Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4
So we are to believe the 2.2 billion dollar bird incinerator is a prototype?
Or are they just making excuses because the too big to fail project isn't working as advertised.
Batteries are another big material cost item. They are only getting more expensive too.
AGM batteries have only increased at least 10% in the last 5 years.
LiFePO4 batteries have increased slightly in cost in the last 4 years.
Before and during this time all I have read on the internet is "batteries will get cheaper" so far all that has ever amounted to is wishful thinking out loud.
|
. . . it matters not. The project is built and will continue to develop.
Prototype means many things to many people, but the fact the system is not a standardized off the shelf piece means it fits the description of "proto" type. Several dozen heliostat farms have preceded this one and each has taught design staffs a bit more. I have worked on multi-million dollar projects of such scope that it was understood that subsystems were to be improved upon regular replacement schedules.
And you have answered your own support for solar panels.
They cannot produce power when the sun goes down. You can install excess capacity to allow storage of electrical energy for later. But, how are you going to store that energy? You correctly stated the increasing costs of batteries. Those costs must be included in panel installation if you want to compare it to a large heliostat farm with the ability to store daylight energy via liquid salts or thermochemical cycles.
I see both technologies as supportive of each other. Place the ever cheaper panels in every nook and cranny of a city to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Use conservation techniques to reduce this need even more. Then use heliostat farms to store daylight energy for the dark.
When something better than solar farms comes along, the heliostat arrays can be taken down with little trouble as they are simple towers and turbines and mirrors mounted on anchor poles.
You ask me why I am so passionate about solar energy, wind energy and geothermal energy? Simply because I directly benefit from these projects. My business lies along the energy corridors tying the Mojave to the Southern California Coastal cities. My machine tools like electricity. These projects feed my tools with relatively cheap electricity.