Reply #2: But the change will be toward cadmium [View All]

[Dogmudgeon]

Most of the new photovaltaic technologies depend on exotic cadmium-based alloys.

If you thought plutonium was bad, wait until you see what cadmium can do!

We should strongly support basic research in these technologies, but the actual industrial-strength building of solar energy should be centered on "heliothermal". Yet it's not nearly as "sexy" from an investment point of view, and only Abengoa/Solucar appears ready to install capacity. (And they're Bechtel affiliates.)

The Internet and Nanotechnology -- they're sexy, as you can see in the article. Someday, these technologies may reach commercial potential, but not any time soon. While scientists and engineers continue their work, there are a dozen genera of technology that we can work on to provide mass-scale power.

--p!