Stan,
I am with ya on the junk yard that is CA. I live here and see it. I find it remarkable that the state keeps fielding new generators without keeping what they have in any state of repair. If it is beyond repair then remove it.
I won't agree with you on the maintenance of wind generation. I have seen the NREL and government data and what you said is incorrect. As a matter of fact if CA is any guide the real issue is that the places fielding wind don't treat it like the would a power plant and actually pretend to maintain them. The cost per watt minus all the subsidies is cheaper for wind than any power production method your going to find over the life span of the installed plants. So I would encourage you to look up the numbers.
Your right however if the state, communities, or companies that are fielding wind cannot maintain them then people should be NIMBY.
As far as a guy in it for a buck I guess you didn't check out any of the videos and what is going on with pickensplan.org. It doesn't sound like this is about the money, but I sure wouldn't begrudge him for putting his money on the line and making money. That is what free market and free enterprise is about right? This doen't appear to be a scam, but thats just my opinion.
I am watching the results and developments for the new large scale solar operations and again I am not sure where your getting the info on the "major issue" with solar, but once again it sounds as if normal wear on the panels is being blown out of proportion. There are PV panels that have been in production for over 50 years that are still in service. The big experiments right now are in the solar reflectors with several big megawatt installations that they are testing and deploying new storage technologies. Check out eSolar which has Google's backing right now, and look at a company called Solar Reserve. There are many others as there is a rush to bring this to market. If your mind is made up that renewables won't work then don't waste your time. But if you want to see what is possible and how fast this is developing I think you will be impressed. These are major jumps in baseline power.
And onto your last point that solar is insignificant. Global demand for photo-voltaic (solar) power hit 3,073 megawatts in 2007, up from 1,985 megawatts in 2006 — 54% growth. That's on top of 41% growth in 2006 and 34% in 2005. Solar is on fire right now and the technology is leapfrogging very quickly now. Now we are starting to see new technologies drive down cost and drive up density. This isn't new technology, but it is a new industry in that energy prices have now made it competitive, and new technologies are starting to show that solar can actually have an edge over other technologies.
Now I am going to say what no politician will say, but every one of them know it is the truth. We cannot consume at the rate we consume energy today. We have to adapt new technology to conserve power. We will have to learn how to adapt, and change to the world we live in. Nobody wants to hear that, but it is the truth. Even if the government does nothing which would probably be the best thing, prices and economics will force us to change. We cannot spend our future and our money funding terrorists. We can all complain, bellyache, and curse all we want, but it is the world we live in. Renewable new technology will be a big part in that world or we will be forced back to the horse and buggy days... It is our choice.
Anyone wanna talk about nuclear power?
Longsnowsm