02-25-2015, 03:12 AM
I hope they find a spot that is less controversial than the current PGV location. If you review the options for power generation here, there are few options that are better than geothermal from an environmental and economic point of view.
The current use of diesel generators is awful. It's expensive and contributes to global warming. There are no real options for conventional hydroelectric projects here. Wind power is possible in places, but limited by locations with adequate wind and like geothermal is also limited by NIMBYism. Nuclear has become unpopular despite having the possibility from a scientific standpoint of being the cheap safe alternative. The big down sides for nuclear are the huge infrastructure cost, the short cuts that get taken to save money that make them unsafe, safe disposal of spent fuel rods, and the earthquake and tsunami risks that need to be considered. Photovoltaic is not a bad option for individual houses, but has the downside of being expensive even with the cheaper Chinese manufacturing that comes with environmental destruction in it's place of manufacture. Other down sides for solar are the huge battery requirement for the times you need electricity the most and the resultant environmental impact of all the heavy metals used in them.
In the end, I think a combination of solar, geothermal and wind are a good long term solution for the BI.
Just call me Mike
The current use of diesel generators is awful. It's expensive and contributes to global warming. There are no real options for conventional hydroelectric projects here. Wind power is possible in places, but limited by locations with adequate wind and like geothermal is also limited by NIMBYism. Nuclear has become unpopular despite having the possibility from a scientific standpoint of being the cheap safe alternative. The big down sides for nuclear are the huge infrastructure cost, the short cuts that get taken to save money that make them unsafe, safe disposal of spent fuel rods, and the earthquake and tsunami risks that need to be considered. Photovoltaic is not a bad option for individual houses, but has the downside of being expensive even with the cheaper Chinese manufacturing that comes with environmental destruction in it's place of manufacture. Other down sides for solar are the huge battery requirement for the times you need electricity the most and the resultant environmental impact of all the heavy metals used in them.
In the end, I think a combination of solar, geothermal and wind are a good long term solution for the BI.
Just call me Mike
Me ka ha`aha`a,
Mike
Mike