Technocrat

Department of Energy HQ to get Solar Power

zogger
Mon Feb 12 22:00:08 -0800 2007
Science.
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Well, it might happen, given the nature of all the alternative energy buzz in Congress now. It has been one Congressman's dream for 30 years to try and get Federal buildings to adopt solar energy, and it might be finally coming true. Representative Oberstar got a voice passage in the House today to direct the GAO to install a pretty large solar PV system at the Department of Energy's main building in DC. He wants this to be a "showcase" top of the line installation to show the merits of solar and in the hopes that it will inspire others, inside and outside of government to adopt the technology.


"Thirty years ago, Rep. Jim Oberstar testified in favor of his legislation to install solar panels at federal buildings. Now, as chairman of the House Transportation Committee, he's got the juice to make it happen _ at least on a small scale."..more there

also see the Congressman's press release on the DOE energy bill

Department of Energy HQ to get Solar Power
mcrbids
Tue Feb 13 17:03:09 -0800 2007
 manage
He wants this to be a "showcase" top of the line installation to show the merits of solar and in the hopes that it will inspire others, inside and outside of government to adopt the technology.

The problem with this is that it will be a "showcase" example, which can be most accurately read as "expensive, multi-million dollar" and "loaded with insider deals at exhorbitant prices" and "utterly impractical in the real world".

If this was REALLY going to be a "showcase" that would "show the merits of solar" to "inspire others", they'd focus on cheap.  The value of solar isn't that it can provide highly expensive, unreliable power with lots of stainless steel pipes and white panelling, it's that it could potentially produce cheap, reliable, and ecologically sound power.

This is why companies/technologies like NanoSolar and Butanol get me all excited inside - these appear to have real potential in reducing the cost of "alternative" fuels and therefore "showcasing" this technology where it actually matters...

The bottom line.
 

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