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Relativly low tech, i.e. existing, working tech. And I am not so much talking about costs, rather about whether photovoltaic is really sustainable.
by arrrg 17y ago
Relativly low tech, i.e. existing, working tech.
And I am not so much talking about costs, rather about whether photovoltaic is really sustainable.
- Retric 17y agoPV is used on a far larger scale today than solar thermal power generation. Solar adoption is currently constrained by manufacturing capacity which is why it can quickly scale. It's 0.15% of total electric use today. But instilled capacity is doubling every 2 years. The maximum efficiency of PV is far larger than solar thermal systems and they have been improving far more quickly both on cost / watt and peak efficiency. PV systems are easier to install and maintain than solar thermal systems. PS: Looking the cost / adoption curves PV is only looking more attractive each year. But, suggesting there is no long term energy crisis does not generate a lot of publicity. Also there is a perception that PV is magic and hard to understand even though manufacturing it is a well understood process. Edit: If you have a more secefic issue with PV I would gladly address it, but it looks like PV is going to provide atleast 10% of our electricity needs within 20 years.