xpatUSA

Events in Russia Could Push U.S. Toward a Clearer Energy Policy

AlexS,

Google and ye shall find!

Just to get you started, Sun straight down gives about 1200W/sq.meter and PV solar cells run about 29% efficient and the necessary inverter to make 120 AC from battery power is maybe 75%. Of course, said sunlight is free, so it's the capital and operating costs that'll get ya ;-)

More Googling will tell you that too!

TTFN.

Perhaps others can fill in the gaps.

Events in Russia Could Push U.S. Toward a Clearer Energy Policy

The time is not now. It was about 20 years ago. The USA needs, as the author suggests, to quit politicking and actually do something and it really doesn't matter what! Having said that, please let's stop believing this "drill now" mantra. The last project I was involved with took 4 years from "let's drill" to seeing oil flow through a pipe. So we are going to see a shortage over the next few years that will not be to our liking. The combination of all the various solar and bio methods will make a difference, perhaps enough to dump Chavez as a supplier for example.

In the heavy emphasis on electricity, this topic is a bit light on nuclear power, i.e. not even mentioned so far. Meanwhile, we read that France - a somewhat more forward-looking country than one we could mention - gets 70% of it's electricity from nuclear.

Sad, isn't it?

xpat

Getting More Constructive on Crude Oil

"Then again ,wind power ,solar power and the new promising alternative to oil,Canadian oil sands might make a dent in the crude prices . "

gabe, they've been extracting oil from there for quite a while, AFIK. It's bitumenous oil, thick and quite hard to extract. Were you perhaps thinking of the Williston Basin (thin layers of light, sweet crude-bearing shale) up there in Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan?

T.C.