On Sat, 2 Aug 2008, Udhay Shankar N wrote:
* Solar energy is becoming more economically attractive as
technologies improve and the cost of electricity generated by fossil
fuels rises.
As photo-voltaic improves (efficiency being much less important than cost
per watt) I think it has one big advantage over nearly all other
approaches: no moving parts. Installations of fixed panels can be nearly
maintenance-free when compared to solar thermal, wind, wave power, etc.,
all of which involve components that can break or wear out. The cells I
put on my roof in 2002 were warrantied for 20 years, and even 30 years out
should still be generating 75% of their initial capacity. It's not
completely trouble-free - interconnects can age, inverters/transformers
can blow, lightning and other weather incidents can wreck havoc, but I
predict these to be minor compared to maintaining the machinery to pump
molten sodium through tubes to transfer heat to turbines.
Brian
