Topic: Solar Panels

I am thinking that if you live near the Palle on Oahu, all you need are a couple of wind generators. As you know, there is always a wind blowing through there.

Thanks, I see the link is back to Todd's comments. Julie, at http://the-gadgeteer.com just reviewed a solar panet battery charger (small). But, I don't think that one works very well...
http://the-gadgeteer.com/review/solio_h1000_universal_hybrid_solar_charger

The technology is advancing, just slowly. Big companies and especially the utilities are reluctant to buy into solar production because the per kilowatt hour is just too high (about double the cost of fossil-fuel electric production). I wrote about this a week or so ago on GNC. There are advancements, it IS getting there, but it is slow. I don't think we'll see much of a change in the next 5-10 years, but after that, we may see significant changes.

Last I checked solar panels actually take more energy to manufacture than they can recover in their useful life. This gives a net 'energy deficit' each time one is made. In short, it is best to invest in something that is sustainable. I prefer locally owned wind farms. With wind farms we need to watch out for the foreign investment because that just sends our dollars overseas again. Locally owned keeps the money in the community and actually creates maintenance jobs. PBS has a great special on one company that is actually making this work. And the company that makes the wind machines opened a factory in the town to make the blades. It now employs 300 people and cuts down on the transportation costs.
You can rent E2: Energy from Netflix. Here is the website;
http://www.pbs.org/e2/episodes/201_harvesting_the_wind_trailer.html