So the worlds largest solar generation station is supposed to be built in the Imperial Valley, just over the mountains from San Diego in the desert. 300 megawatts to began with and possible expansion to 900 megawatts. This is going to be great, that is if they get the power link to San Diego completed. Right now there is one HV line out to that area, apparently not big enough for the increase in power that this new GE plant will provide. Problem is the environmentalist are fighting the power link every inch of the way.
This is happening in other places too, try to go green and someone does not want the windmills, power lines... in their area. What the heck are we supposed to do?
One real interesting thing is they say they can produce the power from these Stirling engines for six cents a kilowatt, I'm guessing that is pretty competitive.
Here is the link to the Stirling site.
http://www.stirlingenergy.com/projects/solar-two.asp
Deron.
Yeah, $.06/kw sure sounds good.
I really don't understand the resistence to some of the projects. You mentioned fighting against wind projects.. so there's that proposed project off Martha's Vineyard and the "environmentalists" are fighting it because it would "ruin the view".. ah... uh... nuts.
I think wind turbines are beautiful and get excited whenever I see them.
Do you have any link to the specific complaints about this specific project? It would be interesting to know what their claims are. I might imagine for example the proposed route for the power line might be going through a wilderness preserve, for example.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
I believe the operational Stirling solar concentrating generators are the "Beta" type because there are no piston seals needed on the hot end.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine
Based on my limited personal experience with a "few" federal environmentalist co-workers, it is not a good-paying job. This means that it attracts college graduates that are very idealistic and want to spend a few years doing "something" that has a positive effect, regardless of pay.
After a few years the majority fall into normal jobs and the wife/kid/house type of restrictions on activisim. This leaves the passionate "true believers". The way to get promoted in the environmental organisations is to be more fervent than your competition.
The effect is that the decision-making leaders become more radical. This observation saddens me, because it means actions will be taken that decrease these well-intentioned organisations credibility with the general voting population.
Have you ever been riding an E-bike (a truly GREAT thing to promote!), and been castigated by a manual-bike rider because you're still a part of the problem? (you didn't go far enough!). For the far-fringe radicals, you must walk and live in a tent while cooking your vegetarian diet in a solar oven.
Their public face is often well-crafted to give just the right impression to keep getting financial contributions and maintain political clout for protests, but protesting a wind-farm? they should be demanding MORE wind-farms!
Reikiman,
From what I remember the opposition says that we should be producing the power locally, that there is plenty of power already in the San Diego area, that we should concentrate on conservation, that the Sunrise Power Link would just be used to bring in power from Mexico, that it would destroy the habitat of several species... Pretty much anything they think will stick to the wall.
What's really happening is San Diego's power company has a mandate by California law to use 20% renewable energy by 2010. There is talk of increasing that to 33% by 2020. The Sunrise Power Link gets out to the desert where there is lots of usable solar energy and plenty of cheap flat land to build on. The link is supposed to be good for 1,000 megawatts, just above what the Sterling plant would produce at it's largest proposed size.
I would love to see this Sterling plant come on line and produce power cheaper or at least cost competitive with fossil fueled plants. If that happens, you would see these Sterling plants mushroom all over the place. That would probably be a big economic boom for these desert areas in the southern states, imagine that worthless desert land worth something.
Deron.
spinningmagnets
I would find it had to believe you about these radical people, if I did not have one as a friend.
She's a real piece of work, Lesbian, Vegan, animal rights, doomsday, into conspiracy theories, imports illegal fireworks... Shes real nice and has a big heart, but is brain dead when it comes to some stuff. She says she has DVD's that show missiles hitting the twin towers. When she is in San Diego she spends her nights watching over the seals on the beach to make sure they are safe from mean people. She even has a hideaway in the mountains with a storage container with supplies to last out a disaster. Right now she is traveling the States with her dogs in the RV she calls home.
And your telling me, there are people like this making important decisions that will effect us :(
Deron.