[ExI] solar is looking better all the time: was RE: Efficiency of wind power

[Eugen Leitl]

On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 03:21:26AM -0400, Mike Dougherty wrote:

> Have you calculated ROI on your PV setup compared to lugging
> electricity in from the grid?  I've lived in the northeast megalopolis

That would seem to be beyond 100 kUSD, depending on distance
which needs to be covered.

> my whole life; I share a well with my neighbors but I have difficulty
> imagining non-grid electricity.

I don't. It's not cost-effective for most locations yet, but it has
been done. You see many insular systems every day, without recognizing
them as such, unless you're looking out for these.

With each passing year the spatial, temporal and design niches can
only grow. The nonrenewable only shrink.

What I find strange is how few people are being unenthusiastic or
outright sceptical about these.

Decentral energy production cannot be controlled by monopolies,
and they're a key requirement for decentral fabrication, and such
basics like extraterrestrial resource utilization. The solid-state
revolution never ended. It will continue all the way to machine-phase.