Comments on: What If The West End Were The Green End? http://brokensidewalk.com/2009/04/28/what-if-the-west-end-were-the-green-end/ Covering Louisville Neighborhoods Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:09:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: BS Admin http://brokensidewalk.com/2009/04/28/what-if-the-west-end-were-the-green-end/comment-page-1/#comment-6814 BS Admin Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:13:25 +0000 http://brokensidewalk.com/?p=4529#comment-6814 The numbers from the Chicago plan do seem high, but efficiency gains for solar apparently don't really start until you reach 250MW. If you compare the numbers to prices of coal power plants, it's still higher but closer for $/MW. <br /><br /> A <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/business/29482814.html rel="nofollow">proposed plant in Wisconsin</a> last year was estimated at over $1.1 billion for 300MW and could serve 150,000 houses (500/MW). That's $3.7mil/MW compared to $6mil/MW in Chicago. Per house, it's $7,333, but if you calculate 500 houses/MW, the Chicago solar plan is $12,000 per house (not sure if they are equal exchanges). It's getting cheaper, too (in Spain, a built-up solar infrastructure will make <a href="http://www.edn.com/article/CA6432171.html" rel="nofollow">coal and solar costs about the same</a> by next year). <br /><br /> The bigger issue, though, is the buzz of large scale investment in a sustainable way of life. If Louisville could find its own way to create that excitement while spurring reinvestment in our centrally located neighborhoods, we could only stand to benefit. <br /><br /> In regards to the photo, it wasn't meant to reference a brownfield site as its caption indicates. I was looking for the portion of the Rohm & Haas plant that is being dismantled, but alas much of Rubbertown looks the same. The numbers from the Chicago plan do seem high, but efficiency gains for solar apparently don’t really start until you reach 250MW. If you compare the numbers to prices of coal power plants, it’s still higher but closer for $/MW.

A proposed plant in Wisconsin last year was estimated at over $1.1 billion for 300MW and could serve 150,000 houses (500/MW). That’s $3.7mil/MW compared to $6mil/MW in Chicago. Per house, it’s $7,333, but if you calculate 500 houses/MW, the Chicago solar plan is $12,000 per house (not sure if they are equal exchanges). It’s getting cheaper, too (in Spain, a built-up solar infrastructure will make coal and solar costs about the same by next year).

The bigger issue, though, is the buzz of large scale investment in a sustainable way of life. If Louisville could find its own way to create that excitement while spurring reinvestment in our centrally located neighborhoods, we could only stand to benefit.

In regards to the photo, it wasn’t meant to reference a brownfield site as its caption indicates. I was looking for the portion of the Rohm & Haas plant that is being dismantled, but alas much of Rubbertown looks the same.

]]> By: Dave http://brokensidewalk.com/2009/04/28/what-if-the-west-end-were-the-green-end/comment-page-1/#comment-6812 Dave Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:05:49 +0000 http://brokensidewalk.com/?p=4529#comment-6812 I don't get it. People who dog the economics never talk about war economics, big business profit economics, somewhere, some place, someone better spend something on a new way that doesn't leave so many people out in the cold. I don’t get it. People who dog the economics never talk about war economics, big business profit economics, somewhere, some place, someone better spend something on a new way that doesn’t leave so many people out in the cold.

]]> By: Mark http://brokensidewalk.com/2009/04/28/what-if-the-west-end-were-the-green-end/comment-page-1/#comment-6782 Mark Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:20:21 +0000 http://brokensidewalk.com/?p=4529#comment-6782 This is a good investment? The cost breaks down to $40,000 to provide electricity for one home! That certainly doesn't sound like a very good use of tax money. When we look for new "Green" sources for power we need to also ensure that the sources are economically feasible. Also 39 acres is a very large area for such a minimal amount of power, imagine how big the area would have to be to generate a significant quantity of power. By the way, the site shown at the top of the article is not a brownfield site but rather is a plant that is still in operation. This is a good investment? The cost breaks down to $40,000 to provide electricity for one home! That certainly doesn’t sound like a very good use of tax money. When we look for new “Green” sources for power we need to also ensure that the sources are economically feasible. Also 39 acres is a very large area for such a minimal amount of power, imagine how big the area would have to be to generate a significant quantity of power.

By the way, the site shown at the top of the article is not a brownfield site but rather is a plant that is still in operation.

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