Good question. Let's face it, nothing we do is without impact on our environment. Suppose that some of the vast desert areas of the Sahara were developed for solar power generation. Areas with a relatively high albedo would not be as reflective any more. Light would be absorbed on black surfaces and turned into electricity. Even a small decrease in albedo over a large area would have an impact on the weather. Maybe suddenly their weather would become a little cloudier and rainier, making it no longer ideal for solar collection.
I live in a sunny state and I know someone with solar with about a ten year pay back if I remember right. It's happening right now...
I'm not sure what your point is: nobody is saying it's ready for market yet. I'd still lay odds that they'll come up with a viable thin film solar in the next ten years. In fact, thin film solar is an excellent argument against what you are saying. Look at the first diagram in this link and you'll see the major growth in the industry: http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/820/ This link kind of puts the warning flag on thin film solar, but it does point out how fast the industry is growing: "growth of more than 30%, the growth rate is predicted to be 15 to 20% this year and next. Worldwide production capacity almost doubled last year to 760 MWp, up from 400 MWp in 2001. The main producers of these panels have different business strategies. Shell Solar strongly believes in thin-film alternatives, including its CIS technology. Other companies see crystalline silicon as the dominant technology during the next decade." Fuel cells have become more effecient with time and, furthermore, costs are going down as well. When the two meet up, you've got yourself a combo that will take a lot of profits right out of the hands of the mullahs...
I live in Tx; and the only guy in our town to do this spent about 35K to save about $70/month and by his own admission he did it to show it could be done. He is an EE with a utility background, so I would think he knows as well as anyone what to do and who to hire. ANy companies I can check out for the molten salt system? DS
For anyone interested, there's a great summary article in Nov's Popular Mechanics on p. 63. It covers thin film solar, of course, and a new technology at Sandia Labs that has 82 mirrors that focus an incredibly hot beam that will melt anlmost anything known to man. It is much, much hotter for example than a shuttle reentry. This, produced by Striling Energy, is ready for production. And here's another sign of progress. On p. 67 it states: "The DOE predicts that solar electricity will be cheaper than the average grid price by 2015". That's so beautiful! Did you guys read about the American woman who went to Iran as part of the Million Signature Movement for women's rights? They promptly threw into jail. In fact, they threw her into the part of jail that is notorious for torturing prisoners. Nice, eh? Oh, and no one has been able to contact her since she went in. Well, I'd like nothing better than to see about half of Iran's revenue dry up almost overnight. It makes me sick that we're sending so much of our cash overseas to these kind of people. (And Obama will make sure that continues of course.) They point out that a new thin-film technology uses a Cu Indium Gallium Selenide semiconductor that has an efficiency rating of almost 30%! This is even better than the prvious cad-tel technology.
Oh, and if that isn't enough, on p. 74 they talk about a company named Aptera has created a vehicle with a drag coefficient about half of a Prius. They have a lighter test vehicle that is just 1,500 lbs and gets 300 mpg! Yes, you read that right. My friends, that is better a better gift for the Iranian despots than the Israeli missiles that were gift wrapped not too long ago for them... And think of poor Chavez with no funds to fuel his Communist agenda. Or think of the Russian mafia seeing their non-hard-earned cash vaporize almost overnight. How sweet it is...
Oh, and the cost of polysilicon is falling like a rock thx to the global economy all the while solar corporate earnings are booming: http://seekingalpha.com/article/103...-boom?source=front_page_most_popular_articles I'm hearing the sound of rain...