Road Runner

Grid Connectivity: Invest in Alternative Energy's Missing Link

TinyTim, I agree with you on the US market. I doubt HDVC will be big in the US because of strong NIMBY, and because there is little need to transmit electricity underwater where HDVC is mandatory, and because intercity solar (homes, business roofs and parking lots) will be giant in the southwest US where electricity rates are high, and we have lots of natural gas for gas-fired plants. I wouldn't recommend ABB if I was only focused on the US market.

But, where ABB will do well is the rest of the world as I discussed in my previous post. The rest of the world is going to build many HVDC lines. And, the emerging markets that need to build their whole electric grids are going to use all the other electrical products that ABB produces.

Grid Connectivity: Invest in Alternative Energy's Missing Link

Though I'm a big believer in home solar - it will be huge - I don't believe that home solar will come close to meeting all of the electrical energy needs of the future.

First, the energy needs of the future will be much larger while oil is becoming scarcer. No one renewable energy source can keep up with it, even home solar which I think will explode in use starting in about 10 years.

Second, there are many areas where the sunshine is poor like the North, and many areas that are densely populated, unlike the urban sprawl cities of the southwestern US.

Also, I am skeptical of home wind as a large component because I have not yet seen an economical, non-obstructive home wind system. My opinion may change if I see a very promising system.

And, electrical grid improvements are needed for many reasons besides power from wind and solar farms. China is building HVDC lines in a fury just to move power from the hydro dams. www.desertec-australia... One of the largest HVDC lines in the world was just completed to carry the hydro power from Norway to the Netherlands. pepei.pennnet.com/disp... There is also proposals to link the many islands of southeast Asia with HVDC cables. www.desertec-australia...


On Sep 08 06:01 AM jerrydd wrote:
>
> While an OK investment, it will probably bubble in a yr or two because
> of over hype.
>
> The facts are RE is going to be home grown. By that I mean the distant
> solar/wind farm is not a very good business model. Vs home size which
> is the real RE future.
>
> Home size wind, solar CSP not only doesn't have land, transmission
> line, overhead or stockholders but make 50-100% more income in saving
> or power sales than farms do. Thus shorter payback and they last
> 50+ yrs. These are simple machines that in real mass production will
> easy be the low cost energy source.