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What's up with solar power?
February 27, 2009 | By Wayne van Zwoll
With the rise in oil prices, alternative energy sources are making the news. Mega retailers including Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Safeway and Macy’s are looking to their rooftops to go “green” and gain tax advantages for their efforts.
The acres of flat rooftops across America are prime sources for solar panels. Forty-three Kohl’s stores have installed solar panels; another 85 are planned. Macy’s has panels on 18 stores; Wal-Mart counts 17 with solar panels in their testing stage and estimates that if all Wal-Mart rooftops were paneled, the solar acreage would equal 23 square miles!
Retailers admit the cost of electricity from solar panels is not an economic advantage right now. Coal-powered generation costs about 6 cents per kilowatt-hour, while solar panels currently run 25 to 30 cents a kilowatt-hour. But with other energy prices rising, the market for solar power will likely grow and become more competitive. Federal tax credits for renewable energy may also offset the higher expenses. By “going green,” stores will probably attract new shoppers and keep old ones.
Solar thermal plants in our desert southwest do not utilize panels on rooftops. Instead, they employ tiny mirrors, covering acres of desert, to concentrate sunlight on a fluid, heating it enough to make steam. The steam turns a turbine to generates electricity. Two thermal plants were recently opened in Nevada, with another 10 plants planned for California, Arizona and Nevada. On a sunny day, those plants would produce as much electricity as three nuclear reactors, and the heat and electricity can be stored for hours after sunset.
The thermal plant idea isn’t new; solar thermal power was established in the 1980s. But modest fuel prices made them uneconomical at that time. Now they may indeed become viable. Cost per kilowatt-hour from solar thermal plants is still about 15 to 20 cents. However, they are reliable energy sources (more so than wind power). Besides, peak production is mid-afternoon, when demand is highest for electricity. Negative aspects of the plants include the vast amount of land they cover and the possible adverse effects on desert wildlife and plants.
Making a smaller mark on the economy – but perhaps a sign of bigger things to come – is our country’s only off-the-grid second-home subdivision! Not many years ago, the 3,800-acre Three Rivers Recreation Area in central Oregon was juniper and sagebrush, coyotes and rattlesnakes. Cattle and sheep grazed along the Metolius River overlooking Lake Billy Chinook. Forty years ago Doug Stills started Three Rivers by selling lots to Portland folks wanting to get out of the rain for long weekends. Tents were soon replaced by small trailers and cabins. Today 500 homes dot the landscape, some still small trailers, some 2,000-square-foot lodge-style homes. But one thing hasn’t changed over the years: no power, water or telephone service for miles around.
Some residents like the propane lanterns and gas generators and the absence of phones. Others have Skype phones connected to laptops with satellite wireless Internet networks that provide Web video for the kids. Solar panels provide electricity…for a price. One homeowner spent $25,000 for his solar setup.
Though off-the-grid housing makes up only a small part of “green” homes, they’re on the increase. And some prognosticators estimate that by 2012 between 12 and 20 percent of all new homes will be considered “green.” High oil prices and better ways to tap clean energy sources will continue to change the way we light and heat our homes and run our appliances.
