Here Comes The Sun
If we depended on the sun, we wouldn’t have energy problems. Every half hour, enough light shines on the Earth’s surface to meet the world’s energy needs for a year. We don’t have an energy problem, we have a conversion problem. If we could harvest sunlight intelligently, we could prevent a global energy crisis.
That sounds good, but that doesn’t mean it will be successful, at least that’s what many different agencies would have us believe. It’s too expensive, takes up too much space, has too many materials, consumes more energy than it produces, and still isn’t efficient enough. While all these doubts will affect solar in the distant future, it remains on the fringes of the global energy game. Backlighting dispels these myths and shows that a solar economy is much closer than we thought. Next year, gigawatts of solar cells will be rolling on the conveyor belt. Industry dominates technology and machines.
Aggressive steps by the federal government show it’s possible. The villagers have fully installed solar energy on the vacant land. Power plants contribute to the grid and receive revenue. Many countries are following Germany’s lead: the Americans have their big solar plans, and French President Sarkozy is discussing solar plans with Mediterranean countries. Petroleum companies will be excluded, according to the Spanish power producer. So what is the energy crisis? Here comes the sun!
