Just so you know, Shell Oil Co. Is one of the world's largest solar energy companies. It recently sold it's silicon-based manufacturing business to focus soley on CIGS, so the Grand Poo-Bah, may know a thing or two about it.

In fact, it is highly likely that, ultimately, all the oil companies which have been the pre-eminent energy providers thus far, are already maneuvering, researching and bidding on new energy technology smaller firms with an eye to maintaining that pre-eminence; just as the tobacco companies moved into the food and snack businesses as they lost tobacco market.

So the pooh-bahs won't change...

It's a pity you can't produce and store vast amounts of solar energy and export it. We'd be rich down here, with the amount of sunshine we get. It'd make up for the lack of water.

People already use it a lot, though. It's commonplace now to see solar panels on suburban roofs, particularly the thermal kind used for heating water.

Photovoltaic panels are used in the bush a fair bit, especially in very remote areas, for such things as telephones. Whole communities in the outback operate largely on solar-generated energy, but have back up generators as well.

Big problem with solar energy: the bloody thing doesn't work at night.

Stan,

I made a similar comment to your #3 on another thread a couple of weeks ago; about the problem of storing solar or wind energy for sunless and windless days.

Somebody (I don't remember who) pointed out that there already are some sophisticated storage technologies out there. This poster mentioned a "buried flywheel" as being one, if memory serves.

I haven't done any research on it.

Would they be practical though, Clav? If they were, imagine how we could do our bit for the environment in places like Australia or Florida, where the number of fully overcast days can be counted on the fingers.

I'd love a way to cut my bloody energy bills. I even tried recently switching to gas hot water, but because I live with two sheilas, they just take longer showers or keep refilling the bath with hot water as it cools. The bill ended up blowing out. The one I am worried about in the future is the water bill ... there isn't much water falling on this continenent at the moment, and in New South Wales the major dam for Sydney is down to about 37 per cent capacity, which means we'll soon be going to high-level restrictions if the drough continues. I'm assuming at some point Sydney Water will be charging higher rates as well.

It's a worry, especially out west for the farmers. I don't know how they've managed to feed a whole country AND keep most of their vast array of international export markets during the current six-year drought. It's a testament to their skill and veracity, but as one mate said to me the other day, "It's getting too hard ... I don't think we can go on much longer".

He is really struggling, as are thousands of others.

Clearly, Alternative Energy schemes are doomed to failure.

Hydrogen power won't work because it takes more energy to make fuel grade Hydrogen than it can deliver at the wheels of a Ford Explorer SUV. If only there were some easy source of excess energy.

Solar power won't work because there's no easy way to store excess daylight power for use later when the sun goes down. If only there were some way to store the excess daylight energy for later use in a Ford Explorer.

If only...if only...if only.

Well, I can't think of anything. Guess we better invade Iran for Threatening Our Way Of Life. And then Saudi Arabla, Russia, etc/

Hey Sir Realist,

do what I am about to do, sell your extra energy back to the energy companies. Not everyone can do it. But it has been a lazy dream of mine. It has actually come true.

I think that we need to make electric cars again. And use more natural gas to run larger vehicles, some buses use it. I have a vested interest in natural gas now. And it burns much cleaner than the other fossil fuels.

Heloise

I bought a flux capacitor off E-Bay and installed it in my truck. Im now getting about 600 miles per gallon. The only draw-back is I cant get the frecking truck to drive faster then 5mph. Any suggestions would help.

Try shifting into second gear.

Credit this London Telegraph article for most of the material found in the above post. A tip of the hat to Mr. Evans-Pritchard is the least you could do.