The going rate for electricity at the wholesale level is about $35/MWh. More in some areas, less in others but 35 is a reasonable ballpark for calculations. This is also the rate at which the power company will buy back any excess power you produce with those panels (if you are doing the grid-tie option as opposed to storage on site)
And yes, the power company is marking up the price significantly. To their credit, they also have to install and maintain all the equipment necessary to sell retail electricity to the "market" and these costs huge.
It is not the efficiency (W/m^2) that needs to go UP in order to make fixed solar generation facilities common, it is the cost ( $/W) that needs to come DOWN.
I'll argue that for a typical small house (1500 sq-Ft) there is more than enough roof area to generate all the electricity for the house, even with 6-7% efficient solar panels. Unfortunately, buying current solar panels, this much energy would cost you >$35,000 !! (And that doesn't include batteries, tracker, inverter.... etc)
If these guys can make lower efficiency panels that also have lower cost/Watt, it is a winning situation for everyone. Where do I buy their stock ?
While it is true the efficiency of this system is lower than for PV panels, I would also expect the cost per watt to be significantly less.
Efficiency of PV panels becomes important when you are limited on space. Most PV installations are of limited size due to cost considerations. Even if the efficiency of this Rankin cycle system is lower, with a larger solar collecting area the same total power can be produced.
I'm convinced the problem with solar (in general) is $/Watt and not efficiency.
Several years back I found this text about the origins of the rocketcar story. While I don't know if it is true, I will say it is a very interesting read if you have a half hour or so. At the very least, it will change the way you think about the rocket car story.
I can see a huge benefit to having a large searchable database of IT issues with solutions. The Wiki style works well if you can keep the detractors to a minimum. Probably this is going to be the one hurdle to making the site a success (well, besides the name, of course)
I second the opinion that Expert's Exchange is a real pain. Giving the hint of a solution to what might be your problem but requiring registration to find out if it is right or even applies. I can see no reason to register for results viewing other than creating a database of users.... and we all know where that goes eventually.
I hope the Splunk guys make a go of it. I'll support them.
At one time you could do a multi-project Mosis wafer. No masks are made, the data is directly written to the wafer. Each project makes up 10 to 20 die on a large wafer. Flextronics was doing this for a while too, but I believe they have moved to a different business model. Check out the following link to IBM talking about their current Mosis schedule. I'm sure more info is there on the website.
For GUI based directory navigation and file manipulation, the shareware program "V" http://www.fileviewer.com/ can't be beat. Mostly Intuitive: you can run it without reading the manual, flexible: lets you easily view both large/small/text/hex/data files, and FAST. Runs on Win95 thru XP and beats the hell out of Explorer
License plate numbers are regularly tracked these days camera radar, automated roadside smog checks, and particularly annoying, Airport parking lots. Just because it is happening, doesn't mean I like it. When the concern grows large enough, people change their actions. (i.e. Avoiding cameras on top of stop lights or NOT parking at airports).
The same thoughts apply here. Cookies are a useful tool, but they can also easily be abused. If people feel their cookies are more of a
detriment than benefit, they get deleted on a regular basis.
>> One moron weaving out of traffic colliding with you going >>fast causes a whole pileup on a highway.
Please remember that your comment (above) also has a corollary:
One Idiot traveling just below the speed limit on a highway when the rest of the traffic is flowing at 10 mph above the speed limit is just as likely to cause a pileup.
"Try to have your state lower the drinking age to 19"
But isn't the 21-drinking age a case of the federal government using highway funding to blackmail the states ?? I suspect if the funding issue was removed, many of the states would reduce the drinking age.
>.rar have been blocked at our proxy (both > extension and mimetype) and email scanner > for years. Along with rtf, password protected > zip files, exe files, cpl files, etc. It's a > long list.
Why not block all outside files, and be certain that no infections can come through. (Okay, I should have turned the sarcasm flag on)
In doing engineering contracting, it is common to send and receive.exe files, password protected.zip files, etc. I'm not sure that a well meaning IT department realizes the hoops they are making the engineering department jump through.
"64 Tera-watts of Solar, at current efficiencies requires covering almost all of the world's landmasses with solar panels"
Not nearly that bad..... If you assume 10% solar efficiency and 8 hours per day (average) of sunlight, the area for 64 Tera-Watt generation in solar panels is about 1/5 the area of the USA (about what you would get if you combined Alaska and Texas.... not that either of those states wish to be mentioned in the same sentence). Still, this is not practical, just not as bad as the original poster stated.
All these added features in a cell phone.....it makes sense from a manufacturers point of view.
