"Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right" ~ by
George Harrison from The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road.
Today on Far Future Horizons we investigate a nascent revolution that has the potential to alter the course of human history in the same manner that the introduction of agriculture led to the birth of human civilization.
This may indeed be the century when humanity sees the dawning of a new era in human history that will transform human civilization from energy hunter gathers to energy harvesters. We are on the cusp of a new epoch where we will see the harvesting of solar energy on a stupendous scale.
If it were up to the sun, we would have no energy problem. Every half hour on the Earth’s surface, there is more than enough light to provide energy needs for the whole world in a year.
We don’t have an energy problem, we have a conversion problem. If we are able to harvest sunlight in smart way, then we can prevent a global energy crisis.
That sounds nice but that does not mean it will succeed, at least that is what many different bodies want us to believe. It’s too expensive, takes too much space, too much material, it costs more energy than it brings, and it is still not efficient enough. While all these doubts play a role for solar energy in the distant future, it is still a marginal player in the global energy game. Back-light takes the edge off these myths and shows that a solar economy is much closer than we think. Next year, there are already rolling Giga Watts of solar cells on the conveyor belt. The industry has mastered the technology and the machines.
Radical German government measures have proved that it is possible. Villagers have completely installed solar power on empty lands. Power stations contribute to the network and where they are deserved. Many countries follow the German example: The Americans have their Grand Solar Plan and the French President Sarkozy is talking about a solar plan with the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. According to the Spanish electricity producers, oil companies will be left out.
So what energy crisis? The sun is coming!Here Comes The Sun
This may indeed be the century when humanity sees the dawning of a new era in human history that will transform human civilization from energy hunter gathers to energy harvesters. We are on the cusp of a new epoch where we will see the harvesting of solar energy on a stupendous scale.
If it were up to the sun, we would have no energy problem. Every half hour on the Earth’s surface, there is more than enough light to provide energy needs for the whole world in a year.
We don’t have an energy problem, we have a conversion problem. If we are able to harvest sunlight in smart way, then we can prevent a global energy crisis.
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| The solar power generation capacity of Germany is almost equal to the rest of the world ... |
That sounds nice but that does not mean it will succeed, at least that is what many different bodies want us to believe. It’s too expensive, takes too much space, too much material, it costs more energy than it brings, and it is still not efficient enough. While all these doubts play a role for solar energy in the distant future, it is still a marginal player in the global energy game. Back-light takes the edge off these myths and shows that a solar economy is much closer than we think. Next year, there are already rolling Giga Watts of solar cells on the conveyor belt. The industry has mastered the technology and the machines.
Radical German government measures have proved that it is possible. Villagers have completely installed solar power on empty lands. Power stations contribute to the network and where they are deserved. Many countries follow the German example: The Americans have their Grand Solar Plan and the French President Sarkozy is talking about a solar plan with the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. According to the Spanish electricity producers, oil companies will be left out.
So what energy crisis? The sun is coming!Here Comes The Sun
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