OK, Lets run some numbers. This project will produce 10MW and power 2K homes; total projects produce 42 MW, or roughly 8K homes. Total cost: $247M. (Presumably, the advocates mean that the system, when fully cranking, will produce enough juice to power those homes.) So, if my math serves, thats roughly $31K per house, just in construction costs. (And the power will then be free, right?) Apparently, the average NJ electric bill is $141 per month. Hence, it would take 219 months, or 18 years, for this project to break even, assuming that these projects delivered ALL of the power to those 8K homes. Problem: solar doesnt work at night or when its cloudy. I read that solar, typically only delivers at 25% of its stated capacity. If thats accurate, that means those homes will, in reality, only get 25% of their power from the system, or the equivalent of $35 per month in power. And, if true, that means that the system will require four times as long to break even, or 72 years. There are, of course, a lot of suppositions in this; the article isnt wholly clear. But if the above is even remotely accurate, what would possess any rational individual to even CONSIDER such a project?
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 02:19:07 +0000
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