Cheap Solar Energy

[DanS]

1. What makes you think that California utilities would buy coal capacity? Also, the 2.5 cents/kwh figure is low. The price for my parents (100% coal, Midwest cooperative) is 9.1 cents per kwh. Granted, that's a delivered retail price. Wholesale prices in the Midwest are in the 5 cent+ range now, with a 2008 average of 6.5 cents.

2. No breakthrough is required on this. More scale and manufacturing technologies. You ought to take a look at some of the thin film stuff. Solar might not be as exciting as the analysis makes it sound, but at least it's starting to get modestly interesting.

[Zkribbler]

The article mentions an average price for electricity off the grid at 9 cents.
This new technology is 7.5 cents.

[DanS]

Don't confuse costs and prices.

[Theben]

Plenty of people have recouped their costs thru solar and now sell excess production back to the energy companies. Solar has a high initial cost due to parts and installation but after that it's all gravy.

Solar isn't going to be a single-source wellspring of power like nuke plants for a long time of ever. It will be realized thru point-use like small businesses and homes.

[pchang]

plenty of space

for solar on the tops of every building. Solar is not a total replacement. It is part of a total solution.

[Colon™]

Perhaps the Sahara will turn into a giant solar plant for Europe.

I'm not particularly thrilled about relying for electricity on countries like Lybia and Sudan, along with a host of other poorly-run states. And what about maintaining facilities in such regions? Qualified personnel? Transmission costs? Sandstorms? It's a silly idea.