The Truth About Solar Energy
Will it lead us to the promised land?
I have written about solar energy as it relates to large solar arrays and the huge amount of land that is needed. Here is an update.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced plans to blanket 1,000 square miles of land in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Colorado, and Utah with solar collectors. He also dropped a bomb and said he wanted to generate 20% of our electricity from wind! That translates to oh say about 186,000 50- story wind turbines which will cover the size of the state of West Virginia and about 19,000 miles of new high voltage transmission lines. Way to go Ken, sounds great until you really try and make it work. Where are the environmentalist when you need one? This stems from the Cap and Trade bill that passed the House. If you recall it requires electric utility companies to generate 20% of their electricity from wind and solar by 2020. And this is supposed to create some jobs along the way.
First concern is what in the heck will we do to the environment. Take wind turbines. You put that many blades in the air, you won’t see large populations of birds in the country ever again. They will chew through every migration that we have ever witnessed in one season. Second, solar maintenance. You have to put them in gosh awful places to start. Build the transmission lines and then… maintain them. On a commercial site the panels have to be cleaned once a month (if the dust doesn’t blow) with water and a solvent, at night. One, where are we getting the water ( it will turn up someplace) and two, how are we going to stop the chemical waste from leeching into the groundwater (oops… we forgot about that one). And three, any animal that wanders to close gets baked from the heat.
It takes a 7 by 7 miles square piece of land to generate enough electricity from solar to equal the amount of one million megawatt hours. One square mile is all a nuclear plant would need. A solar plant is only good for certain hours of the day mind you. Geothermal requires about 3 square miles, and bio -fuels require up to 500 square miles to produce the same amount of energy a nuclear plant does. Coal eats up about 4 square miles, Solar-thermal takes 6, Natural Gas takes 8, Oil 18, Wind Farms 30 square miles to produce one million megawatt hours to power 90,000 homes.
So where is the concern about the new energy sprawl that will take place in these western states? So lets line up all the wind turbines and put it into perspective. Take 300 miles of turbines, line them up on some mountain range and let them rip. Net result? One quarter of the electricity generated by the TVA Watts Bar Nuclear plant. One Quarter!!! For 300 miles, the expense, the damage to the environment, etc… are you getting the picture?
Back to the solar array. It will generate a paltry 35, 000 megawatts of electricity and only during the day. For 1,000 square miles! And this is how we become energy independent? What in the hell is Ken Salazar smoking! A 5th grader could see through this smokescreen.
We just cannot wish or dream our energy needs away and come up with plans I have mentioned above. If we are going to invest the billions into energy independence, then by golly it better produce more than a stinking 35,000 megawatts!
Let me be plain. Nuclear, Oil, Natural Gas and Clean Coal. The other types will only be supplemental to the goal, not the whole solution. I am not trusting 20% of my future electricity needs to some solar panel array in the desert and either should the country. Why don’t you put one in the outskirts of NYC and see how quickly the masses would protest.
This is a bad idea, bad policy and just bad for the country. With China, and India, building nuclear and oil plants, how much longer will it be until we have to have brownouts as a daily routine, while they enjoy full power. We must be the biggest putzes in their eyes. I am one guy, but we just cannot get behind any further in the energy game. Time for a new direction.
The Paul Smith for Congress website is www.PaulSmithforCongress.org
Republican Candidate for the 5th Congressional District (Sacramento).
OK so the GE CEO Jeff Immelt who sits on President Obama’s economic advisory board and is head of the Company/Corporation who makes the Turbines for wind gets huge election payback as we the Tax Payers get the shaft.
T.Boon Pickens walked away from the expense of Wind.
Then we get NF3 Manufacturing Solar Panels and it’s effects on global warming would be 17,200 times greater than that of CO2 when compared over a 100 year period.
Link: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2008/10/27/shocker-solar-panel-manufacturing-creates-potent-ghgs/
Our future may be in Algae Bio-Diesel and Natrual Gas. Is this a sexy enough sell to the Green Hippies?
Maybe Greens should sell their idea’s on the merit of the idea instead of the mandate of the Government? How did that MTBE Fuel Mandate work out for all of the Hippies with their keep Tahoe Blue Bumper Stickers?
