Global Solar Power: 980 Gigawatts by 2020?
Source: flickr.com/photos/aletermi/
A hugely encouraging report has come to light from the Solar Energy Industries Association in Cancun, Mexico. The report coincides with a movement towards the extension of the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 ( an international agreement to reduce the emissions of global warming inducing carbon dioxide), and it seems as though solar energy is topping the future agenda of many countries.
According to the 21 associations that formulate the basis of the report, the world could generate around 1,000 Gigawatts of solar power by 2020. This would raise the solar energy usage to 5 per cent of the American energy mix, and although this seems proportionally small for a decades work, it is nonetheless a large jump forward in the right direction.
Source: thechicecologist.com
“The capital needed to manufacture that much capacity is staggering,” said Nancy Hartsoch, vice president of marketing at SolFocus Inc., a Palo Alto, California-based maker of concentrating photovoltaic panels. “And because solar hasn’t reached grid-parity in most regions, that kind of deployment would require stronger policies than we’ve got in place now.” [Source: Business Week]
For this solar dream to become a reality, certain sacrifices will be needed to gather adequate funding levels. Solar energy companies will require substantial cash injections from wealthy institutional investors, governments and, perhaps, eco-philanthropists. There is a vast potential market for solar power and the industry should find that capital will be fairly easy to come by. However, this said, the governments of the world nations will have to adapt their agendas and policies to suit this change. Colossal amounts of resources are piled into oil exploration, fossil fuel subsidies and the like, this emphasis will then need to be swung towards renewable energy to sustain growth in this sector.
It seems completely viable too, what with it producing 5% of the US national output, 683,000 jobs and would help to reduce the cost of electricity to $2.32 a watt from $5.71 today. It speaks for itself.
The New York Hornblower Hybrid
Popping up everywhere are new, exciting examples of how solar energy can be used to power elements of many peoples’ everyday life. Take the New York Hornblower Hybrid for example; a hybrid ferry that ships tourists around New York’s greatest attractions. Or, the solar-powered, world globe-circumnavigating MV Turanor catamaran. Or, the news that the Philadelphia Eagles will be powering their stadium purely on renewable energy by September of next year. It seems as though there is a mass movement towards the aggrandizement of solar energy and a confidence in its ability to be a practical and easy alternative to fossil fuels.
[...] we have to invest in the production of the same amount. And more. This will be a mixture of wind, solar and [...]
[...] we have to invest in the production of the same amount. And more. This will be a mixture of wind, solar and [...]