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Solar Power Cost

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So how much does solar power cost exactly?

solar power cost

Well, maybe a better question we should be asking ourselves is, what will it cost us if we do not invest in solar power systems. With the effects of Global Warming, pollution from cars, and waste generated from power plants, we are effectively killing our most precious resource. If we do not begin to change the way we create and use energy, we will no longer have a livable earth to make our homes on. We will be handing down a diseased planet not worth living on to our children, where there will be no clean water to swim in, fresh non polluted air to breathe, or nutritious produce to consume. It is time to join a movement that is continually gaining momentum and will continue to do so. However it needs your help, and all that’s asked of you is to save money while saving the earth. So when thinking about solar power costs it’s not a very difficult decision is it?

There are so many reasons to install solar power to your home that it makes no sense not to anymore. More benefits are being discovered everyday. For instance the solar power systems cost of a residential home is dramatically reduced due to the fact that after the initial investment of installing solar panels, the energy created is 100% free. Older methods of energy creation that pollute the atmosphere like coal and nuclear technology are rising sharply in price and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Did you know you can even sell the solar energy to the utility company’s even furthering your savings. Not to mention the positive effects on the earth that come with not needing to use negative forms of generating energy. Solar panels are 100% environmentally friendly, no pollution at all, zilch, Nada, nothing!

Fortunately we are able to utilize solar power in easier and cheaper ways due to advancements in technology and techniques used to create more energy efficient, cheaper, and better looking solar panels. Luckily there are extremely easy ways to lower the cost of solar power, and also have some fun by making solar panels yourself. Doing it this way can drastically lower the amount of money you’ll spend on your initial investment. I highly recommend trying it out, just be careful when purchasing a kit, they are not all created equal.

This site is dedicated to helping everyday people move towards creating there own self sufficient renewable and cost effective solar electricity. For those of you who think that implementing solar energy into your household is to expensive or that you would like to but have no idea of how to go about it, well then you have come to the right place. It is our hope that we will be able to teach you about Solar Power Cost and the savings it will pass on to you.

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Thailand’s Environmental Apathy Disapates, Spells Good News For Solar Power

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Thailand and Solar Power

Thailand and Solar Power

So back to our Thailand solar power segment. Wow, it’s been a couple of stressful weeks with all the things happening around the world. You have the over-thowing of corrupt regimes all throughout the middle east, the nuclear disaster in Japan, and also the horrible weather that has been effecting Thailand.


The temperatures have plummeted in whats supposed to be the hottest period of the year and storms have been pounding the south of Thailand, flooding villages and towns, killing people, and destroying much needed farmland. As I continue with this Thailand solar power series I want to wish all my friends, family, and everyone who has been affected by the devastation’s in Asia safety and hopefully a return to a peaceful life soon.  

As I spend time in South East Asia it is blatant to see that the old ways of doing things are changing, this can be both a good and bad thing, and for a lot of issues they desperately need to change. Developing country’s have a sort of apathy towards ecological issues such as littering, slash and burn crop techniques, and methods of producing fuel and electricity. Who can blame them, after all they’re just trying to survive right.

But, as a developing country has more and more economical success and more exposure to the world, the views of the people change. They can then turn their attention to other issues around them instead of just surviving and putting food on the table for their family. Thailand has been in this shift for awhile and you can now see signs of it everywhere you travel within it’s borders. Whether it has to do with not throwing their trash on the sidewalk (yes this was very commonplace not to long ago, and is still a major issue), having huge problems with gangs of roaming street dogs (buddhist religion does not support spaying or neutering of animals), animal rights and conservation in general, and energy production responsibility.

In fact as I talked with the Thai people it was apparent that ecological concern and responsibility is becoming more and more important in Thai society. The apathy towards environmental issues is waning at an ever increasing speed due to awareness derived from social groups, mass media, and groups of environmentalists. Solar power is an extremely hot subject in Thailand right now as it would be able to provide a large amount of jobs for the Thai people. As Thailand is quite sunny especially in the North East it is especially suited to this type of alternative energy, the other advantage is it would be able to help ween Thailand off their dependence of natural gas, their main source of fuel, that they have to import from other country’s such as Laos.

The real trick to building a sustainable alternative energy infrastructure is to marry the ideology of both the environmentally responsible and the economical centric of any given society. What this means is that there needs to be a win/win situation for both the environment (clean energy = less pollution) and the economy (solar power farms and plants = money and jobs). The only way to achieve this is by lowering the cost of solar power. The only way to reduce the costs of solar power is to develop better methods and equipment, and of course the only way to develop better methods and equipment is to fund research and development.

In any case in the next decade we will see awareness of solar power spread even more throughout Thailand, and I see them as being the soon to be leader in alternative energies in the South East Asia region.

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Japans Nuclear Problems and Solar Power Costs

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Japan's Nuclear Problems Are Just Starting

Japan's Nuclear Problems Are Just Starting

Hey folks hope your doing well today. I am a bit conflicted as I really wanted to continue my segment on Thailand solar power, however it would be a bit irresponsible of me to ignore the horrible nuclear disaster that is happening in Japan. So stay tuned for further posts about Thailand’s emerging solar power industry.