They are all asking their R&D departments to come up with features that give the most bang for the $'s spent. While there are serious cost limitations on how the communications portion of the system can be improved, extra games are simply added software and attract customers attention.
Cameras can be explained in a similar (but more complicated) way. Camera hardware is an added expense, BUT the phone service providers can charge a premium for data (picture) transfers on top of the voice connection.
Improvements in the telephone portion of the system are usually subtle and go unnoticed by the general public. If there were some source of information comparing a cell phones basic features (Sound Quality, Battery Life, Larger possible service area....) and this was EASILY available to the public, you may start seeing the phone manufacturers start giving us features we really care about.
Personally, I could give two hoots about pictures and mp3's coming through my phone. I would be quite satisfied with good voice service and SMS. Maybe if more people expressed this idea, there would be a reaction in the market.
The power company IS required to buy back your excess solar/wind generated electricity, however (And here is the kicker) They are only required to pay wholesale prices, not retail. This means the power you sell back is only about 1/3 of the value of the power they are charging you to use. Almost makes "Gorilla Solar" sound like a better choice.
My bet is that EVERYONE reading this article wants a phone with "just a few simple features". Unfortunately, each of us put a different priority on a particular feature. The phone manufacturers are in a quandary... how to sell the most phones to a general public that wants everything but doesn't want to pay more than $99? Their solution is to add the features that they think the most people want, and hope they can hit some combination that allows them to charge a bit more.....
For the record, my perfect phone: Tri-Mode with data capable, Large Address Book, Big (I mean Really Big) Li Battery, vibrate mode, No Camera, No MP3, No Bluetooth, No Color, No Symphony Sound (But it would be nice to program the ring tone loudness and duration)
Slashdot Mirror
The going rate for electricity at the wholesale level is
about $35/MWh. More in some areas, less in others but 35
is a reasonable ballpark for calculations. This is also
the rate at which the power company will buy back any
excess power you produce with those panels (if you are
doing the grid-tie option as opposed to storage on site)
And yes, the power company is marking up the price
significantly. To their credit, they also have to install
and maintain all the equipment necessary to sell retail
electricity to the "market" and these costs huge.
It is not the efficiency (W/m^2) that needs to go UP in order to make fixed solar generation facilities common, it is the cost ( $/W) that needs to come DOWN.
I'll argue that for a typical small house (1500 sq-Ft) there is more than enough roof area to generate all the electricity for the house, even with 6-7% efficient solar panels. Unfortunately, buying current solar panels, this much energy would cost you >$35,000 !! (And that doesn't include batteries, tracker, inverter.... etc)
If these guys can make lower efficiency panels that also have lower cost/Watt, it is a winning situation for everyone. Where do I buy their stock ?
There is a corollary to Moores law that applies to Software:
Every 18 months, the speed of software is cut in half
While it is true the efficiency of this system is lower than for PV panels, I would also expect the cost per watt to be significantly less.
Efficiency of PV panels becomes important when you are limited on space. Most PV installations are of limited size due to cost considerations. Even if the efficiency of this Rankin cycle system is lower, with a larger solar collecting area the same total power can be produced.
I'm convinced the problem with solar (in general) is $/Watt and not efficiency.
Have you never heard of a "Light Emitting Rodent" ?
Several years back I found this text about the origins of the rocketcar story. While I don't know if it is true, I will say it is a very interesting read if you have a half hour or so. At the very least, it will change the way you think about the rocket car story.
http://www.rocketcarstory.com/
I can see a huge benefit to having a large searchable database of IT issues with solutions. The Wiki style works well if you can keep the detractors to a minimum. Probably this is going to be the one hurdle to making the site a success (well, besides the name, of course)
I second the opinion that Expert's Exchange is a real pain. Giving the hint of a solution to what might be your problem but requiring registration to find out if it is right or even applies. I can see no reason to register for results viewing other than creating a database of users.... and we all know where that goes eventually.
I hope the Splunk guys make a go of it. I'll support them.
At one time you could do a multi-project Mosis wafer. No masks are made,
p w_sched.html
the data is directly written to the wafer. Each project makes up 10 to 20 die on a large wafer. Flextronics was doing this for a while too, but I believe they have moved to a different business model. Check out the following link to IBM talking about their current Mosis schedule. I'm sure more info is there on the website.
http://www-03.ibm.com/chips/asics/foundry/tools/m
Good Luck
Yes, and they will be installed on Police, EMS,
and Fire vehicles early next year !
If Sony did nothing wrong, then why are at least 2 lawsuits being filed against them ???
