Quote:
Originally Posted by pawoSD
So....if windmills are out, then how do you propose we generate power without clouding up the atmosphere? Solar is an option, but for now one windmill can make the same amount of juice as MANY solar panels....not to mention they also work at night.
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Solar panels are not nearly as cost efficient as concentrated heat solar power, such as with parabolic trough mirror systems, and better yet, the new Linear Fresnel Reflector:
http://jcwinnie.biz/wordpress/?p=2470
I say "cost efficient" because solar panels have other efficiencies, such as the advantage of being practical in small scale, say the size of the top of a house and they install and operate with much less work.
One of my fantasies is to secure $$ to research how small a Fresnel or similar system can be and still be cost effective. They don't spoil the horizon like wind mills and are silent, for the most part. You could have them close to neighborhoods, even.
One web bit I found stated that this method uses steam only as a transfer medium whereas the parabolic trough systems, the big ones now in use, instead heat some kind of oil to around 700, perhaps 900 degrees F, I forget, which makes some sense as you'd have some heat left after dark to continue to produce elec.