I looked through an interesting article at a web site called Low-Tech Magazine. How it can be “low-tech” and discussing solar power is beyond me, but I digress. It was about the sustainability of PV Solar power. I believe the day will come when solar power will join the adult leagues and actually be practical and cost effective. I don’t think the day has arrived, but that isn’t what I want to lift out of this article.
If I read it correctly, and that is a big “if”, it seems that although the cost is coming down, the effect on what the environmental lobby likes to call “greenhouse gases” is making things worse. What that means is that if you figure in the “pollution” emitted in the production of the solar panels and include it in the equation, PV solar panels contribute more greenhouse gases than the alternatives. This is true whether the power generated is cheaper or more expensive.
If this is true, it means that solar panels are more damaging to the environment than traditional methods of generating electricity. It also means that if the cost of solar power continues to come down it could end up “damaging” the environment more that other sources.
Hopefully progress will continue. I like the idea of being able to live off the grid and provide my own power. We are not there yet. If we can ever get past the coercive politics and massive government grants that the “unbiased” scientists are fighting for, we might get there quicker.
homo unius libri
Solar will become "practical" when only a handful of huge companies produce all the panels and government has found out a way to tax the use of them.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of the tax issue on solar power. I had made a similar comment to people about 3D printers.
ReplyDeleteGrace and peace.