solar power

[lepers]

is it a viable source of energy? or r the start up costs just to silly? n would the panels blind u if u looked at them?

[rojash]

Solar power has been in everyday use here in Greece for many years. The whole point of the panels is that they absorb light, rather than reflecting it, so no, looking at them wll not blind you.

[lepers]

should set up huge power plants in california then, teach those polluting americans a lesson by spoiling their barren landscape! :-P does make sense tho, i would of thought u'd get a fair bit of energy from them. tho i'm not so naive that i dn't realise the politics involved . . .

[CT]

They've done that, but with wind turbines. Apparently at one stage they had 83% of the worlds wind power and that supplied 1% of California's energy needs.

[qapmoc]

Hi ct,  what you saying is that in fact nothing can replace oil as the primary source of mans energy needs or should that be wants??   With the oil starting to run out now this is not small question.

[Courtney Cox]

Solar panels can be fitted to your roof for about �10,000, so it tends to be too expensive unless you're going to live in the same property for about 25 years. The Government were offering 50% grants a while ago, but in their infinite wisdom they withdrew this recently. Did you know that solar panels on the roof produce energy during the day that is not always used so the energy can be transferred through to the network/supplier. They buy it from you and you buy it back in the evening when you need it, thereby possibly cancelling out any bills.

Considering the fact that new homes are being built all day every day all across the UK, why doesn't the Government legislate that all new homes built should have solar panels on the roof?

Bear in mind the fact that the Government receive 17.5% VAT on our utility bills.