Renewable energy payback is better than interest fromha money in the banks

From: habshi (habshi_at_anony.com)
Date: 11/16/04 

Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 22:44:09 GMT

Now sun power is really hot

         With interest rates negative in Japan and 2% in USA , it is
better to spend $20,000 on solar panels and get a higher return over
twenty years and that is not even counting the govt grants.
        Its time solar panels and small wind turbines were made
compulsory for all homes , new or built

excerpts

Several studies have looked at this question over the years and have
concluded that wind energy has one of the shortest energy payback
times of any energy technology. A wind turbine typically takes only a
few months (3-8, depending on the average wind speed at its site) to
"pay back" the energy needed for its fabrication, installation,
operation, and retirement.Solar panels are growing in popularity as
home owners take up cash incentives to go green. reports

Phillip Inman
Saturday June 19, 2004
The Guardian

Sales of solar panels are on the rise as homeowners join the battle
against global warming, government bodies said this week.
Growing concern about the environment, coupled with a wide range of
grants and subsidies worth as much as £10,000, have encouraged
households to spend between £2,000 and £20,000 on systems that cut
carbon dioxide emissions and fuel bills.

More than 3,000 homes in the last 18 months have been fitted with
panels that heat hot water and hundreds more have been installed that
generate electricity, said Clear Skies, a government-funded body
charged with offering grants for renewable energy projects.

The cost of installation, especially for the newer photovoltaic
systems that generate electricity, is also falling making them
affordable for young families. The Energy Saving Trust which promotes
the use of green energy, said the need to switch to differ ent energy
sources was desperately needed.

The trust revealed that the explosion of digital devices - set-top
boxes and DVDs - along with video recorders and TVs - will lead to a
sharp rise in carbon dioxide emissions. It estimates that over the
next 10 years, the UK population will buy more than 70m set top boxes,
63m TVs and 14m VCR and DVDs. The energy consumed and carbon dioxide
emitted will be triple current levels.

Tomorrow is SolarSunday, an annual event organised by the Solar Energy
Society, that is designed to promote the environmental benefits of
renewable energy.

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 Solar panels fall into two main categories. Thermal systems use the
energy of the sun to heat your hot water directly. They start at
around £2,000 and can provide up to two-thirds of your hot water.

You are likely to be told the price is higher if you have restricted
access to the roof, a three-storey house, or lots of chimneys (they
cast a shadow). If your roof is not facing somewhere between
south-west and south you are likely to be warned off buying a system.

A grant of £500 is available from Clear Skies to subsidise thermal
systems, though this will fall to £400 from next month. A spokeswoman
for Clear Skies said a government grant of £10m was due to run out in
the middle of next year, but due to the popularity of solar systems,
would be spent sooner without the cut.

Choosing a supplier can be tricky. Many thermal installers pay their
sales staff commission and have been likened to double-glazing sales
people. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of homeowners finding
themselves trapped in their own living rooms by a solar panel "expert"
who refuses to leave.

For a bona fide installer go to the Energy Saving Trust website.
Anyway, you need to use an installer registered with the trust or
Clear Skies to qualify for a grant.

Solar panels that generate electricity have only been around for four
or five years compared to thermal systems, some of which have clocked
up 25 years' service.

Chris Jardine, a solar energy researcher at the Environment Change
Institute at Oxford University, says the technology is improving all
the time and increasing demand has forced down prices. Grants of up 50
per cent are available to cover installation, cutting the costs even
further. If the initial outlay is a problem, the systems are modular
and you can start small and work up to covering your roof.

There is also the benefit of recent developments in the electricity
supply market and government targets imposed on supply companies.

Once you have a photovoltaic system installed you can cut costs
further by selling excess electricity back into the grid. All
suppliers will knock this off your bill.

Recently, Npower and independent supplier Good Energy, launched
schemes that will pay you 5p a kilowatt hour for all the electricity
you generate.

They must reach targets for generating renewable energy and can
include yours in their calculations if they have paid for it.

That means you not only save an estimated 6p for every kilowatt hour
of electricity you generate, but can add the 5p from one of these
suppliers. An 8m square solar panel will generate 950 kilowatt hours
and that will save £60 a year off bills. The subsidy saves another
£50.

A spokeswoman for installer Solar Century says anyone who approaches
them purely wanting to cut their fuel bills, is discouraged from going
ahead.

She says the major benefit is to the environment. "Though if you think
of it as a way of investing your money, as if you would in a building
society, you get a better return."

Most photovoltaic systems have a guaranteed lifetime of 20-25 years
compared to a payback time of 40-50 years.

Energy Saving Trust - est.co.uk
Clear Skies - clear-skies.org
Green Electricity Tariffs - greenprices.co.uk
Good Energy - good-energy.co.uk
Solar Century - solarcentury.co.uk

Advances in solar photovoltaic panels are happening at a fast and
furious rate. Plus, the newest panels should have an even longer life
expectancy than the older models--older panels have started to turn
brown in the clear substrate the solar cells are mounted in, reducing
their power output. This problem has been solved by using new
plastics in the manufacturing process. The biggest advances in new
solar panel technology recently have been in power density--the newest
panels are the same size as older models, but put out more power per
square foot.

A SOLAR POWER MYTH

We've often heard the myth that "it takes more electricity to
manufacture a solar panel than it will ever put out." This is simply
not true...this myth may have started during the Ronald Reagan era.
This is of course a very difficult statistic to calculate, but
according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO, a
study has been done to answer the question. The study found that
single-crystal panels reach the energy payback point in 5-10 years,
polycrystalline panels in 3-5 years, and amorphous silicon panels in
0.5-2 years. Be advised that because the question is so vague, there
is a large margin of error for these figures! We just discovered a
recent, very detailed study about solar panel energy payback time in
the January 2001 issue of Home Power magazine. This study, by Karl
Knapp, PhD, and Teresa Jester, finds payback time for a standard
module to be about 3.3 years, and 1.8 years on a thin-film panel.
The study factors in energy costs for ALL parts of the panel and
manufacturing process.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: [OT] Paging Frank K.
    ... I suppose that's why you don't place them on the sides of the house as well. ... > panels can generate, that much clean energy was put into the grid and meant ... > into the power stations...it's actually a pretty good prospect in money ...
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  • Re: alternative energy
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  • Renewable energy payback is better than interest fromha money in the banks
    ... Now sun power is really hot ... better to spend $20,000 on solar panels and get a higher return over ... concluded that wind energy has one of the shortest energy payback ... An 8m square solar panel will generate 950 kilowatt hours ...
    (sci.physics)
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  • Re: High Energy Density Storage, Zinc-Air
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