Solar, Wind, & Electric Vehicles

Heard a physicist on the radio the other day debunking these 3 energy saving ideas.

He said solar panels are expensive and the ground underneath them cause ground pollution eventually. They are economically a poor investment because you can't count on the sun to shine every day. Some months or when the days get shorter, the sun may not shine at all. Batteries are very expensive. The turbines themselves are expensive and it will take a long time to break even on the investment.

Wind turbines kill thousands of birds every year. There is a lot of maintenance on wind turbines and are costly repairs.

According to him, electric vehicles are impractical for a number of reasons. The batteries don't last long and are extremely costly when they need to be replaced. The power grids can't support overuse such as now with the heat. How will you ever expect it to adding all electric vehicles? He mentioned 2 countries that have gone all electric on vehicles away from fossil fuels. But, after two years have determined all electric was impractical and are switching back to fossil fuels. There are huge graveyards of trashed electric vehicles. Mileage is overestimated and is subjected to various conditions not mentioned such as wind, temperature, speed, etc.

For as long as they have been pushing these options it seems like they offer few realistic choices it’s like it’s a secret. (Conspiracy) LOL Seriously I never see any types of these kind of businesses in my travels never could figure that out.

I agree with all the above. But I'm still thinking about putting a 5 to 10 kw solar system on my home . Why? Even with the up front high cost It's paid done and over with. Now my utility bill will be reduced for decades. Yes payback at current rates on a grid tied system will be about 7 to 8 years big deal. I have the cash now and rates will continue to rise and I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I may not always have a good job or I may take a big pay cut to spend more time at home with the kids. I will have more flexibility to do so if I have lowered monthly bills. Plus I am a hands on learning individual and I want to play with a system to learn about it. I may like it or May be a big wast one way to find out.

The Govt don't care you will buy there electric cars and keep your mouth shut.

Dirty green energy is all it is and millions of morons think they are saving the world.

One hail storm and your starting over
And then the disposal of the old ones

I read where certain types of solar panels are considered hazardous waste when their lifespan is up. I'd check that before installing any......disposal requirements.

They all are. Lots of bad stuff in them. They can be recycled now but it’s very expensive. Thus the term “Dirty Green Energy”

I know disposal can get expensive real fast!

We bought a garage that had underground tanks we had to get rid of. Yikes! It cost a pretty penny!

I’m going to try a solar fan system on my new storage unit one panel runs 2 fans I hope to get some idea of what’s real and what’s not. Might add a light to it . I had a smoke alarm looking solar fan that I mounted on my coop years back that thing ran forever it seemed like. It finally got crushed when we had to move the coop when the lake came up that thing just humming away amazed me like the energizer bunny.

Here is one of the best pieces I have read on this subject in general

https://peregrine1031.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Aritlce-The-New-Energy-Economy-Reality-3.pdf

Good information. I'd also like to know how many gallons of real diesel fuel it takes to make and distribute 1 gallon of bio-diesel.

The great reset people want us living in these 15 minute cities. They really don't want you having private vehicles at all.

We should all bend over. It is coming. They do not plan to fail.

China just sent Kerry packing, with a NO on his green energy spiel.

They said they'll keep using old energy production, the new ways aren't ready. Common sense that Kerry and company lack.

What’s stupid is that hydrogen technology is here now but that is too simple, solar panels for heating water is a good thing but for electric generation it’s not the best, the best electrical generation is nuclear especially if they would be able to refine the rods and reuse them, but I believe Carter signed the agreement that stopped that, wind generation is just a pain the only advantage solar has over wind is that most of solar is that it’s usually closer to the ground.

Charles has nailed it.

As Bob mentioned, heating water with panels is very viable. Dad had them on his house back in the mid 80's and worked good. He claimed it really helped on the power bill. The tree huggers never mention how well solar clothes dryers work either. Yes for both you have to have sun. Just my 4 cents.

The second you bring up hybrids or nuclear the say heck no. That’s all you need to determine their agenda. As I have stated before China and India have each been bringing 2 coal power plants each online per week for a long time and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Hmm had not thought about that. Yet I do have a 20wat panel on a fence charger and Hail has kot caused an issue with it in the 6 years I have had it.

I think it makes the US look foolish sending Kerry to China 🇨🇳 to ask about going green, Thats one thing that will NEVER happen.

Wowser White sure doesn't support the green energy lie well.

They need to look at the interstate highway system. The traffic is non stop 24/7 365. A pressure plate, toggle switch…something! If I can crank up a flashlight by hand what could millions and millions and millions of cars trucks and semis do?

Solar is not bad,nor is it a bad investment. I put in a 7.6 kw system (tied into the grid, no battery backup) on my roof 4 years ago. I purchased the components online, and installed the system myself, except for the hook up to my meter which cost me $400. My out of pocket was $15k. Since installing the system, my monthly electric bills are less then $13 per month. They use to average well over $200 monthly. In another year and a half, my system will have paid for itself and I’ll have cheap electricity thereafter. Is solar green? Who cares! I bought the system as an investment to save me for the long haul. I consider solar the best $15k I’ve ever spent.

