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"PV [photo-voltaic] solar panels convert solar energy to electrical energy at an efficiency factor of about 15%. Thus, our panel [one square meter in size], at the equator, year-round, should deliver 25.5 watts of electrical energy – one very dim light bulb."
Secondly, I highly doubt this plant powers an entire town but let's say it does... What's the cost? This is not a market-driven solution. This is a highly subsidized endeavor where you are spending $500 to save $40.
You made precisely my point, btw, on batteries. We have nowhere near the battery technology to make this stuff even remotely efficient. Pie in the sky dreams of solar power replacing oil are just that. Dreams. It's not a global solution for energy, and I seriously doubt it ever will be. Regionally, of limited use or to augment the grid? Sure. If they can ever figure out how to tie it in efficiently. We are a long way from that.
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And again, you are talking about solar PANELS. The solar power plants DO NOT use panels. Solar panels are a very inefficient way to generate electricity, but they are low maintenance. Solar plants, focus the energy of the Sun to a heat exchanger (usually containing molten salt) which then turns water to steam to power the generators. There are examples of this all over the world being used everyday.
We drove through that town and stopped and had lunch. Many of the people there work at the plant and are very happy to talk about the project. The kw/h costs is on par with what we pay in Texas for power. If you fly over that plant, you cannot miss the town. They are both out in the middle of nowhere.
The big problems with plants like this is they require a lot of Sun and heat. They are very poor generators in cold climates as they bleed off the heat stored too quickly. They work best in desert applications. The primary maintenance item is the heat exchanger.
As far as batteries go. There is a battery energy storage plant outside Los Angeles which can power 15,000 homes for about 4 hours.
There is also Tesla's
Powerwall which is for individual homes.
Stop thinking in terms of a central power generation system and think local, block level power generation. A lot of things become viable then.
And again, I am not saying any of this is the best solution. I think fusion is the best we will be able to get and should be focusing in that.
