Questions about renewable energy, please contribute?

Question

I have an essay due in science about renewable energy. Just like to gather some opinions on these topics, please do contribute, even if its only saying "I agree with so and so" :)

What are some advantages and disadvantages of using:
1) solar cells (photovolitiacs), which use semiconductor materials to convert sunlight into electric current
2) wind turbines
3) biofuels, such as green diesel and lignin

What steps do you think can be taken to increase the use of renewable energy sources? How would these steps help accomplish the goal?

Thanks so much, your opinion helps! As I said, please answer even if you're only agreeing with someone else! I need all the feedback I can get! :)

Answer 1

1) There is cash money to be made and numerous companies are spending billions of dollars building factories and researching cheaper ways to manufacture solar cells. If they can be made cheaply enough then every house can have them on the roof, which would generate a tremendous amount of power. A friend of mine just started a new job building a new solar cell factory. He says that today the cheapest solar cells cost $3 for every watt they can make in full sunlight, but that in a few years the industry believes they can get the cost down to $1 per watt. He also said that $1 per watt would be economically competitive with coal and oil in the United States, and $3 a watt is already competitive in Japan where coal and oil are much more expensive. Many states and local governments offer tax breaks for solar panel installation.

2) Tax breaks are needed for wind power because wind turbines cost too much to be competitive at this time. Unlike solar cells, we already know how to make wind turbines as well as we ever will. They will only be competitive when other sources of electricity get more expensive. If solar can get 3 times cheaper, then wind power would be limited to near polar locations or other places that don't get much sunlight. California and Texas have tax incentives and both states have large wind farms in windy desert areas already, but those areas are also sunny. If solar works as well as the solar cell manufacturers are predicting, it will push wind out of the market. Texas is now the state with the most wind energy in the U.S.

3) Bio fuels are probably the best way to replace gasoline, because we will not be able to run cars and especially airplanes without liquid fuels. Wind turbines and solar cells will not work for cars and planes. Eventually we will have to find a way to make large enough quantities of liquid fuels, because oil is expected to run out is 100 years. There are tax breaks for some bio fuel projects.

Notice all the tax breaks. It is government money being used to help these energy technologies get started before they work well enough to pay their own way. But some people object to paying higher taxes just so rich people can get a bunch of money from the government to put solar panels on their homes. And make no mistake about it, it is only rich people who can afford these things now. Time will tell if this tax money was well spent or just wasted.

Answer 2

1. PV is advantageous because once the up front costs are spent, the rest of the process is relatively inexpensive and worry free. It is most efficient at high altitudes, low latitudes, arid environments because there is a lot of sunlight.

It is expensive, with an 8-20 year payback time depending on government incentives and the price of electricity. I recently put a 1.5 kWh solar pv array on my roof. I now have two electric meters. One that monitors how much I buy from the utility and the other that monitors how much I sell to the utility. I pay about 8 cents a kWh, but sell my electricity to my utility for 20 cents per kWh. I paid $ 14,600 for the job, but have a $5,000 tax credit coming up next april. With all this, I should be able to pay it off in about 10 years.

The disadvantage of pv is the cost and payback time. I did mine for moral reasons -- put your money where your mouth is... There is also some potential risk from hail.

Wind turbines -- great except much higher maintenance than they thought a few years ago. They no longer pose much danger to birds because they are being built larger and slower. (Used to be called "Condor Cuisenarts" in california.

Biofuels -- too much pollution from farming --- lots of costs -- farming, erosion, transportation. Not sustainable at really large scale.

Answer 3

Solar cells to expensive for most people and you need one hell of a system for all your needs . Wind turban same thing . Bio fuel you cant make enough without driving the price of everything ells up.

Hydrogen fusion is the way to go and will be out soon.
One company stands alone and is going to take over the energy market . Believe it or not i don't care its just around the corner . I'm not going to mention the name tired of all the intelligent idiots giving me thumbs down . Damn fools mist out on the opportunity of a life time . To late to get your foot in the door now all high paying positions are full .

Good luck on your essay

Answer 4

sounds like your argument is set. support it. remember that even though solars cells create electricity which then uses less greenhouse gases to create it in another plant, the materials used to create the solar cells came from mining ore which does considerable damage to the environment.

Answer 5

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