Lew Hodgett wrote:
Ivanpah thermal solar project comes on line.

Three year construction in Mojave desert comes on line.

Will supply power for 140,000 homes in SoCal.

Replaces San Onofre nuclear facility taken off line.

Reduces CO2 emissions by 400,000 tons annually.

We are gaining on it.

Google Ivanpah thermal solar project for more info.

BTW, "Ivanpah" is a town near where project is located.
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"woodchucker" wrote:

There is a problem with solar panels though Lew, because they absorb
so much sun, they heat up the area.

So all the windmills affected the wind currents.
The solar panels will affect the temperatures.
There's no free lunch. I too am concious of the energy problems, and
waste problems we have. I had read about the super collectors where
mirrors focus the light and follow the sun, that also has problems.
Then there is the current GE commercial showing harnessing the
ocean, that too if built in big farms will have major issues.
Imagine that effecting the ocean currents, or chopping whales in
half that venture too close...
Many options in moderation might be the answer, but no single method
will wind up providing the answer, and thats the problem.

Fuel cells... it's expensive to break up water into hyrdrogen and
oxygen.It requires high amounts of electricty..
NO FREE LUNCH.. not today.
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Who said anything about a FREE LUNCH?

Remember Newton?

"For any action there is an equal but opposite reaction", comes to
mind.

Any new technology brings new problems with it.

Solving those problems is what R & D is all about.

Existing coal fired generation has/had lots of problems, (I spent a
major part of my under graduate years studying them) but
federal tax credits helped pay for the development of solutions
many of whom were never implemented because the utilities
didn't want to pay for them.

For years the oil industry received a 27% annual depletion
allowance on existing wells to help pay for continued exploration.

These industries no longer need to receive these tax gifts, it's time
to invest in new energy sources.

Ivanpah is a solar/thermal project as you have read about.

There are over 350,000 computer controlled reflective mirrors
which re-direct the suns rays back to collector towers that heat
water into steam which drives steam turbines that in turn drive
the electrical generations.

Sure there are going to be problems, but they will be solved.

One of the biggest obstacles to overcome was financing.

If it had not been for the federal gov't backing a $1.6 billion
construction loan, the project would never have gotten off the
ground.

Fossil, fuels as we know them, are history.

We can't not continue to pollute our environment.

The sooner we devote ourselves, much like we did
to the space program, the sooner we solve the problem.

We are all in this together, whether we like it or not.


Lew