Why dont we have a gigantic solar panel system in the warm states,stretching miles across to supply the usa?
a fiber optic network could distribute solar energy from warm states to the rest of the country. Using a Federally created program,the energy would be used through a trust program to benefit all of our citizens equally. It would create thousands of jobs and help us with our dependence on foriegn oil supplies. This is no different than work programs created by the Feds during the 1930’s depression era.
As a matter of fact these types of facilities are being built today. People are already hard at work on it. Yes solar is more expensive that conventional electricity sources, but only at first. A solar power plant has no fuel costs and so although it costs a lot more to build at first over its life time it can actually cost a lot less.
That doesn’t even count the costs of byproducts from conventional power plants. Most people are not aware that particulate pollution kills between 100,000 and 200,000 people in the United States every year. The majority source of particulate pollution is electrical power production, but our electrical bill does not include the costs of those deaths. If the electric utilities had to pay their fair share of those medical costs electricity produced by fossil fuels would look a lot less attractive.
Some people think solar panels take more energy to build than they every collect from the sun but that is not true. A solar panel generates the energy it takes to make it in between 1 and 2 years and after that the power it generates is basically free. Solar panels are expected to last between 30 and 50 years, so that is a lot of free power.
By the way, I installed solar panels on my house. They cost me about 6000 dollars (after rebates and tax deductions) and saves me about 1000 dollars every year from my electrical bill. I have a 5 bedroom house and a family of three and our electrical bill averages just $35/month. That is in California with some of the highest electrical rates in the country. So I can say that solar works.
There are dozens of companies working very hard to make solar power more affordable and they are being successful. The solar industry is about 7X larger in 2006 than it was in 2000. It is one of the fastest growing industries and has sustained growth of 40% per year for the last five years. Solar power will become the largest industry on Earth, but it will take some time. It is a very encouraging development.
Solar Energy Jobs, Online Solar Energy Job Search
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