I wrote a little while back that I think the government should pony up for interest free loans for zero-emission/renewable-resource based power plants (photovoltaic solar was the specific class of plant that I had targeted). My thinking is laid out in the article but I’ll summarize. Investing in energy that doesn’t come from idiot nations means we can free ourselves from their idiocy (somewhat); we get a leg up on the competition because we will have the ability to run our economy at a stable cost as opposed to the wildly fluctuating costs of fossil fuels; we get to enjoy the fruits of greater environmental sensitivity in cleaner streams, skies, etc.

I was trolling YouTube and found this video:

This video makes it clear that photovoltaic solar isn’t the only option. There are options that are relatively low tech, available now, at low cost. The video states that the power plant shown has the ability to generate a stable 30 Kilowatts of energy, peaking at up to 60 Kilowatts. The power plant is a test version and is likely to improve its efficiency through various enhancements. There is little environmental impact and the whole thing cost a staggeringly little $1+ million.

It is conceivable that given a reasonable deployment of units like that shown in the video, the cost of an installation could drop even further. This low initial cost along with the requirement for only eleven acres of land on which to place such a plant, could result in quite a nicely profitable business generating clean, solar energy.

Also, given that the cost per kilowatt hour of electricity in states where this technology could be the most effective is relatively higher than the average (CA, AZ, NM, TX), shown in the middle of this page, it makes absolute business sense to seek alternative energy sources that could feed demand, taking advantage of relatively high energy costs, all the while using a renewable resource to provide protection against cost swings.