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Solar Power.

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Comments

  • #32
    Alf Veedersane
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,947 ✭✭✭✭Alf Veedersane


    snubbleste wrote: »
    Meanwhile your electricity bills are to rise to support renewable energy http://www.bonkers.ie/blog/gas-electricity/energy-regulator-proposes-32--increase-in-pso-levy-for-all-households/

    They'd go up if renewables targets aren't met


  • #33
    mordeith
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,125 ✭✭✭mordeith


    kneemos wrote: »
    A gift I'd imagine in the summer when fires and heating aren't running,loads of hot water ?

    Loads. We have two panels and have water upwards of 60 degrees on tap (system won't let water get any higher in the tank for safety reasons).


  • #34
    Conor20
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 265 ✭✭Conor20


    Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »
    More efficient, cheaper solar panels are always 10 years away from mass production

    module_prices.jpg


  • #35
    Sh1tbag OToole
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,971 ✭✭✭Sh1tbag OToole


    Conor20 wrote: »
    module_prices.jpg

    The tail end of that graph caused mostly by the Chinese govt subsidising the production of mono crystalline panels that have been around since the early 2000s to put European and American manufacturers out of business.


  • #36
    Conor20
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 265 ✭✭Conor20


    Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »
    The tail end of that graph caused mostly by the Chinese govt subsidising the production of mono crystalline panels that have been around since the early 2000s to put European and American manufacturers out of business.

    When trying to decide whether to install solar panels or not, I am simply concerned with how much it will cost me against my current electricity costs. If they save more money over the lifetime of the panels than it costs to install them, then it probably makes sense to go ahead with. The dramatic drop in the cost of solar panels over the last 4-5 years shown in the graph means that Solar PV is now a viable investment for many home owners in Ireland, delivering an ROI higher than savings rates or mortgage rates - even without the support of a Feed in Tariff. Put in another way, I can make more money by installing solar panels than I can by putting that same €5k in the bank or paying down my mortgage.


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  • #37
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 99,665 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    john the one wrote: »
    We need to look at nuclear...
    Totofan99 wrote: »
    +1 on this.

    People have this irrational fear of nuclear power. I'd have absolutely no problem living next to one.
    In the context of Ireland we don't have enough spinning reserve to backup a new-build reactor. Thanks to renewables our baseload is just 1GW

    In May 2002 the Finish parliament approved construction of a new nuclear plant due to start operation in 2009.



    That Finish nuclear plant's costs have trebled and it's been pushed back, yet again, to 2018 . Unlike us the Finns already had nuclear power stations so they were well ahead of us on the learning curve.

    The nuclear industry has systemic problems like the problems with the reactor steel. Not just with the EPR's but also older reactors like Fessenheim too. We're talking stuff that should have been identified and fixed 40 years ago.

    As for economics, Hinkley C has a strike price nearly twice the UK wholesale price. And it's index linked for 35 years. And that's on top of the increase in construction costs already. And there's a whole raft of sweeteners too


    Meanwhile, the cost of Hinkley Point, which Edf put at £9bn in December 2010, is now reported to be £14bn.

    EDF (EDF.PA) warned on Thursday that the cost of building two nuclear reactors in Britain could reach nearly 21 billion pounds, about three billion more than it said in October.


    Worldwide the cost of wind turbines has dropped by up to 45% since 2010 and for solar the drop is more like 80%


  • #38
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 99,665 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »
    More efficient, cheaper solar panels are always 10 years away from mass production
    There are lots of proven technologies in the pipeline waiting to be commercialised.

    Step improvements that get you an extra 5% in solar aren't uncommon. Some are simple tricks like allowing light into the back of the panel, others are more technical like being able to skip an expensive high energy step in silicon purification. And of course economies of scale kick in too.


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