Friday, April 15, 2016

Solar energy developments

Not a big fan of solar.  In fact, I think it is really dumb.  But some people believe in it.

Here's a few tidbits I've rounded up.  If it can be made to work, Elon Musk is going to try it.  He's got "gigafactories" in the works that can drive prices down.  According to this, down to  $2500 kw when it's built.  Not cheap, but cheaper than it was.


Solarcity gigafactory for solar cells could make solar plus batteries cheaper than fossil fuels

I knew about the gigafactory for batteries.  You'll need batteries too, kemosabe.  They aren't cheap either, but also getting cheaper.

Tesla Is Building a $5-Billion Gigafactory Powered By Renewable Energy For Their Electric Cars

Tesla has already got a powerwall for sale.  I think 3k bucks can get you 7kwh of power, which would require more than the $2500 mentioned above for the panels.  On a sunny day, you might get a modest amount of energy out of the thing.

tesla powerwall home battery

Seems to me that a simple propane generator can produce more energy for a lot less money.  But that puts all that icky carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Well, you cannot win 'em all.


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