It seems that we may all be able to take a much-needed collective breath of relief when it comes to trepidation about our fragile ecosystem. If trends continue, solar energy might be electrifying global power concerns sooner than originally anticipated.
Things may in fact be heating up for a veritable explosion of solar energy, thanks to such factors as solar energy becoming easier to store and far cheaper to produce.
According to an article published via The Week on Tuesday, May 21, some 12.2 trillion watt-hours of solar energy bombards our planet every year. This astonishingly large number brightens our hopes for cleaner, more efficient energy due to its representing 20,000 times the total energy humanity annually consumes.
For whatever reason (conspiracy theorists be damned), the total power that is produced via solar energy represents an astonishingly low percentage of that used by our species through photovoltaic solar panels: 0.7 percent.
The two biggest problems with solar energy in the past have been the price (in comparison to fossil fuels such as coal) and storage. But that might be changing.
For now, the U.S. Department of Energy says that whereas solar energy costs approximately $156.90 per megawatt-hour to produce, coal costs $99.60 per MW/h, nuclear energy costs $112.70 per MW/h and natural gas costs somewhere between $65.50 and $132 per MW/h.
As The Week puts it, "from an economic standpoint, solar is still uncompetitive."
The other current issue is the storing itself of solar energy.
"A major conundrum with solar panels has always been how to keep the lights on when the sun isn't shining," Christoph Steitz and Stephen Jewkes at Reuters say.
New innovations in technology may allay both of these problems, allowing solar energy to boom in a way that might allow it to finally be as prominent in our energy system as the sun's energy itself throughout our planet.
Innovations in the way photovoltaic cells produce electricity from solar energy has gone up from 8 percent in the 1970s to 44 percent in the best-designed cells today. We may very soon be seeing some cells rock as much as 51 percent efficiency, as well. With more competitors in the field of manufacturing photovoltaic cells -- such as those from China -- there has also been a significant drop in said manufacturing.
Should these trends indeed continue, we could see the cost of producing solar energy drop in the U.S. to as little as $120 per MW/h (comparable with coal) by 2020. In sunnier parts of the country, this number could be reached by 2015.
There have also been huge leaps made in the field of storing solar energy, including scientists now storing solar energy in beds of packed rocks.
"Lower costs and better storage capacity would mean cheap, decentralized, plentiful, sustainable energy production - and massive relief to global markets that have been squeezed in recent years by the rising cost of fossil fuel extraction, a burden passed on to the consumer," The Week says. "All else being equal, falling energy prices mean more disposable income to save and invest, or to spend."
What do you think? With such developments in the cost and storing of solar energy, might it be a truly viable alternative to fossil fuels sooner than we originally thought? Or is this all just hocus-pocus? Let us know your feelings in the comments below!
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