Re: Peak Oil- this says the world peaked-What do you think ?

Regardless of whether we've passed peak-oil or are still on our way to peak-oil, the day will come when someone will point to a chart and say: "This was the date of peak-oil production for the world."

So rather than argue about it, what can we do to limit the destructive effects of the slide down the back of that curve?  Without going into all the what, how etc. I believe that solar is the solution for the near term and probably for the long run as well.  But not PV, at least not silicon based PV.  My bet is on concentrating solar.  Right now the huge costs of silicon puts the price of  industrial scale PV energy above $210/MWh⁽¹⁾, and that's just way too high.  Incentives can significantly affect that, but incentives are not something we can build an industry upon.

Certainly in the future folks will look back with fondness of the good-ol-days when oil was *only* $100/bbl but let's not go there.

I'm hoping to stir up some serious interest in a solar alternative that can provide Class 1 electricity (just like PV) but at about $90/MWh⁽²⁾ This is a system I've been working on since 2001, but have been unable to secure the necessary interest, for all the wrong reasons.

The system which is based on the Rankine Cycle is the same process that is used in all *fired* powerplants uses concentrated sunlight to boil a working fluid which drives an expander that turns a generator; simple.  And therein lies the problem.  The technology is so somple that investors are unwilling to enter the market.

Before I'm tempted to do a commercial for the product of company, I'll stop, and just solicit some input on the thread.

Also, since I'm working on my web site, I'll take a moment to ask permission to link to this board/forum, naturally I'm hoping to build some traffic, and get the word out...

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 (1) The energy cost is based on the 20 year economic lifetime of the PV system, and the installed cost of approx $~8/W(peak) which is how systems are rated.

(2) Using the same 20 year lifetime and a much lower $3/W installed cost. this allows us to compare similar systems on an equivalent basis.