You got off easy if it works. Know people that have dropped a half mil on solar and it still can't perform completely. Even with running lower load appliances to keep load demand down.

Sniper sounds like the people you know needed Olney to pick their system and install it. Whoever they chose obviously didn't work. Sounds like they may need to figure out how to use less juice if they needed a system that cost so much.

Theirs are full systems not connected to the grid at all.

Ya got that right !

Unless Biden can repeal the laws of physics they will never succeed.

It is amazing the folks that have no concept of limitations the laws of physics have on attaining goals.

My late friend, Don Greider, had 106 patents in just solar energy. He had more patents in automotive and other fields. He very much believed this too, that soar was great for heating water, which could also be used to heat buildings, was not a cheap, efficient way of making electricity, without government sponsorship and that wind turbines cost more than they would ever return.

Keith

Still seems very hight especially for it not to work. Out way back in the coal mine I used to hunt a guy built a nice large modern home. He ran it off solar had a very large ground mount system and was completely off grid. Not to save the planet but becuse the power company was going to charge him 100k to run lines to him. His complete system cost him 80k and that was over 10 years ago. Solar has come down in price a bunch In the time. He saved 20k and does not get a monthly bill. He Had nothing but positive to say about his system.

That's why your persions story sounds so odd to me. Almost like they have their system facing north, under trees or its just not designed properly . But who knows I have zero personal experience other than my fence charging system. But that's why I want to put a small system in to play with.

Got off easy? No! I did my research before I purchased my system. Iowa is loaded with people using solar. Seems like large scale farmers in my area have it now too. It's very reliable and the components I bought carry a 20 year warranty. Systems with battery backup are really only useful for people living off grid, or those who's grid faces long outages frequently. Mine does not. Again, I didn't purchase my system because I thought it would save the planet. I bought it to save ME!

The older I get the more I learn just how true that statement is

Cavemen knew how to get the most out of solar at a low investment. But even for him it was unreliable. Come out of his cave expecting to lay on a warm rock and oops no sunshine.

And onward to his quest for fire.

This thread had me thinking I remembered that I saw a show about solar thermal power plants here’s a link to the government website on them.

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/solar/solar-thermal-power-plants.php

this is not true, I have a 10kwh solar setup with battery backup. It is almost paid for, another 2-3 year and it it'll be paid off. We have 4 years in already.
may have to get a new battery pack at some point but with a total energy cost of about $800/yr there is a lot of savings to be had.

As demand for electricity raises the cost will increase.

So it looks like those that actually have a solar system like them and in a short amount of time will be saving money. What's more interesting is two on this page live further north where it less sun hours a day and theybare still happy with their investments. Those that are negative about them don't have personal experience and are repeating what they have heard. Just my observations.

Dirty d did you put your system in or have it done?

Honda builds lawnmowers in NC. Converting the plant to ATVs. In a matter of months they are ceasing gasoline mowers.

They are in business to make profit. Can’t meat government requirements and consumers now want electric mowers for home use.

They are becoming more popular. Probably work fine if you have a small yard in town.

I have an electric mower, weedeater. Power tools. They are all great but still need coal power to charge my batteries.

The only reason solar works on an individual level any.level for that matter is the tax break.

It really is a conspiracy

it was installed by a places that specializes in solar. Have the panels on one building (workshop) and the battery backup, inverters etc in the basement of the house. Cost was about 40K but with gov't and local power company incentives the price dropped to about 25K.

Biggest downside to solar/wind power generation is lack of storage. Storage needs to be robust enough that one could store a very large chunk of summers bounty for the dark nights of winter so basically a basement full of batteries. $$$$$$.

not true, the solar panels will last long enough to easily pay themselves back, hard to use all the power they generate tho so some goes back to the grid. our power company only pays .04/kwh vs the .15/kwh we pay. Plus we are charged a monthly fee for being a "co-generation facility". Big cost in solar system was the small battery storage we added. about 1/4 of the price. Batteries are the no pay back part of the system. Until and if storage gets much much better then all will change.

I mention this to point out the savings side of the equation is not a realistic number in our case. If we had to buy at .15 all of what we totally really use minus what we pay for power now the pay back would be much quicker. Almost impossible to tell how much power we use due to the way our system is setup. We can't tell how much we generate and use. Most solar systems without batteries don't use anything they generate, it all goes back to the grid. Our system is setup to use power generated first, then any over load is sent to charge batteries the rest goes to the grid. No way to meter this.

Pay back would be much quicker if it was not for the bad deal we are getting from our power co. many other solar users I know get a much better deal than we do. So power co. is one of the big determining factors on pay back.

I'm on a co-op also and they will omy give credit a wholesale price but charg retail going the other way. I like the idea of battery back up but it does not pencil out. I would be ahead with lp back up generation for outages.
I don't give .02 or buy into the green scam. I just want to reduce my future monthly bills so I can take a pay cut and get a job near home and spend more time with my wife and kids vs traveling for work. Making the transition to the pay cut from the option of 140k down to 50k needs all the help I can get. I'm still in the planing stages trying to mak it happen and still live a comfortable lifestyle. Paying for my next 30 years electric up front could help make the pipe dream closer to a reality

Where are the folks that have had them for ten years or more and are in the black?

