Anthony Matonak wrote:
KR Williams wrote:
In article , box says...
It isn't cost effective for most of us yet, but the tipping point
is coming.
So is the end of the oil reserves. It's been coming twenty years from
now, for about a hundred years.
Your _doomsday_ assertion that oil reserves are ending is totally
ridiculous. There are a zillion gallons of oil locked up in shale in
North America, just waiting for an economical way to extract them.
Problem is, they cost too much to extract, so that's not practical
_at_this_time_. But if the price of petroleum continues to go up, then
finally someday the point will come where the cost to extract it *is*
competitive. Then it will get included in reserves.
Another possibility is that if the cost of petroleum continues to rise,
the cost of alternative energy sources may become more competitive, and
will replace petroleum. Alcohol from corn is one that comes to mind.
Maybe if the cost of gas goes up another buck or so, I'll be able to
drive down the street without having to fight so much traffic. All
those gas guzzling vehicles will drive their owners to the poorhouse and
they'll stay off the roads. ;-)
The tipping point will certainly
come, but the large generators will make it there before your ****-ant
house will.
I think the main point is that solar PV is a technology that
does not require massive infrastructure. It's something that
can be done on an individual and distributed basis. The big
power companies really don't have that much advantage over
individuals.
Anthony