[Raptor235]

Ok so I was hoping we can put together some pros/cons of the most popular alternative energies...

I'll go first:

Solar

Pros: Clean, Easy to implement,
Cons: Battery Store for night use, do they degrade over time,

Wind:

Pros: Night or Day Power, countries are adopting the technology fast
Cons: some regions aren't windy, the bird factor, noise level?

[TheQueen31]

How about tidal energy? I don’t know much about it, but would be interested in hearing what others know. Seems to me that this is a HUGE source of energy that we haven’t even begun to tap. And it’s clean. I guess the cons would be the structures that need to be under the water … but if we put them in the right place, seems a small price to pay.

[horselover]

What would the environmental concerns be over tidal power? How much damage would it cause to build something like that? What would the long term effects be on the aquatic life around the thing?

Lot's of questions to ask about this one.

[Simon47]

Originally Posted by horselover

What would the environmental concerns be over tidal power? How much damage would it cause to build something like that? What would the long term effects be on the aquatic life around the thing?

Lot's of questions to ask about this one.

For all this investment, the average electric power output is severely limited by the twice-daily ebb and flow of tides: average output of tidal electricity is less than 40% of the installed generating capacity; production of power from river dams typically averages 70-100% of installed capacity. Finally, the lunar cycle of 24 hours 50 minutes means the raw production of tidal energy moves in and out of phase with the normal, solar-oriented daily pattern of electrical consumption. Unlike the energy from river dams, the daily, monthly and annual availability of tidal energy is fully predictable, but it must be either stored or integrated with other sources of generation that can be adjusted to accommodate the fluctuations of tidal generation. There are relatively few coastal locations in the world where the tidal range (ie, the difference between high and low tides) is large enough to justify exploitation of the available tidal energy. Not only must there exist a sufficiently high tidal range (at least 5 m) for construction of an economically feasible plant, but the site should also include a natural bay which can store a large volume of seawater at high tide and be so situated within the estuary that the operation of the plant will not significantly change the tidal resonant system (see TIDE).


Tidal Energy

[peachy]

Raptor, just wanted to add a pro to your wind power. I know many might not share this view, but I have driven by a couple of places where there a ton of the wind towers. I have to admit that it was actually an awesome sight, and I would almost consider it art.

[Stepper]

I like the idea of wind power. I wonder if anyone has tried to grow food crops along in between the turbines?

[ToddF]

First, I would separate solar electric from solar thermal.

Since most (if not all) states require buy back deals from the utility, battery banks are only used for off-the-grid applications. You sell extra electricity to the utility during the day and buy it at night. This is called grid tied.

I would list expense (about the same as coal generated) as a drawback of photovoltaic power along with a world wide shortage of PV panels the last year.

As far as solar thermal, lots of upside. It produces about six times the power per square foot as photovoltaic. The hot water panels cost less than half as much per square foot, too. Solar thermal pays for itself in 5-10 years and lasts at least 30 years.

As far as a downside, copper used in the absorber plates and pipes is through the roof. But its kind of like oil: a doubling of oil prices only marginally raises the price of gas since the raw material is only one expense. Manufacture and distribution of solar panels does not rise as quickly as the copper, thank god.

I could go on forever about solar thermal. It is the best idea no one knows about, as evedenced by your omission. Thanks for the forum.

[stuboyle]

Originally Posted by Stepper

I like the idea of wind power. I wonder if anyone has tried to grow food crops along in between the turbines?

Absolutely. There is a wind farm out in Southwest Kansas that I am familiar with. It was farm land before the wind farm and it continues to be farmland now.

[GFG]

Has anyone installed, and is currently using solar panels to heat and generate electricity for their home?

[Stepper]

Thanks, stuboyle--I'm glad to hear that someone's doing that!