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If you can see the 'handwriting on the wall' it makes sense.
As a museum, their monthly revenue comes from ticket sales. As we fade further away from coal-burning I would expect their ticket sales will slowly decrease over the next 40 years.
That was a lot like the future that my Dw was looking at. Ten years ago, she was looking at her approaching retirement and trying to project what our monthly retirement budget was going to look like. At that time, I was already on my military pension. She wanted a way to reduce our monthly budget for after she went on her pension. So during her last 5 years of working at a higher income, we focused on investing into Solar Power for our home. It was a big investment. We bought one segment of the system each year, until we finally had all components gathered together.
Now a year and a half later, our monthly spending is a lot less. And we have come to understand the real benefits of solar power. Nobody ever told us about how much more electricity we would have available for us to use. We consume way more electricity now while off-grid than we did before on-grid.
Looking at the business model of a museum, it makes sense to me that their board should decide to go with solar power.
Looking at the business model of a museum, it makes sense to me that their board should decide to go with solar power.
I would think museums showing old things no longer available for viewing in everyday life would be at an advantage.
If you had taken that $16,000 with which you bought your solar installation in 2015 and had put it in the DJI, it would be worth almost $23,000 today, a profit of $5000, although you did save $2500 in electric bills.
I would think museums showing old things no longer available for viewing in everyday life would be at an advantage.
If you had taken that $16,000 with which you bought your solar installation in 2015 and had put it in the DJI, it would be worth almost $23,000 today, a profit of $5000, although you did save $2500 in electric bills.
We have already saved much more than that.
Our break even point on the cost of solar power is around 10 years.
Besides I like having access to electricity every day, all day long. The other alternative is to run a generator, which is a lot of expensive.
Yes, it's true! The Kentucky Coal mining museum is putting in solar panels. Coal isn't going away, but it's fading.
The last place for me to expect to see a solar panel would be in a distant 1 light year away Kuiper belt object. Kentucky, not surprising at all. Anything subsidized by government grows. If we subsidize solar cells in the distant areas of our Kuiper belt, somebody will eventually get something there if the return on investment is very good.
Coal is being displaced by natural gas as it is a low cost alternative that is cleaner and easier to burn. Eventually we may see compressed natural gas cars in lieu of electric to replace gasoline.
... Coal is being displaced by natural gas as it is a low cost alternative that is cleaner and easier to burn. Eventually we may see compressed natural gas cars in lieu of electric to replace gasoline.
I hate seeing subsidies for anything, it just leads to higher taxes. If something is a good idea it should stand on it's own.
Compressed natural gas cars might replace gasoline someday. For now electric vehicles can work well here in rural Maine. We have a plug-in hybrid that we charge from our household solar system. Since they work so well here in New England, they should work even better down South.
In the late 60s, Fiat & Ferrari collaborated on the Fiat Dino. It ran on gasoline or propane; simple flip of a switch. It's a very easy conversion to do any conventional car like that. With all the NG becoming available via fracking, look for gasoline to remain king until it's nearer depletion and extraction costs run too high, then money will be moved into building the infrastructure needed to provide NG universally.
In regards EVs-- if power is being generated via conventional coal/gas plants, they actually have a larger "carbon footprint" than a conventional int. comb. engine. And if the juice is coming from a commercial alternative plant, because the coal/gas plants have to be kept running at idle for security, there's no decrease in carbon footprint either. Only hydro- & nuclear gives you what you're looking for in EVs.
BTW- the "carbon cost' of manufacturing Tesla's new batteries is equivalent to driving an ICE for eight yrs. But Tesla's only have a road life (so far) of five years? But I guess if you're shelling out 6 figures for a performance car, it's all for show and not the environment anyways. https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/06/...oline-driving/
Our break even point on the cost of solar power is around 10 years.
Only if you ignore your lost investment potential. I chose $16K in my example above because that's what the DJI was in 2015. If you were spending $100/m on grid juice, then you would have spent $2400 in two yrs, while your $16K was riding the Dow to $23k today. You'd have had convenient juice (most of the time) and still have $21,500 in the market and still earning interest.
But you blew the $16k (approx) on the system so now you save $100/m but have only $2400 in the bank.
I agree energy security is the only real reason to go off grid when grid is readily available.But there's also financial security. Only you can put a value on those for your own situation.
I can't see spending 4 figures just so I can keep watching a big screen tv after an occasional bad the
thnderstrom.
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