Wind power can be used to reduce dependance on *any* other form of power production, whether hydro, nuclear, coal, oil, etc. Heliostats are good too! But wind turbines are the cheapest and turn a profit in 8 years.
Capital cost comparisons
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coal = $1.20 per watt
diesel = $1.60 per watt
hydro = $1.34 to $1.87 per watt
geothermal = ??? (not renewable anyways)
wind = $2 per watt
heliostat = $4 to $5 per watt
nuclear = $4 to $6 per watt
photovoltaics = $6 to $7 per watt
These numbers must be off by a factor of about 100,000.
Consumers buy electical power for about $.10-12 kilowatt/hr.
The "wholesale" price of electical power is around $.06 a kilowatt. You can buy solar panels for your house and end up paying around 20 cent per kilowatt hr- depending on where you live.
Btw I think Canada exports electrical power to USA and they sell it for less than 5 cent a kilowatt hour.
Space/Science » in reply to Wind is an excellent conservation resource
re costs