Nanotubes...
Will surely come and save the day!
US airforce: Solar 'leccy is too cheap to meter
A US Air Force base is bringing on stream America's "largest solar photovoltaic system", according to reports. Nellis airforce base is in the middle of powering up a 140-acre facility covered in solar arrays which swivel flower-fashion to follow the sun. Wired magazine quoted William Anderson, the USAF chief of installations, …
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Monday 5th November 2007 20:19 GMT Steven Knox
Figures?
"Average wholesale electricity prices in the US run at around 4-5 cents per kilowatt-hour (according to the Department of Energy)."
Actually the link you provided appears to show national figures only up to 2005 (at which point the US average WAS around 5c per kwH. A spot check of the more up-to-date spreadsheets of the individual regions seems to indicate a rate closer to 7c per kwH -- and the trend is clearly upward. Let's start with 5c to give you the benefit of the doubt.
" Thus, the 25 million solar kilowatt-hours each year would normally have cost the USAF, erm, from one to 1.25 million dollars." Based on the low assumption of 5c/kwH, that would be the $1.25 million figure. From that, a savings of $1 million would be 80% -- not likely, but not impossible either -- especially if the power co. were giving the base a discount in order to drum up publicity. If we go to a 7c rate, the cost of the electricity would be $1.75 million, and the $1 million savings would be a plausible 57%.
"Presumably they buy wholesale." You know, some would say that reporters should research stories and report on facts, rather than make presumtions.
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Monday 5th November 2007 22:36 GMT ns
Not just tax credits
The plant will be generating more power than the base requires by a large margin. That power will be sold on to somebody like PG&E which is where the money will be made. Also, I would suspect that the USAF is giving them the land for free in return for free power for the base. Hence the comment from the base "We wouldn’t build them, we wouldn’t operate them, we wouldn’t finance them, but we would provide the land and we provide the ability to sell affordable power to a big user."
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Tuesday 6th November 2007 06:42 GMT amanfromMars
Hint to US's enemies too
Maksim,
Thanks for that link .....I couldn't help but chuckle at "Why is it that all the cute ones are insane?"
Tanuki,
Beware attacking at night, the light they work under renders lunatics.
Spookily enough, we might all be able to agree with that given US policies which disintegrate before our eyes rather than build infrastructure to serve and protect.
There's obviously a line or two of corrupt malignant code right at the beginning of the Programs affecting everything the Programs then subsequently do. Something Corrupt right at the Heart/Core although it is not right being wrong and corrupt, off course, of course.
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
