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justinerickson's comments:
on Urban Turbines
If you want something that pays for itself in 5 years, you'll have to look really hard. Solar hot water is as little as 8 years (most likely 12-15 depending on certain things), PV is around 50 years (in the Northwest at least) and I haven't done the numbers for wind yet.
But, where can you get something that will double your money in 5 years? Banks and credit unions give 1.25% to 2.25% interest, respectively. That's a far cry from 5 years.
As for nuclear power, Bonneville had the option of building a new power plant some years ago and instead decided to support renewable energy by offering $2,000 rebates. For a tenth of what they paid out during this program, enough energy was saved for about as mouch as a power plant would put out. Now power plants cost twice as much and the last Bush administration pulled the plug on the rebate program because they believe that government should not be in the business of competing with the coal and oil industries.
But don't get me wrong. I understand that our current selection of sustainable options are not consistent enough for our needs. So I think that we should use it all. We have solar for when we get solar radiation (notice I didn't say sunshine), wind turbines for when the wind is blowing, hydro for those who have the capability, and, yes, oil and gas.
I believe we need it all, but the more we spread out our resources, the less reliant we are on just one or two.
posted 2 years, 9 months ago
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on Urban Turbines
I work for a solar installation company in Vancouver. We primarily do solar hot water, but we are looking into PV and wind. The wind products we are thinking about do not have the propelers that we all see in wind farms.
Vertical turbines seem to catch the wind better and has less of an impact on wildlife. On our first run of the figures, it appears that we can get 10% of our energy for one $10,000 wind turbine.
It will take some time for us to figure if this is viable and if the 10% per turbine is close. I welcome comments for or against these types of wind turbines.
posted 2 years, 9 months ago
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on The Switch: Solar Power
Great! Maybe I should move there. Seriously, anything helps. I'm glad it's doing such a great job and that its a sound investment.
posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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on The Switch: Solar Power
I hope my comment follows your thinking. Clark County PUD offers a 5.25% 5-year interest loan (if you have an electric water heater) to put in a solar hot water system.
I think a utilities co. offering this type of help (along with the $1,000 credit they give) is a great start. But I am biased, as I work for Simple Solar Solutions.
posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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on The Switch: Solar Power
Generally, we speculate that the payback period is 10-12 years. That's before you factor in tax rebates. Its a little different here in Washington. We get the federal credit of $2,000, then $1,000 back if you have an electric water heaater from Clark County PUD.
posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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on The Switch: Solar Power
I work for a Vancouver, Washington company, Simple Solar Solutions, and we deal with mostly solar hot water. In the Pacific Northwest, solar hot water is five times more efficient than photovoltaic and costs about a third of the price for the same output.
posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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