Solar energy initiative for Gore, WF and Belleayre

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yes!  beyond cool!!  

solar is the way of the future!  Fossil Fuels be done!!!  

This is just grandstanding.

Clearly the electric is coming from other sources than solar otherwise they could not blow at night.  To think the solar farm could provide enough energy for all three areas in late December when all lifts are running and they are blowing is pure bs.  Since ski areas don't consume energy during the summer when most of it is made I just don't understand this at all.  There is no giant battery to store power from the grid.  Just political hay making from the gov here.

What they are actually doing is dumping solar into the grid year round when it's actually sunny and using coal power to make snow and run lifts.  Doesn't sound quite so green now does it?

Coach Z wrote

This is just grandstanding.

Clearly the electric is coming from other sources than solar otherwise they could not blow at night.  To think the solar farm could provide enough energy for all three areas in late December when all lifts are running and they are blowing is pure bs.  Since ski areas don't consume energy during the summer when most of it is made I just don't understand this at all.  There is no giant battery to store power from the grid.  Just political hay making from the gov here.

What they are actually doing is dumping solar into the grid year round when it's actually sunny and using coal power to make snow and run lifts.  Doesn't sound quite so green now does it?

Maybe if you learned how grid suppliers operate, you wouldn't be making such clueless comments.

Oh please explain...

No matter what you say the power for the blowing and chairs is coming from the sun .... About a million years ago when it grew plants that have become coal or nat gas now.

The grid is not a giant battery.  You don't make the power in June and use it in January.  

Coach Z wrote

The grid is not a giant battery.  You don't make the power in June and use it in January.

That's how the bills work. You supply now, everyone burns that energy for their stupid AC's everywhere at 68 degrees, this winter chairs spin. It's not 100% "alternative", but it's certainly a step in the right direction because it means burning less coal, less demand on the nukes, etc.

Yeah the whole offset thing is a way to make people feel better.  It's an accounting shell game .  because solar is not available half the time there is a oil coal or nat gas power plant with its boilers idiling still using some fuel waiting for the clouds to come in or night to fire up to 100%

Coach Z wrote

What they are actually doing is dumping solar into the grid year round when it's actually sunny and using coal power to make snow and run lifts.  Doesn't sound quite so green now does it?

Offset can be just as green as direct production.

I think what's really great about this initiative is that ORDA isn't simply sourcing their power requirements from existing alternative/solar energy supplies.  Instead, new solar production is actually going to be constructed to meet the needs of the 3 ski areas.  

I agree with Z, this is mostly a political statement. The real reason is to prop up the sagging solar energy market and to give political cover to the energy intensive snow sports businesses they run. I bet it makes little to no if not negative financial sense as I presume the state gets its power wholesale from the producers which would put its cost less than the aggregate cost of Solar and the fact that they have to dump it back to the grid they don't even save on distribution costs. I bet if someone did an honest ROI on this it would look pretty bad.

They would do much better by plastering every open square foot of the Albany office campus with solar and using it all on site.

Coach Z wrote

Yeah the whole offset thing is a way to make people feel better.  It's an accounting shell game .  because solar is not available half the time there is a oil coal or nat gas power plant with its boilers idiling still using some fuel waiting for the clouds to come in or night to fire up to 100%

The idling boilers are more due to the unpredictability of demand, not the timing of solar power supply.  In fact solar supply is quite predictable based on time of day, season and prevailing/expected weather conditions.

A friend of mine put solar in on his house. He has an ideal setup with roof pointing in the right direction and no trees shadowing it or dropping pollen on it. Obviously most juice is being produced during the day when they aren't home. His meter spins backwards.  In peak production months (May is highest) the electric bill is a credit not an invoice.

If you remove all the trees that provide some shade to your house, you'll end up spending just as much as you'll save to keep the AC on more so your house stays comfortable.  

Coach you are super predictable!  I just scored free beers betting you would be first in with a negative comment!!!  

It's OK to move in the sustainable direction!!  Just re-invest your fossil fuel fund into solar.  In 10 years you will be saying that SJ dude totally hooked me up with some sage investment advice!  

I am the green Gordon Grecco!!!  

AC is so lame!

snoloco wrote

If you remove all the trees that provide some shade to your house, you'll end up spending just as much as you'll save to keep the AC on more so your house stays comfortable.

More brilliance. Is Coach Z your uncle?

All I read was $1-billion .... will take a lot of sunshine to get that back .... wonder who's making all the $$$ from that "investment"

Ok, let's look at some facts, from the article, the state pays $0.077/kWh for electricity. Solar costs between $4 and $5/watt installed. For Washington Co, a 1kw panel will produce 1259kwhr/year or about $97 worth of electricity and cost $4,000 to install or have a payback of 41 years if it lasts that long. Need I go on?

Your tax dollars at work!

Oh, I see. The dinosaurs want to run the asylum.

Great supporting argument, come back when you can add something intelligent to the discussion.