Comments on: New 20-MW Solar Thermal Plant Eats its Own Energy http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/06/new-20-mw-solar-thermal-plant-eats-its-own-energy/ Clean Tech News & Views: Solar Energy News. Wind Energy News. EV News. & More. Tue, 30 Dec 2014 10:59:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.1 By: Bob_Wallace http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/06/new-20-mw-solar-thermal-plant-eats-its-own-energy/#comment-115365 Sat, 10 Mar 2012 18:30:00 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=35748#comment-115365 There are lots and lots and lots of people who think they have developed a world-changing idea. Some of them are total crackpots and some are simply wrong. A few actually have a good idea.

It’s impossible to tell in which category you best fit unless you produce a working example, some strong data, or something of merit that exceeds your claim that you believe in your idea.

It’s up to you to figure out how to be a signal emerging from the noise of the delusional and deluded. If that means partnering with a Chinese company, so what?

We’re all on this ball of dirt together. Why would it be important which group of us figures out how to save our collective bacon?

If you’ve got a “golden idea” then you’ll get plenty rich off of the your Canadian patent rights and whatever arrangement you make with your Chinese/wherever partners.

]]> By: Joe Matula http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/06/new-20-mw-solar-thermal-plant-eats-its-own-energy/#comment-115359 Sat, 10 Mar 2012 16:42:00 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=35748#comment-115359 I have invented a huge improvement to ground source geothermal that takes it into the next millennium by not only providing heating and cooling for a building, but potentially also supplying surplus electrical energy as well. I filed a PCT patent application in Dec. 2011 and have tried to get the assistance of the local hydro utility and Canadian government initiatives, but to no avail. We have 6 cent / kw. hydro power here in Manitoba, Canada, so energy is not an issue. I also tried to access USDE assistance, but that is a non starter because I am not a US citizen.
It would cost under $100,000 to build a working prototype system and possibly another $100,000 to fine tune it so that it would compete with hydro power. The beauty of this system is that it stores power for times of need and can make wind and solar more practical by working when the wind is not blowing nor sun shining.
Until natural gas prices spike astronomically, there will not be a serious effort to deal with environmental issues or to convert to sustainable energy production. The technology is available, but the will to help inventors get to the next level is sorely lacking. Investors want to see strong cash flow before they invest, so they too are useless, except for their ability to jump on a wagon after it hav been proven beyond any possible risk. I have no way of getting this to the next level without contacting the Chinese government and possibly working with them. Maybe this is what I should have done first. The west has simply gotten too complacent. Soon the East will own the west.

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