Would replacing all our fossil-energy sources with solar and wind power be practical?
No, it is not possible nor practical. Reasons: 1. Solar only gives you power during the day, if the sun is out. The more cloud cover you have the less solar production you get. 2. Snow cover on solar panels stops all solar production. Dust and dirt on your solar panels reduces production. 3. Wind energy from windmills/wind farms depends on weather patterns for good production. 4. Wind and solar energy production can not match the load for energy use. 5. At current costs and values, if you do NOT have a subsidy, wind and solar project have a 20 – 30 year simple payback. Life of those projects is often less than 20 – 30 years thus the life cycle cost is a negative, not a positive. According to NASA, Dr. Hathaway, we could be headed into a new Dalton Minimum. that would mean global cooling not global warming. If you believe in AGW, then you might want to start lobbying for MORE CO2, not less. EDIT: Solar Panel Ratings approx 100 W per sq yd 2.5 Million Mega watts = 2.5 x 10^10 sq yd of so