I feel for the Japanese, I really do, but nuclear travety’s have happened before with 3-mile island and Chernobyl, and it was just a matter of time till it happened again. Nuclear has and will play a huge role in moving the human race into this modern era, nobody is contesting that, however their have always been warning’s and fear that revolve around nuclear energy generation and for good reasons. Radioactive waste that is created from the energy generation will be around for a long, long time. This radio active waste remains so hot that if not treated properly it will burn straight into the earth. A meltdown itself is a loose term that pretty much means that the nuclear reactors core has partially or completely collapsed from one or more nuclear fuels element exceeding it’s melting point.

This is what we are witnessing now in Japan, the cooling systems have been compromised and the pools where spent nuclear fuels are kept in order to keep their temperature at below melting point are drying up because of the intense heat that is being put by the spent rods, this is why you may have seen on the news that the Japanese have been trying to flood the reactors with salt water from helicopters and the US have brought in gigantic water pumps.

Even if these extremely brave men and women, who have pretty much signed a death contract as they will die from radiation poison, are able to save the reactors from complete melt down the effects of nuclear radiation have already passed into the soil, water, animals, and sea. The devastation of this incident will be felt for generations to come.

So what really annoys me about this whole situation is the stance that America is taking on defending nuclear power. Look after everything we’ve been through in the nuclear age, nobody in their right mind would be able to say nuclear energy generation is safe, that would be purely absurd, right? Well that’s what we’re being told at this very moment. Look nuclear energy is important as we turn to the future, but when it comes down to it, it’s all about the cost of solar power, and rich men in the nuclear industry that want to continue stuffing their pockets by misleading the general public. Alternative sources of energy are a burgeoning new frontier for the human race, it should be embraced for what it is, not shunned for what it isn’t. And, folks lets be honest at the moment it is not cheap. Solar power costs a lot more at the moment than traditional forms of energy generation. But with continued research and development, alternative energies will become more effective and cost exponentially less. In fact clean forms of power generation will be the catalyst that will vault us into the next age of our evolution, and perhaps even better it won’t kill us or poison our home while it does it.

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New Technology May Cut Solar Power Costs Dramatically

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There’s been a recent and cool new breakthrough in solar power technology. Scientists at NREL have developed a way to use chemicals in order to etch a trillion microscopic holes in silicon wafers. So what does this mean for the solar industry? Actually it might mean quite a bit especially in solar power costs.

The scientists start with a cylindrical wafer of silicon and introduce chloroauric acid which creates nano-particles of gold that then etch into the silicon in such small diameter that it would take 40 of these holes to equal one human hair.

Light comes from the sun as protons and then can be converted into electrons for our use. The problem lies in the fact that the protons bounce off of surfaces and the potential energy is then lost. This is where the tiny little holes come in. Through the addition of these holes being etched into the gray silicon it turns incredibly black which will allow the silicon wafer to capture all the colors of light the sun throws at it.

Now black silicon wet etch technology is not perfect yet, and there are still a lot of studies to do. For one the wafer itself is able to capture more protons then traditional PV reflective surfaces. However NREL’s solar cells made with the solar wafer are still a few tenths of a percentage less efficient then traditional photo voltaic cells. NREL is now working on improving the effiency of the solar wafer.

But with this technology the cost of producing solar cells is greatly reduced, and simplified using the chemical bath, and forgoing a reflective surface. They have also found that the solar wafer requires about a third less of the energy as opposed to adding a reflective layer. Furthermore the solar wafer is much better for the environment as dangerous gases are used in the production of traditional solar cells such as silane, and nitrogen trifluoride. These gases are horrendous to the environment, and therefore cuts down on greatly on greenhouse gases. This will mean a significant drop in the cost for solar roof tiles and other photo voltaic devices.

Visit http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/09/cheaper-better-solar-cell-is-full-of-holes to read the full story.

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Solar Sushi the Best Thing to Happen to Soy Sauce Since the Bottle

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Solar Power Sushi

Renewable Energies Create The Best Tasting Soy Sauce You Can Count On That

Good news for sushi and solar aficionado’s alike. Kikkoman’s soy sauce factory located Folsom California has recently put in a car port solar system to run it’s factory.

Carport solar array installations are becoming more and more popular with businesses as they are
much easier to install, maintain, and make use of space that otherwise would not be used. The solar array installations themselves are mounted in a parking lot and wired to the business taking care of much or all of their power needs.

Another clear advantage for companies is that they will have a clear and well seen example to customers and business partners the level of commitment that the company is going through in order to make better use of clean and renewable energies and utilize state of the art technology to not only save money which will then be passed onto the customer but also the will of the environmentally conscious customer.

I think this is really important, as a consumer I try to use products and lean towards companies that are environmentally responsible as it shows to me a commitment to it’ customers wants and needs. Why is this you might ask? Well to me it’s no longer a world without options. My meaning is that if their is a company who offers you a product then you better believe that there is plenty other company’s offering the same product or service. It’s up to these companies to ensure safe and better business practices to it’s customers. Personally I always take into consideration who I’m doing business with, and just offering a product is not good enough anymore, you need to be offering me a product that I know is good plus the knowledge that I, as in me, am not supporting the destruction of the Eco system out of association.

This is something we will be seeing more and more of and I think it is part of good customer service to not just think of me as money but as someone with needs and ideas.

The Kikkoman carport solar system will generate 150,000 kWh annually and all the renewable energy not consumed will be sold back to the grid which will lower the solar power costs considerably. So next time you’re at your favorite sushi bar rejoice in the fact that the sun was influential in the making of that soy sauce your plunging your unagi in!

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