Snapped Shot

Oil billionaire Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. has dropped plans to build a giant wind farm in the Texas Panhandle.

Pickens, who made much of his fortune buying up oil and gas companies in the 1980s, put off the wind power project because of the difficulty of getting credit for it in the sour economy.

He’d planned a 4,000-megawatt complex that might cost as much as $10 billion, and Mesa Power, his company, has already ordered 667 wind turbines for it, though they won’t be delivered for several years.

One problem facing the huge project in Pampa, on U.S. Highway 60 northeast of Amarillo, was a lack of heavy transmission lines needed to link any wind generators to the power grid.

So. He had his power company spend nearly $10 BILLION dollars on wind generators. They won't even be delivered for several years. And, there is not way to connect them to the power grid. And it will cost MILLIONS more to do so.

Guess who is going to get a rate hike in the very near future to pay for something that probably won't even be built? I mean, that 10 billion has to come from somewhere and it certainly is not Mesa Power. Utility companies always pass on the buck to its customers.


In other news.... (you'll love this one!)

A group of private investors plans to build what it calls the world’s largest solar photovoltaic plant near Cle Elum in central Washington.

If built, the Teanaway Solar Reserve would be a 75-megawatt plant, made up of 400,000 solar panels, on 400 acres of former logging land in Kittitas County, said Managing Director Howard Trott. It would provide enough energy for about 45,000 homes.

So, 1,000 panels per acre? I bet you could see this thing from space!!! And take note of this location. WASHINGTON. (hint: high latitude location) I have to wonder if they thought of this and the the state's climate when they chose Washington. This would make is a third less efficient than, say, locating it in California.

Trott said the plant would cost “north of $100 million.” ...

Trott cited the state’s clean-energy Initiative 937, which will require the state’s largest utilities to get 15 percent of their electricity from non-hydro renewable sources by 2020.

See, going green (but not blue) always has a high price tag attached to it.

Teanaway Solar Reserve [Ed: Don't you just love that name? Makes it seem like they are trapping and saving the sun's power in a vast underground storage battery. ala Star Trek] would tap into the federal investment tax credit, as well as state tax breaks. But it will still be challenging to make the project pencil out financially in Washington, which has relatively cheap electricity generated by hydroelectric dams.

So, they want to go head-to-head with an inexpensive power source and try to be profitable. What is the life of a solar panel? One to 20 years? What is the life of a hydro-electric dam? 50 to 150 years?

And, I have yet to see a viable retail solar system that gets above 20% efficiency. (Yes, I know there are lab results of upwards to near 50% with promises of RTM. yeah. Not in my lifetime)

And although the project is sited near transmission lines, Teanaway will not find it cheap to buy space on those transmission lines, said Mike Nelson, executive director of the Northwest Solar Center and a booster of solar power in Washington.

So, even with all of the liberal and Congressional tax breaks, they are going to find it very difficult to make a profit. Even if one does decide that it is worth being in the red for the first years of existence, can they really turn a profit before the cost of maintenance and repair catch up with them?

Don't forget to factor in the building permits and other red tape. Then you will have to have an Endangered Species Act analysis. That takes a few years. Wonder what the tree-huggers will say when they find out that 400 acres will be clear-cut for a solar panel project?

Any one else see problems with this?


[UPDATE:]
According to the Kyocera Photovoltaic Calculator, I could save around $200 per year on my electricity costs if I spent $18,000 on a 3,000 watt PV system (with a $5400 US tax credit - ya that helps). Hmmm.. how long will it take me to RECOUP that $18,000??

97 YEARS!!!

And, according to my results (Oklahoma with $950 yearly energy costs), I would end up paying an extra 600 per month. Remember this thing costs $18,000!!! But, I would save an average of $25 per month on my electricity bill. WOW. Save $25 by spending $600. Not a bad trade-off.

And according to their kWh production, for the month of June, I would need to purchase 892kW of energy. But, the solar panels would have produced and I would have also used 380kW of energy.

$18,000!!!!!!

.... and this is low latitude Oklahoma. Wonder how well this would work in the upper state of Washington?

Their maximum sized system, according to this calculator, is 10,000 watts. It costs $60,000 dollars. What would that provide me? A yearly savings of $300 off of my $950 electric bill.

Can't you just smell the free energy?!?!?! Smells like money.


[UPDATE 2:]
Someone please help me to understand their math in their repayment scheme.

$500 Million dollar wind farm, but only charging customers $97 Million dollars, of which, 1/3 will go to pay for the wind farm? And it makes economical sense to boot! I LOVE IT!

The first phase of the farm calls for about 120 turbines that would generate 200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 50,000 homes.

Wait, I thought 75 megawatts powered 45,000 homes. Huh? Now I am really confused.