In reply to Jed Rothwell's message of Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:29:24 -0400: Hi, [snip] >Michel Jullian wrote: > >>9 to 10% efficiency for Nanosolar's current production (they target >>15% ultimately). Installed cost of 1MW German plant panels $3/W. > >If they really can achieve $3/W, perhaps despite the problems >described by Jones Beene, than this would be a remarkable >breakthrough. This is $3000 / kW which is cheaper than wind >turbines, nuclear or hydroelectricity. I think only gas and coal have >cheaper installation costs, and of course they require fuel over the >life of the plant. [snip] Note that like wind turbines, installed capacity doesn't mean that it's available 24 hours a day (whereas for e.g. coal that is (almost) the case). You have to divide by 2 to get real maximum capacity, and this assumes both that the array tracks the Sun, and that there are never any clouds. Actually it's a little more than 2, because the atmosphere is thicker at dawn and dusk, which filters out more light.
If it doesn't track the Sun, then you have to divide by Pi (approx.) in the tropics, or by 4 if you average over the whole surface of the planet. This is what the manufacturers are not advertising. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk The shrub is a plant.
