search.japantimes.co.jp — Under the government-mandated target, the number of solar-powered households would increase to 14 million from the current 400,000 and the capacity of such generation would expand 30-fold from the current 1.3 million kilowatts.
Jan 1, 2008 View in Crawl 4
hexydesJan 2, 2008
*Whoosh*There goes the point. Right over your head, too!
smackheroJan 2, 2008
perhaps when electric vehicles like the tesla roadster gain widespread adoption people will be more compelled to have solar power installations in their homes. i don't know how much output a single roof-top solar panel produces, but it'd be awesome to not have to pay for gas at all. but right now southern california edison is already developing a 4600 acre solar power plant that's due to open in 2009.i'm not sure if solar power is like fossil fuel power in that large-scale production is cheaper/more efficient than individual setups. but if so, then municipal governments should set up large solar farms instead of small solar power installations for individual homes. perhaps they could also subsidize roof-top solar panel installations for home owners and network them together for each community.
Closed AccountJan 2, 2008
please tell me that you (and hte people that dugg you up) do not believe the crap about it being the "cheapest" form of electricity based on that $1/watt crap. You are not going to be able to buy that any time soon. And eve if you could, it would cost you WAYYYYYY more than $1/watt to get it up and running.
jpfedJan 2, 2008
It seems like a pretty slow roll-out, but consider that solar technology continues to improve. If I were a dictator that said "Everyone put solar panels on your houses NOW" we'd end up investing a lot in tech that would become obsolete quickly- and then it would be a while before we replaced any of our crappy panels. But with a slower (but still massive!) rollout, we can continue to capitalize on solar tech improvements, while not starving innovators of the funding they need. We can be more aggressive when the tech is more mature.
leitjaxonJan 2, 2008
That's a really long time from now. Hope it happens. I'll be over the hill by then.
bosskeyJan 2, 2008
"But would you pay for the extra 20-40 grand it would add to the cost of the house?"It all depends on whether the panels pay for themselves and their maintenance/replacement cost in saved power bills, along with a bit of a margin to compensate for the extra hassle. If no, you're a fool to pay for them. If yes, and especially if it's possible to make money by feeding excess power back into the grid, then you're a fool not to pay for them.
ottoJan 3, 2008
First of all, a "carbon footprint" is nonsense. Secondly, a more efficient technology is also cheaper. That's sort of the whole point of making it more efficient. A cost-benefit analysis always shows the best way to go in the long run.
Closed AccountJan 5, 2008
Then at night you use candles.........