--- In energyresources@egroups.com, Glenn Lieding <glieding@s...>
wrote:
> Investing today's oil-energy in manufacturing, deploying, and
> maintaining PV, in order to realize an energy return on that
> investment in the future, makes sense if the average rate of energy
> made available by the PV, multiplied by the lifespan of the PV,
> exceeds the total energy invested.

A real world test of PV viability would be for a PV manufacturer to
commit to building and operating a PV production facility using only
PV power to do it. Solarex (BPAmoco) has a plant with an impressive
all-PV roof. I sent them an Email asking whether that plant was self
sufficient. Their answer was: no, actually we are the second largest
electricity consumer in the county.

So, PV industry, if you're listening, here's the challenge:

1) Using your coolest, best, most efficient technology, build say 10
megawatts of PV panels. Acquire all the necessary mounts,trackers,
inverters, wire, batteries, controllers, etc. We won't even count the
energy required to make all this, its a freebie.

2) Find the best solar site in the World and set up your system
there.

3) Locate, lease, and set up the equipment necessary to construct a
PV plant from scratch. Select versions of all this stuff that will
run on PV electrical power (invent new versions as required - an
electric backhoe comes to mind). Use a PV powered truck, train, boat
to bring the equipment and raw materials to the site. The lease cost
of this stuff will be charged to the future PV production of the
plant
on an energy basis (ie equivalent PV panel lifetime energy
production).

4) Saw the wood, smelt the steel, burn the limestone for the cement,
crush the gravel, machine the bolts, dig the dirt,etc, etc, and erect
the building, all using the PV from your 10 megawatt system.

5) Locate, lease, and set up the equipment necessary to produce PV
panels complete (silicon production, wafer production, panel
assembly,
etc.) The lease cost for this stuff will also be charged to the
future PV production of the plant on an energy basis.

6) Operate the plant, the employee housing, the stores and utilities
supporting the employees, all from the 10 megawatt system. Don't
forget to pay the employees in scrip redeemable in PV panels.

7) Produce PV panels until "breakeven", which would be something like
10 megawatts worth (item 1) plus a bunch more (items 3, 5 and 6).

8) (Maybe) produce a bunch more "net" panels until the plant wears
out. Don't forget to subtract any panels made to replace "burnouts"
in your 10 megawatt array and PV panel scrip redemptions by the
employees (I'm guessing about one to three 100 watt panels per
employee per week).

9) Divide the number of panels produced by the number of "breakeven"
panels in item 7). If the number is say, 2.0 or more, you win. Less
than 2.0, we all lose.

This isn't really an unreasonable challenge, IF PV really has what it
takes to replace some significant portion of the hydrocarbon energy
demand.

So, how about it? Solarex? Siemens? Koyocera? Solec? Anybody?