World's Largest Solar Power Plant Planned in Arizona

CoStar News ^ | Feb. 29, 2008 | Phillip Majarucon

[null and void]

There is that...

[Robert A Cook PE]

This 1 Kw/M^2 is valid ONLY at the equator, at local apparent noon (from 11:15 to 12:15 each day), on a cloudless day, with a perfect absorber/reflector/transmitter/receiver/converter. (In space.)

No matter how you play with your umbers, solar power is 40-75% more expensive than conventional. Even using the unreasonable assumptions of this advertisement.

[null and void]

As you say, it does need to be derated by sun angle and atmospheric absorption.

Solar power is more expensive, in most cases, than gas/coal/hydro/nuke.

It is much cheaper the further one gets from the installed power line base. A full blown home solar system has a much cheaper installation cost than running a even couple miles of power lines, and is essentially free to operate.

As fuel costs continue to rise solar becomes more cost effective. It isn’t there yet, but will be fairly soon.

[G Larry]

Solar power is a joke.

It’s for folks that don’t mind tepid showers.

I get a kick out of “legislation” that dictates specific percentages of “renewable energy”. Then when the sun doesn’t shine enough, or the wind doesn’t blow enough, the power company is obligated to allocate the balance from their coal fired plants......????

[null and void]

Tepid? You can easily scald yourself with solar heated water IN ARIZONA!

[G Larry]

Therein lies the key!

You must be relatively close to the power generating source due to line loss constraints. Therefore, nationally, solar power is NOT a solution.

[null and void]

There is no one solution. Solar is a good (-ish) solution in Arizona, where this project is based. Hydro is a good solution in the PNW, Mostly coal and natgas are good elsewhere. And if it didn’t have such an image problem, nuke would be good pretty much everywhere.

[TruthSetsUFree]

"It's not that the farmland are disappearing but the farmers are."

It's because all the "middle men" rob the farmers of any decent profit they can make. Til they've invested in all their equipment, land, etc., they just simply can't make enough to make a decent profit, especially considering it's a 24/7 job in most cases.

Easier and better money can be made elsewhere, so unless you REALLY have a love of farming, then why not do something else?

[G Larry]

Solar is a pitiful Return on Investment and only serves to make people feel good.

As for the “image” of nuclear power, we need to get more facts on the table regarding the very real solutions available for nuclear waste disposal.
The permitting time for construction time must be reduced and the best way to facilitate this is to standardize two reactor designs for the nation.
The construction process must be better supervised to ensure quality and avoid wasted time.

[RedMonqey]

Easier and better money can be made elsewhere, so unless you REALLY have a love of farming, then why not do something else?

That's our family's situation.

Pop was the last "full time" farmer and us kids just cannot continue to do so. We are more than willing to keep the farm and do it part time but the Welfare State wants it's cut. When Mom leaves us we fear we won't be able to pay the taxman.

The "Death Tax" will be death of our eight generation farm.

[RedMonqey]

I’m sorry . There is a couple of government programs that let’s your idle farmland. I forgot to mention just they are just horrible if you want to make money. One is CRP (Conservation Reserve Program)It is about letting some acreage go “idle” and get some money for doing so. It’s more an environmental program as it’s to protect land near water sources from eroding and polluting downstream.

Only a few farmers with truly piss poor land are eligible to sign up for it. For the average farmer with even passable land it's a bad choice as their rate of pay is terrible and you have to sign up for a lengthy amount of time. Better to plant a poor crop of corn or soybeans than participate in these “free checks”

And another one under the forestry service that pays you an amount to plant trees. But there again the returns ain’t great and you have to lock up the land until the trees maturity.