For GUI based directory navigation and file manipulation, the shareware program "V" http://www.fileviewer.com/ can't be beat. Mostly Intuitive: you can run it without reading the manual, flexible: lets you easily view both large/small/text/hex/data files, and FAST. Runs on Win95 thru XP and beats the hell out of Explorer
--Just my $0.02
> The people living downstream of the river then suffer freak flash floods
Not a whole lot downstream of New Orleans to worry about flooding.
I second this guys opinioin...
Never, EVER buy a Lexmark
> Dave Matthews Band, Los Lonely Boys, Wilco, Jack Johnson,
> John Mayer, and Pearl Jam (just to name a few)....
Don't forget "Dispatch", a well known east cost band that started
their own label and encourages ppl to download their music.
License plate numbers are regularly tracked
these days camera radar, automated roadside
smog checks, and particularly annoying, Airport
parking lots. Just because it is happening,
doesn't mean I like it. When the concern
grows large enough, people change their actions.
(i.e. Avoiding cameras on top of stop lights
or NOT parking at airports).
The same thoughts apply here. Cookies are a
useful tool, but they can also easily be abused.
If people feel their cookies are more of a
detriment than benefit, they get deleted on
a regular basis.
And Isreal appears surprisingly absent from the list ???
> ...this was one of four fuel sensors that have to work at -400 degrees (I don't recall if NASA TV
:-)
> said C or F... I would guess C)
I would lean more toward F (Unless you live in a
different universe than I do
>> One moron weaving out of traffic colliding with you going
>>fast causes a whole pileup on a highway.
Please remember that your comment (above) also has a corollary:
One Idiot traveling just below the speed limit on a highway
when the rest of the traffic is flowing at 10 mph above the
speed limit is just as likely to cause a pileup.
Never, repeat NEVER post your password on
:-)
a sticky note next to your monitor !!!!!
Put it under the keyboard where it belongs
"Try to have your state lower the drinking age to 19"
But isn't the 21-drinking age a case of the federal government using highway funding to blackmail the states ?? I suspect if the funding issue was removed, many of the states would reduce the drinking age.
> .rar have been blocked at our proxy (both
.exe files, password protected .zip files, etc. I'm not sure that a well meaning IT department realizes the hoops they are making the engineering department jump through.
> extension and mimetype) and email scanner
> for years. Along with rtf, password protected
> zip files, exe files, cpl files, etc. It's a
> long list.
Why not block all outside files, and be certain that no infections can come through. (Okay, I should have turned the sarcasm flag on)
In doing engineering contracting, it is common to send and receive
"64 Tera-watts of Solar, at current efficiencies requires covering almost all of the world's landmasses with solar panels"
Not nearly that bad.....
If you assume 10% solar efficiency and 8 hours per day (average) of sunlight, the area for 64 Tera-Watt generation in solar panels is about 1/5 the area of the USA (about what you would get if you combined Alaska and Texas.... not that either of those states wish to be mentioned in the same sentence). Still, this is not practical, just not as bad as the original poster stated.
Just my $0.02
All these added features in a cell phone.....it makes sense from a manufacturers point of view.
They are all asking their R&D departments to come up with features that give the most bang for the $'s spent. While there are serious cost limitations on how the communications portion of the system can be improved, extra games are simply added software and attract customers attention.
Cameras can be explained in a similar (but more complicated) way. Camera hardware is an added expense, BUT the phone service providers can charge a premium for data (picture) transfers on top of the voice connection.
Improvements in the telephone portion of the system are usually subtle and go unnoticed by the general public. If there were some source of information comparing a cell phones basic features (Sound Quality, Battery Life, Larger possible service area....) and this was EASILY available to the public, you may start seeing the phone manufacturers start giving us features we really care about.
Personally, I could give two hoots about pictures and mp3's coming through my phone. I would be quite satisfied with good voice service and SMS. Maybe if more people expressed this idea, there would be a reaction in the market.
Well.......
The power company IS required to buy back your excess solar/wind generated electricity, however (And here is the kicker) They are only required to pay wholesale prices, not retail. This means the power you sell back is only about 1/3 of the value of the power they are charging you to use. Almost makes "Gorilla Solar" sound like a better choice.
Just my $0.02
My bet is that EVERYONE reading this article wants a phone with "just a few simple features". Unfortunately, each of us put a different priority on a particular feature. The phone manufacturers are in a quandary... how to sell the most phones to a general public that wants everything but doesn't want to pay more than $99? Their solution is to add the features that they think the most people want, and hope they can hit some combination that allows them to charge a bit more.....
For the record, my perfect phone:
Tri-Mode with data capable, Large Address Book, Big (I mean Really Big) Li Battery, vibrate mode,
No Camera, No MP3, No Bluetooth, No Color, No Symphony Sound (But it would be nice to program the ring tone loudness and duration)