Medicine Hat / Solar Power

[SupremeLeader]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/200...#socialcomments

[Guest Sundancefisher]

I really like the idea of solar power.

 

Big hurdles are:

 

1. Cost

2. Footprint (lots of ground space needed)

3. Payout. Currently technology has the solar system breaking down prior to seeing payout.

 

For this technology to go mainstream, there has to be further advances. I would love to see all roofs in a city converted to solar panels tied into the grid. Even power day use with solar and night with gas would go a long ways to conservation etc.

 

Cheers

 

Sun

 

[reevesr1]

There was a news piece (probably shouldn't use the word piece or someone might complain and close this thread) about a company that leases homeowners solar panels for 15 yrs and installs them. The owner they did the piece on had her power bills drop by 1/3, so her new bill and the lease rate were significantly less than her old power bill. But I don't think the panels did enough to allow her to sell power back. This was in the states, not exactly sure where.

 

 

[Guest Sundancefisher]

There was a news piece (probably shouldn't use the word piece or someone might complain and close this thread) about a company that leases homeowners solar panels for 15 yrs and installs them. The owner they did the piece on had her power bills drop by 1/3, so her new bill and the lease rate were significantly less than her old power bill. But I don't think the panels did enough to allow her to sell power back. This was in the states, not exactly sure where.

 

I remember reading something about that. From what I recall the company heavily subsidized the project so it was not a money making proposition. Just a publicity stunt to show "green" tendancies by the corporation.

 

I noticed in Maui that many condos had solar panels on to run their air conditioners off of during the day. Since they ran 24/7, 365 days a year it makes sense as it works even if public power is disrupted.

[Pythagoras]

There is a company in the States (California?) called SunEdison that installs solar grids on the roofs of larger buildings (warehouses etc) and sells the power to the company at a guaranteed rate for 15 years.