Free Energy-for more $$

[142857]

So, I was listening to NPR this morning. They were discussing the nuclear power issue....discussing Japan, discussing solutions, alternatives, thorium, the half life of the waste we've already generated...ect.

So this guy calls in from TX. ..... He doesn't like nuclear power, blah blah...and then to the point of the post.

This guy says where he lives, most of his ele comes from clean renewable sources, primarily Wind and Hydro....
....for this he has agreed to pay 10% MORE for his utility bill.

[Shanjaq]

Solar is ok, but energy-intensive to manufacture and takes up a lot of space. Wind is less ok, same energy-intensive problem, space occupation and danger to birds, low-frequency sensitive people/animals and possible disruption of long-term weather patterns. Hydro is marginally ok, so long as it doesn't disrupt habitat or alter long-term weather patterns.

[FRC]

Wind

They got the same scam here where you can pay more for wind generated power. I don't get how they can distinguish which is which, everybody is hooked
up to the same grid. Unless you were close to where it was generated.

FRC

[142857]

point being, as soon as they figure out how to make it for free, they'll come up with a way to make it more expensive for the end user.

bet.

[Savvypro]

Here in the UK everyone is being forced by law to subsidise wind energy and other renewable projects. For example there is a wind farm being built by a Swedish firm who will receive over the next 20 or so years £2 billion in subsidies.

The real kicker is the fraud the companies will commit for the higher energy prices. Take the "Spanish night time solar energy farms". Who were found to be producing “solar energy” at night by running diesel gensets and charging the full solar rate.

The dude in TX must be really smart, but hold on a second - where does his solar/wind power come from when the sun isn't out and the wind isn't blowing?

Centralised grid systems only work well with predictable power generation, which wind isn't. Solar is somewhat predictable as you know how long days will be - the problem is the weather.

I still think the money that was wasted on the ISS would have been better spent on large solar arrays in orbit. The details were worked out in the 50’s/60’s at NASA and the cost would have been the same.