If y'all think solar is bad... solar panels look like nuclear reactors compared to the energy efficiency of ethanol! I still can't fathom why in the hell we're embracing ethanol like it's some miracle replacement for oil when it actually takes more energy to grow and process corn and soy into fuel then we get from burning ethanol. (OK, there's still debate on this- but the debate isn't whether it's a viable energy source, it's whether there's a net energy loss or if it's just ridiculously inefficient)
Solar has its niches; it's both economically and energy efficient when used in remote applications where wiring is impractical. Remote weather stations, for instance. I ran those calcs assuming solar heat and typical US power loads- if a home were to "cheat" and use gas heat & cooking and have no A/C and a minimum of other loads and use the electric grid in lieu of a battery storage system, it begins to look a little better. And honestly, every little bit helps- if we can put 10 square meters of solar panels on each new home in arizona, it will reduce our overall need for coal by that much.
[This message has been edited by SteveFehr (edited 02-27-2007).]
