil fuels to do so anyway. 90% of the cells we did produce went to Germany, the highest bidder, where gasoline and other fuels cost a lot more than here in the states because they have no energy resources of their own.
Solar cells have a life expectancy of about 15 years. Once exposed to sunlight they begin to degrade losing power output with every passing year so they must be replaced. Top grade cells convert only 15% of the sunlight into electricity while the rest is in the form of heat. Heat degrades the cells which is why we don't see much in the way of solar energy being developed in the midwest where there is a lot of open land available. Not enough water in the aquifer. Water is a big problem.
Silicon isn't the only issue. Silver and aluminum pastes are used so again, more mining, extraction from ore etc.
Highly corrosive acids are used. After the wafers are cut the wafers go through a bath of potassium hydroxide to clean and "etch" the surfaces, a hydrochloric acid bath is needed to dissolve any surface metals in the silicon, and a hydrofluoric acid bath to dissolve any "glass" in the silicon. A 5x5 patch of hydrofluoric acid on your skin will kill you. These baths are changed often and the used acids must be disposed of. We usually wound up with several 55 gallon drums of toxic waste daily. And that company, founded in 2003, wasn't a large manufacturing facility. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition PECVD is a process to sensitize the cells. This process uses a highly toxic and explosive gas called silane gas which if exposed to air will ignite/explode through spontaneous combustion.

Batteries are another essential item with solar power. Again, these too have a life expectancy and must be replaced over time.

Solar power isn't the holy grail of energy. Maybe down the road but right now it's just not as economical as fossil fuels in the US.

 

[Spectator]

Nuclear would probably be the best bet right now then. I know it takes awhile to get a plant built, but it will be worth it in the long run.

 

[jasoncran]

Nuclear would probably be the best bet right now then. I know it takes awhile to get a plant built, but it will be worth it in the long run.

wow, somebody else besides me and rick that will say that, it takes twenty yrs to build those. we could have all of the u.s. on nuke power by now if we started that in the 80' s and not have the high gas prices. But oh no, the extreme econ nuts wouldnt let that happen despite that france is power by nukes(75% of its power is from them).