Power from the Sun “will truly change the world”
“This is not pie-in-the-sky—this can be done” Al Gore
Did you ever set fire to kindling using a magnifying glass or spectacles? Solar Electricity (known in the industry as Concentrating Solar Power) uses the same idea, only it’s all done with mirrors. It’s just as simple, but on an industrial scale, so it boils water to drive a turbine and generate power.
Could it be the Big Energy Answer we’ve all been praying for? Even if not, it ticks all the boxes: tried and tested, not rocket science, clean, safe, fast to build, cheap to run and maintain, easily cabled from desert sites, unlimited, modular and scalable, environmentally friendly, with fresh water for irrigation as a by-product and other socio/political benefits: if sunshine can be harvested, Africa and India can be rich. And green. And no scarcity to fight over: who’s going to go to war over desert land or sunshine?
India is going for it big-time, planning on a massive central site supplemented by localised small scale use of solar PV panels. There’s been a working plant in California since the ’90s and more recently another in Nevada. In China a 2GW plant has just been booked. Europe, the Mid-East and North Africa (EUMENA) have agreed to do it together. A super grid of low-loss transmission lines will distribute solar with wind and wave power. In Morocco, Algeria and Egypt the first plants are under construction. Spain already has two plants that power Seville and more being built near Granada.
Worldwide, the technology is being refined to make it cheap to mass produce and cheap to install. One company says: “making solar electricity for less than the price of coal, without subsidies, is not only attainable but will truly change the world.”
By 2015 it could be coming to a switch near you, and even better, it’s expected to become one of the cheapest sources of power in Europe, including the cost of transmission.
Why isn’t it front-page news? Good question: could it be something to do with the promise to out-compete with gas, coal, oil and nuclear? Perish the thought.
HOT at least has no vested interest in keeping quiet about it, and we urge our readers to spread the word.
If you’re enjoying HOT and would like us to continue providing fair and balanced reporting on local matters please consider making a donation. Click here to open our PayPal donation link. Thank you for your continued support!
Also in: The HOT Planet
« Smileology!After Copenhagen »
