Quote from: rjk on May 25, 2012, 08:25:20 PM

Quote from: dinox on May 25, 2012, 08:22:06 PM

at 0.1$/kWh you can buy 2 500 000 kWh at 250 000$ or enough for running those BFL mini rigs 50 years. I bet the solar panels is dead way before 2062.

If you promise use wall power instead of solar your project actually looks good.

Solar sucks, but I think he is looking at wind power, not solar. And, an additional revenue stream from selling the wind power to the grid.

I am still looking at both equally. Large scale wind requires permits and licenses, and even if I had all the paperwork done right now it would take about 2 years start to finish to get the first turbine up.

Solar is fine in Maine, we generate about 1200kwh/yr per 1kw of panel measured on real panels installed in Maine. There are better places in the US for the solar (areas in AZ, NM and TX can do 1600), but there are also worse areas in the continental USA and moving to AZ, NM or TX for superior solar means we're also wasting money on air conditioning and the electricity to run the air conditioning.

Basically, even though I'd generate about 31% more electricity, the cost and overhead of needing air conditioning would cost much more than the 31% I'd be gaining. TINSTAAFL.

http://www.ecotechnousa.com/Portals/0/Media/News/SolarMap-US.gif

That map is overly optimistic and lists Maine as ~1500 kwh/yr and those areas in AZ, NM and TX as 2100, but it illustrates the point well.