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Forum Index : Windmills : wind power
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| brucedownunder2 Guru  Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Did anybody view the topic about wind and solar contraversy on the "Richo and Jones " show last night .. It's not a good look . They had a politician from west Aus and he really was interesting to hear. I don't know if you can view the programme again ,maybe on 648 sky today sometime. Very negative ,both solar and wind . Mainly to do with subsities and how unfair they are in relation to other "wanting a help" companies.. Another fairly valid point was the battlers. They either could not afford the "gap" or were renting ,,so they pay full electricity prices when I and you have been subsitised for installing our panels ,then get a helping hand in the reduced electricity bill -the poor guy next door gets nothing. Bruce Bushboy |
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yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
Bruce, In SA we have been getting earbashed with this argument for years. It does not hold water, far more of your taxed dollar goes indirectly to coal and gas generation than solar. Now that the rebates and subsidies are gone the residential panels are still going in and now the businesses have equipment leasing available for solar that is starting to build as well. Some of these guys are telling me that their brownout issues have completely gone since they installed a solar farm onsite. And the traditional power suppliers are looking to govt grant monies, support programs and changes to billing to gain back their traditional advantage (while frantically installing their own panels  ).I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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norcold Guru Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
I guess it is understandable that the fossil fuel power industry will object to renewables, it is probably our biggest domestic industry after our primaries, employs a lot, and makes a lot of dough. A very powerful lobbying industry. Hard to imagine that will change, of interest there is the ACT`s current push for 100% renewables, read an interesting article recently, author claimed they`ve been 100% with the Snowy feed to them for years. Wonder how accurate that claim is? We come from the land downunder. Vic |
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Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
In basic terms the door opened to encourage people to embrace solar, and it took subsidies to encourage people to invest in solar to get the idea off the ground and working, those of us who took the leap of faith back then, were rewarded for our efforts, but its not sustainable to continue with subsidies. I actually see larger panel masses being installed on the average roof now the subsidies have been removed. Like always subsidies will be inflated into unit costs, and without subsidies the actual panel costs have been reduced greatly. Basically each supplier/company needs to compete on an open market now, and not a government subsidy. I think the solar price has been over inflated for too long, and without subsidies its a dog eat dog market and better pricing on the solar investment, although lower on the feed in tariff too. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
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| norcold Guru Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
I go along with this, subsidies have probably done their job a little too well, made us expect them to go on forever and inflated the price but understandably. Now getting the price down and the efficiency up. Efficiency better then 34% Imagine that 70% efficiency, instead of 1Mw taking up a bit over a hectare will take only 1/4 hectare. The structure cost for 1Mw being for 4Mw instead. Solar will produce at 4 cents/Kwhr rather than 15 cents. We come from the land downunder. Vic |
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MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Crew Too bad someone hasn't come up with some sort of solar cell tough enough to be embedded beneath a clear or at least translucent material, then used to replace the top layer of all the roads, which are everywhere. If ALL the roads were solar generators, they, themselves, could become a type of transmission network and there would be no battles over where to put "power plants". Since the roads are, for the most part, public property already, it would be merely a matter of initial installation and then on-going maintenance, which could be divided up and shared by ALL municipalities served by the system. Just an idea from an old fart on a tiny farm in the middle of nowhere, Texas, but I thought I'd toss it out. EDIT: Wouldn't you know it? Soon as I posted this and moved on to other things, I came up with this gem: Solar Roadways . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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