Jeremy wrote on October 16, 2008 10:34 AM: Seattle will be left in the dark ages!

d'Oh! wrote on March 10, 2008 12:04 PM: constructive skepticism is good, but consider this: it would take less than 1% of the landmass of the world's deserts to produce the same amount of electricity via solar thermal produced worldwide from every source today. even with tax credits that are in place now, solar plants pay about 1.7 times more in taxes than fossil fuel plants. Give them a level playing field and turn them loose!

Ugly American wrote on March 08, 2008 08:48 PM: re GOD

Yes, they do. Please check their own web site.

And while I'm at it, I'd like to add that the US imports most of it's plutonium from Russia and has for over a decade. Now, more and more of our urainium is from Russia as well. Would you have us trade one foreign master for another?


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Sherry wrote on March 08, 2008 06:19 PM: Mark Schaffer:
Please critique the responses of the two guys kbeuchert and adpd. How are there assertions invalid? What do you have to add? Are you a democrat?

2zero wrote on March 08, 2008 06:04 PM: It amazes me that these simpletons call "environmentalists" idiots. These are the same people who get in line to buy "clean coal"; a not so slick marketing propaganda jargon! Fact is that ten years ago Vegans could have installed solar on every new roof built. No land required, no power lines and paid for over the life of the home. Those coal fired power plants are financed for 40 years and that is reflected in your monthly NPC bill!

GOD wrote on March 08, 2008 10:34 AM: Ugly American, please change your name to Ignorant American.

GE builds power plants... GE builds turbines for hydro, geothermal, and fuel-fired plants, BUT GE DOESN'T BUILD NUCLEAR, NATURAL GAS, OR COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS!

Now, David Mills heart is in the right place, but his mind and economic sense is certainly not. Does he expect the land, transmission lines, and tons of subsidies to fall out of the sky?

Oh, and let's quit blaming OUR problems on the middle east. We Americans are energy hogs. Just look at the 215 beltway to see one person driving a huge SUV; just look at the Vegas skyline at night; just look at jet after jet on final into McCarren --- need I say more?

Ugly American wrote on March 08, 2008 09:42 AM: Pay attention. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are rushing to build solar power plants. Why do you suppose that is?

Just the new coal plant at Eli was estimated to need $350M worth of coal a year. Since then, the cost of high grade coal has more than doubled from $50/ton to $100+. Why? US anthracite production peaked in the 1920s! That means you could build 3 new solar plants every year for the cost of the coal alone. Size? Have any of you seen the staggering dammage done by strip mines and mountain top removal or the permanent dammage to lakes, rivers and drinking water?

Nuclear plants? The waste will be dangerous for thousands of years and it turns out we don't even know how much it will cost to secure it over the total lifecycle. On top of that, despite the promises of cheap power, nuke plants have cost billions just to refurbish and even when the federal government takes their waste and dumps it in Nevada for "free" it still costs more than wind power. The week before the Texas wind dip led to some factories being idle for a few hours, 6 nuclear reactors had to be scrammed in Florida leaving over half a million people without power. How reliable is that?

It is a fact that both solar and wind cost less than coal or nuclear in the long run because there is no fuel cost, no waste disposal cost and no major safety hazard.

But you might not hear that on the news because companies like GE, who make the coal and nuke plants also own the news channels. Go look it up.

cj wrote on March 08, 2008 08:27 AM: as soon as solar power becomes economically feasible to put on my house, im all for it. i think most people would be as well. the problem is, at this point it costs WAY too much. i would never get my money back. by the time the PV system pays for itself, i would have moved out years previous to that. we need to find a way to produce residential PV systems at a lower price.
also, like said by roman, we need to invest in nuclear. that is the way to go, since it is dependable and consistent.
also, when we "plug in" our cars, that power now comes from coal fired plants, so we are really just shooting ourself in the foot.
the problem is, this problem seems so large that government has to help, and im not sure how others feel, but the government is almost useless as far as doing anything productive. they just like to divide at the partisan line and blame each other, block each other, and complain at each other. while all that occurs, we the people end up getting hurt while the lifetime, old fart, paid off politicians do nothing for us.

lgee wrote on March 08, 2008 08:21 AM: Go out and look at the solar array in the Eldorado valley. The HUGE amount of mirrors required to generate 63mw of electricity is staggering. Can you imagine how big the array will have to be to generate 1500mw? When the environmental left sees this they will object to these projects as well. Most wind power projects have environmental groups protesting their construction due to bird kills or the fact that they are being built near their home. The power has to come from somewhere, quit being so hypocritical! The answer is to develop all types of power generation including new clean fossil fuel plants. If we choose to concentrate on expiramental technology wait til you see your power bill of the future!

Mark Schaffer wrote on March 08, 2008 08:07 AM: apdp,

On what information do you base your assertions?

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