Home > April, 2009
Solar or wind power? Is there a company provider that doesn't cost thousands to install? A service that’s less than regular power & can be hooked up the same way with out the high price!
check places such as ebay for used parts and learn how to set it up yourself.
for example: Solar panels that are 10 years old may be bulky, but they produce almost as much energy and costs a lot less.
So we all know why wind power should be used and what it CAN be used for. But what I want to know is what is it being used for now?
What I mean is, where in the world are machinery like wind turbines being used and what are they powering.
There’s some in California. Quite a few. Wind doesn’t usually generate a whole lot of power….
“…used directly to propel sailing ships or converted into mechanical energy for pumping water or grinding grain, but the principal application of wind power today is the generation of electricity.”
Once installed save fortunes in bills , solar and wind power can save you money and save the environment even if it is just a bit.
Interested in opinions as I am starting a business in supplying both.
Actually rain power could be an untapped source. Good thinking.
Regarding wind power, is the technology advanced enough to be able to fully rely on wind power?
The technology exists to switch to wind power but wind power will never be a sole energy source. As with many other alternative forms of energy, the cost to install the equipment and convert over is expensive. If you wanted to spend tens of thousands of dollars, you can buy a windmill for your home and run your house on wind power. One thing about wind power is that it is hard to store the energy.
Let's say the wind power plant costs $ 300 million. You will supply electricity to residential homes.
What do you think? How long will it take to recoup that $ 300 million?
You are asking this q at this forum? I am surprised.
Not unless this is idle curiosity. If you are a serious investor you obviously won't ask it here - but hire some experts to do that job.
Now, do the math. $300 Mill. as fixed cost. Operating cost will at least be $1 Mill a year that includes salary, admin, maintenance, land cost electricity distribution cost etc…
How many homes this windfarm will serve?. That's the key. Each home on an average consumes 1500 Kwh; at about say, 12 cents a Kwh, that is, $200 per month. ie., $2500 to $3000 per year.
Then, you work backwards: How many homes can YOU serve with your wind farm?. What is the generating capacity.? Higher the capacity, more investment is the result and more running cost.
So, it is difficult to answer until we know how many Kwh can your plant produce for how many homes.
Then, you will know the profit you can make after all the disbursements. If you repay $300Mill over 20 to 25 years with interest, then your profit must be…..xxxxx….dollars. So, you see, it is not that simple to answer.
But wait. Government will kick in quite a bit of money becauise windfarms are environment friendly, no pollution. So, that's where you go first with hat in your hand.
I'm trying to find more info on what my bill will look like if I swap to wind power thru OG&E @ 12000 kWh. I know it's $7 per day but what else will show up on my bill?
what happens is that the transmission company buys the power.
all of the other costs are the same.
i've never heard of green power being cheaper.
at some point, there will probably be a carbon offset fee on your bill if you're using coal or oil.
It's for a project.
What are the pros and cons of using wind power?
Pros:
Cheaper electricity
Windturbines require little maintenance
Whoever owns the land where the windturbines are installed get a TAX BREAK
Windturbines don't spew out any pollutants
Cons:
Some people think windturbines are ugly
If you stand right under them, it's noisy (but far away you don't hear them)
Location has to be windy most of the time for them to work
They are very tall (I don't think it matters so much)
I think the pros overweigh the cons ANYWAY
I've seen windturbines from a distance and I think they look rather nice!
What is keeping wind power from widespread use and when is it expected to be easily accessible to the general public?
The last time you had a choice to pick your source of electric power, you may have had a choice for wind power produced electricity at about a 1-1.5 cent per Kw of electricity premium.Otherwise called "green", it is on the grid. It is generally more expensive than traditional power but it is improving.Estimates are that wind power could produce 20-30% of the grid power by 2030. The Bush years saw a reduction or elimination of tax credits for green power. The Obama years may see an incentive which would raise the expectations because of tax relief or incentives. After all, Connie Rice had a vested interest in big oil but Obama doesn't seem to.