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Solar Cells at the Cusp with Dr. Richard Swanson

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Commonwealth Club of California

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Are Photovoltaics the Future of Energy Production?

02 min 16 sec

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Dr. Richard Swanson draws from a recent incentive program in Spain to argue that the scalability of photovoltaics makes the technology uniquely adaptable to energy production.

He says that while a nuclear plant requires 10 years of permit planning, the equivalence in photovoltaics can be built and installed in a single year.
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01 hr 01 min 31 sec

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There are 6 comments on this program

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Previous FORAtv comments:

Carol Moore

Posted: 05.01.10, 07:13 PM

Futuristic

So glad to hear the progress in PV energy and cost. I enjoyed your lecture Dr. Richard Swanson. I visualize solar energy year round controlled independently by each of us where we live and work, and no grid or electrical wiring, and not WiFi either. Futuristic it sounds, but it will be part of the future, and it will not only be sustainable, but also safe for all living things. I presently long for a safe place to live without being irradiated by various power outputs, and so do a lot of others who are electromagnetic hypersensitive(EHS). Carol Moore

Matthew Smith

Posted: 02.04.10, 08:50 AM

Pumped hydroelectric plants work well for storage in areas with lots of hills and excess rainfall (e.g. Wales)

antiguajohn

Posted: 10.31.09, 12:48 AM

Good lecture, however I am surprised Dr. Swanson is not familiar with Dr. Donald Sadoway of MIT. Dr. Sadoway has developed a liquid metal battery (about 8 ft tall 4 ft. in diameter), which if deployed in a plant 15 acres in size (think of it as a shopping mall sized plant) could store enough electricity to supply New York's needs for 24 hours (13,000 MW) see link to MIT Technology Review Magazine; http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22116/page2/ I believe if his company is to thrive, it will need to fund energy storage concepts such as Dr. Donald Sadoway's and sell solar power plants as an integrated power generation and storage package, such a concept would eliminate the advantages of fossil fuel and nuclear driven plants. John Birk Antigua & Barbuda Caribbean West Indies

far_spam

Posted: 10.20.09, 12:58 PM

The Arabs are going to send AlQaeda to blow up the Sun...lol.. bloody Rednecks...

J Patrick McCabe

Posted: 10.19.09, 09:30 PM

Interesting lecture by the good Dr. Swanson. It might actually have been better if he'd had his slides. I didn't learn a whole lot new as I have been following this subject for a long time. However, it is heartening to hear that technology of PV is improving and that production increases are bringing costs down. I believe we have our best chance under the new Obama administration of actually seeing more political will, movement, acceptance, and implementation going forward.

farmerjoe +

Posted: 10.18.09, 08:58 PM

To his last question - kilowatt hour. But I have been guilty of ignoring the time function when referring to energy in colloquial language. Its a good reminder that those of us who know better should be more accurate when speaking for the benefit of others.

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