Re: Engineering Economics 101, example II...

"Fred B. McGalliard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<snip...>
> This assumes rather boldly that the price of the hardware is intimately
> connected to the value of the electricity produced. There are several
strong
> disconnects that make this assumption quite questionable. All that is
> necessary to make solar PV a sustainable source is that a typical unit of
PV
> (including all the support hardware, transportation, assembly, etc.) at
some
> ideal location produce as much energy over it's life as was consumed to
> build it.

As long as "a typical unit of PV" can do that, then the technology is
sustainable??  What if a panel falls off a truck on it's way to delivery
and is damaged beyond repair?  What about 10,000 PV panels sitting in
warehouses waiting for distribution?  What about the panels that are placed
on the roof of a building and are removed 3 years later because the new
building owner considers them an eyesore?  Should these panels not be
considered in the 'sustainability' accounting?

Don W.