Why Solar

The concept of using sun as an energy source is not new; even during ancient times the Greeks, the Chinese and the Native Americans were using the sun to warm their homes and keep them disease free.

So the question should be why not solar.

With all the energy that the sun is sending our way it wouldn't take much to satisfy our power needs through solar. I know it will take time but the technology is already there and all we really need is for our governments (and people) to start going forward on solar projects.

Jack Steinberger, the 1968 Nobel Prize winner in physics and director of CERN's particle-physics laboratory, spoke at a conference of Nobel laureates at the 350-year-old Royal Society in London last week.

His conclusion: "Wind is not the future," according to the London Times.

Steinberger says that solar energy is the future.

Historical resources in the energy-hungry world are being depleted, he said, predicting that fossil fuels, coal, and oil will be gone in 60 years. But the solution, he asserted, is not wind power.

The reason? Wind power still requires backup power when the wind isn't blowing, and that decreases its contribution to emissions reductions.

On the other hand, solar thermal power--where collectors concentrate sunlight using mirrors and lenses to produce electric power and heat--is already economical and can handle the storage problem, he said. The heat produced can be stored, enabling solar thermal plants to produce electricity during hours without sunlight.

We should keep in mind though that we should not forget about wind, one solution is not necessarily the right one for the whole world. Given the technology at the moment though all governments should really start looking into and supporting these solar thermal plants. For home owners solar thermal makes sense being close to if not the most affordable (for green energy produced) of the alternative energy market.

Solar Thermal: This is an excerpt from the Solar BC website.

Solar water heating typically offsets fossil fuel combustion, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. Systems can help reduce peak loads, thereby postponing or preventing the need for additional baseload energy generation and distribution infrastructure, such as new hydroelectric dams, coal-fired power generation stations, and underwater electrical cables.

Over its lifetime, a solar hot water system easily pays for itself and further provides proofing against a trend of rising energy costs. According to the British Columbia Utility Commission, natural gas prices have increased an average of 12% per year since 1998. With gas prices on the rise, using a solar hot water system will save you even more in the future.

Solar water heating systems fit well in the built environment and add little to our ecological footprint. Collectors are usually installed on rooftops, occupying otherwise unused space. Most equipment is made of locally available and recyclable materials: glass, plastic, copper, aluminium, wood, and steel. The full lifecycle impact is small, considering the 20+ years of service that a solar hot water system will give, producing zero-emission energy.