Don’t worry Paul some of us in Ontario, Canada feel your pain. our government has just passed the Green Energy Act which requires all of our coal plants () and they are going to try to replace them with wind farms ( which actually means natural gas) Beyond the huge rising costs we are also providing feed in tariffs to boost investment. Wind turbines are not the answer. the answer is nuclear plain and simple.
You ignore the nuclear waste issue – and don’t even bring it up – you ignore the fact that these facilities aren’t safe for the people that work there – you ignore that they could be terrorist targets and cause a huge problem – blowing up solar arrays in the dessert – won’t decimate society for ten thousand years.
Think microchips and how they got smaller – sorry the hippies are right. The massively more tax payer subsidized dirty energy sector big agriculture, big coal, big oil and the massively tax payer subsidized nuclear power industry are relics of the last century.
I know too many people later in life employed by the nuclear power industry that are horribly afflicted with cancer. So health care costs are also an issue to grapple with for nuclear power.
The status quo has to get out of the way of innovation and technology. The government needs to level the playing field.
India just invested 10 billion in solar development.
We are behind the times because the Status Quo and their minions are still raking in a ton of money from subsidies and price fixing. Suffering from a serious lack of vision our economy lags behind the rest of the world.
Keep peddling the fear about not having enough electricity and we’re all gonna die…though…you might just get yourself elected. Stupid is as stupid does.
Geez Paul Burke so much anger! The article wasn’t about nuclear waste. I have written extensively on that subject, so keep up! Why don’t you research what the French are doing in the City of Bure before you get your knickers in a knot. You might just surprise yourself. Its really tough to have a discussion with someone when they call you stupid, so don’t expect me to try and educate you on what other counties are doing. If all you want to do is rant, you solve nothing and add zero to the conversation or in solving the issue. I find that those who call someone stupid on the first go around are pretty closed minded to start and won’t respsect the others opinion even if it makes sense. Insted why don’t you ask about how to solve nuclear storage instead of complaining about it?
For someone who has a book out, I would expect a little more from you in this arena. Want to try again? Seems you are the one peddling fear by making stuff up like we are all going to die. Understand this, if I didn’t write or say something, don’t make stuff up and try and attribute it to me. If you think that way, then plainly state it. I on the other hand don’t think we are going to die, and that is a pretty ridiculous statement on your part. Feel free to disagree with the facts, not what you make up.
No sir you are the one ignoring the reality of civil discussion and give and take. I welcome a intelligent discussion and dialougue that doesn’t denigrate the writer and allows for further discussion. Hope you are up to the task.
Paul Smith Republican for the 5th Congressional Seat (Sacramento)
Hey Paul Burke ,you ignore the fact that these facilities offer jobs. I am in the Real Estate Investment Biz and would be more then happy to take one of these jobs right now.
I know too many people who have nothing to eat right now and the kicker is many are FARMERS!
Did your parents ever spank you? I ask this because you seem to think the worst thieves in the History of our Country (being our Government) should steal the peoples hard earn Dollars and Build Energy plants?
Where does this though come from? Did you elect a Government or a Nanny?
Maybe a certified Gov. Bottom wiper will show up at each of our homes soon for an inspection to be sure we are using the correct wiping procedure as they inventory our alloted squares of TP per your Gov?
If you learn anything from growing up in the USA. It should be the fact that Capitalism is the best path to prosperity period.
Best Social Program Ever Invented. It is Called A Job. Created in Private Sector and not Government.
Paul, What is it like to be a Green Hippie who is SO PERFECT you can tell other people how to live/what to drive.
If one of your Government Mandated Mercury filled bulbs breaks. Will you have to disclose hazardous waste on your property when you sell? Will your Insurance cover the cost for HAZMAT or just cancel your policy?
Government run SSI-Broke, Medicare-Broke, Medicaid-Broke, Fannie Mae-Broke, Freddie Mac-Broke, Post Office-Broke. Do you see it yet? These Thieves make Madoff look like a very Rank Amateur and Al Capone to seem fair Minded in his thieving.
Sad…..