|
I got
disillusioned with the solar energy thing, because “Yes, the energy you are
collecting is free”, but the problem is that the equipment required to do
it is so expensive because of its physical size - the conversion efficiency
of photo-voltaics is about 15%. So you get 150 watts per square meter
under full sun. If you put the numbers to it, what you really are doing is
trading capital expenses for operating costs. So instead of buying fuel,
you are paying debt on a billion dollar piece of equipment to collect solar
energy. It turns out that the two “axes” don’t cross until electricity
gets to about 40 cents a kilowatt hour. Right now it is about 15 cents.
It is still not close. However, in boutique applications like satellites,
it is perfect.
This
research commission, which was a very small entity, got absorbed by the
Arizona Department of Commerce, which is an economic development activity.
We broadened it to all forms of energy, and built an entity called the
Energy Office. I managed that for quite a while. About 15 years ago, they
asked me to manage the Economic Development activity, so I did and I really
liked it, because it involved a lot of international travel, working with
the Japanese primarily, and also people in Europe. I really liked it. Later,
I became the Deputy Director of the Department. I worked there longer than
at Motorola; I was there from 1975-2002. After that, I left and my wife
and I moved up to the mountains, east of Phoenix. We love it there.
______________
|