I'd like to hear from them, the ones that had them awhile.

I have a solar pump to help keep my pond full. I can watch the water start and stop according to the direct sunshine. If I walk in front of panels it will slow down almost to a stop. My observation is that it will not run at all in months like our March.
Wind and solar farms and transmission lines are all hooked into the nation wide grid. We will soon be slaves to the power companies if we do not get a local sourced for local consumption power. That is the draw for me. Why hasnt anyone figured out how to power a house on DC? Using a combo of solar, wind and battery and backup generators, a transformer, inverter?

You can run on DC and reduce or eliminate your inverter. The catch is things like DC refrigerator and freezers are expensive and are small sized.
If I built new I would consider wiring both for ac and dc.

I saw on NewsMax this morning that Israel has had some big breakthrough on hydrogen power. I didn't catch the gist of it, as I had just caught the tail end of it.

Another downside that I don't think was mentioned is cost to insure solar panels. Obviously, they are very susceptible to storm damage and according to the physicist, they will contaminate the soil if they leak over time as some have.. Having been an insurance agent for over 50 years, I know there are not many companies that will insure solar panels either for these reasons.

Nay sayers used to say "GET A HORSE."
And that was only 100 or so years ago.
My Grand Father used to deliver mail with a horse and buggy.
just
In the erly years gasoline engines were favored because gas was cheap and plentiful. Not so today.

The only reason it’s not cheap and plentiful now is because they don’t want it to be

There is a major difference between using oil and gas and using electricity to operate everything. Oil and gas are energy producers. Electricity is an energy consumer. If you don't use oil and gas today you can store it for months and use it later. Electricity has to be used immediately or it's lost. That's what the batteries are for. But try to run a bulldozer off of electricity, ain't gonna happen. If all this windmill and solar panel crap worked, we would already be using it. Our forefathers toyed with windmills but discovered they didn't work too well. It's kinda like owning a 1990s flip phone. They don't work too well but the younger generation wants to go back to them.

Thats baloney

Electric, wind and solar stuff should always be an option, but nothing more than that. No mandates or subsidies. Just use it if it works for you. If not, then don't.

Would you be willing to give up mandates and subsities on gas?
BTW its solar that created petroleum in the first place.
Say what about storage.
just

Yep, if they take the tax off too.

18% federal and Pa. Has a 57 cent per gallon tax. That's over a dollar a gallon tax.

X2. As for "green" energy, hydrogen would be the best bet.

Yes. Government should not be mandating `or subsidizing anything.
I've got nothing against alternative energy. If it works people will want it and drive demand for it. If it doesn't it will have limited success. It really shouldn't be more complicated than that.

What subsidies do oil companies get? Tax deductions is all I can find.

Ain't that enough.

Politicly we're sucking up tp Arabs. whats the deal with Venesawala (sp) etc etc etc

just

Maybe you outta look into who benefits from solar panels before you TRY to throw shade on the oil indusrty.

Well lets talk about that.
Very simply I do.
My little camper uses solar to run a fan overnight.
Try that with gasoline
Think of coleman lanterns in a camper. in the summer..
.Lights are battery operated and charged with solar too .And it don't cost me another dime.
Small for instance SURE.

So add a few years and lots of American ingenuity and see where this goes is my opinion.

Wind should be reserved as sail boat fuel ...... I had to use the engines on my way from St Augustine to Hilton Head last week ... probably because they are using all that wind to spin them turbines for cars and stoves and AC units and water heaters ...... Man they must produce a lot of electrickery if ya think about it

That is supply and demand. Your power company does not need your power but are required to buy it. If they really needed it they could/would pay more. They are not in business to transport your power to their customers for free.

Tell that to the KKKalifornians that have never ending Brown and Black outs!! Wait until they try to force ALL Electric everything!!! It will be a never ending Blackout . Just rolling from Grid to Grid!!! Your little Fan on a solar panel is not comparing ANYTHING to what is going on in that place!!!

We had Oil Independence from Saudi!! Then Hair Sniffer took it away!! Remember the first week he was in Office he shut down the Pipeline and removed Russias Sanctions on Oil creating and Paying for the Ukraine invasion!!!

EV's are like throwing a saddle on a possum saying ...... "Ya got to start somewhere and nature will come up with a good horse eventually."

So BEFORE ya'll hot into a tesla and others, get the bloody infrastructure sorted out ..... Like enough power and a grid that will support all those extra consumers. The batterie issue and the materials for said batteries. Be aware that EV's are NOT zero emission vechiles. Today the run mostly on coal. Wind and solar power does not even amount to 2% of the national energy production. If it was more, things would not get better as the end costumer does not want to hear that he cant charge his ride to work or watch a football game, because its cloudy or not windy enough. Making your economy dependent on weather patterns may not be such a bright idea ... but thats just my 2 cents worth and probably worth less than that