vboring

First Solar Not as Fun as SOLF Today

Somebody must have forgotten to tell them that Tellurium is going to supernova and destroy them and their profit margins too.

Personally, I'd worry more about next generation organic solar panels and companies like nanosolar, with their scalable roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques.

Is EPA Ethanol Mandate a Joke?

the current generation of ethanol is so energy intensive to produce that some studies have claimed it actually increases CO2/mile, that 1 barrel of fossil fuel produces less than 1 energy equivalent barrel of ethanol fuel.

biodiesel is energy positive, but not by much.

ethanol is a great subsidy for Midwestern states, but pretty useless for anything else

Electric Vehicle Makers are Riding on Sunlight

the reason why automakers don't bother with solar panels on the roofs of their cars is that it would provide very little practical benefit at a very high price.

today's solar panels produce 100 watts per m^2. say you can put 4 m^2 of panels on your car. at most, under ideal conditions, that will give you .4 kWh of power for each hour you leave your car in the full sun (even a small amount of shade will drastically reduce this generation) or 4kWh for a full 10-hr day. any real car will take at least 20kW to drive at a steady 60 mph. so, a full day's charging will give you 12 miles at freeway speeds. not very impressive.

alternatively, you can buy 4kWh worth of electricity anywhere in the modern world for less than $.60. in my neck of the woods (Seattle), it'd only be $.16.

so, how much are you willing to pay to save $.60/day, assuming ideal conditions?

Google Muscles in on Alternative Energy

my gut tells me they are optimistic software types accustomed to solving involved but fundamentally simple problems that be broken into bits and fixed through being organized and a little bit creative. this in no way prepares them to address energy questions, which are constrained by fundamental laws of physics, mature industries set in their ways, and suffocating (but obviously necessary) environmental agencies.

I wish them the best, but expect very little.

Palladium: An Investable Metal That Defies Physics

Fuel Cells use Platinum and much of the research in the field has been in the area of how to reduce platinum requirements.

To believe that cold fusion is a hoax, all you have to do is look at the history of unfulfilled promises of demonstrations.

Cadmium Telluride Casts Shadow on First Solar

Sounds like more unjustifiable alarmism, Mark.

If every company is having trouble complying with the new RoHS standard, the standard will be changed.

The other option will be to let the economy die.

And even if Europe did close its borders to all FSLR product, California and Texas will be more than happy to soak up the supply.

I'm afraid the crash you are shorting for has no foreseeable cause today.

Palladium: An Investable Metal That Defies Physics

I'm not so sure that buying a commodity based on a theoretical future use that flies against modern physics is such a wise idea. Certainly not for the short run, anyway.

If you believe the cold fusion scientists, they claim the process can be done using a variety of more common metals, not just Pd. And the process will open the door to the transmutation of elements, devaluing rare metals, including Pd.

If you believe more traditional scientists, cold fusion is impossible, so the Pd market won't be effected.

So, the best case scenario is that there will be a breakthrough in a taboo field of science, that this breakthrough process will be constricted to Pd use only despite the claims of its supporters, and that devices will be brought to market based on the process despite a pervasive and very reasonable public fear of all things nuclear, especially the ones that nobody can explain.

This is strike two, Mark Anthony. Maybe you should stick to your own blog, instead of spreading crazy all over seeking alpha.