The future of solar energy
Is Solar the Ultimate Energy Source?

Apparently, the future of solar energy is bright. Solar energy is one of the renewable energy sources known to mankind. The question is will it be the ultimate energy source? Even though the solar power history shows that it is a rapidly growing sector, the answer is probably no.

Future use of Renewable Energy is unavoidable

At present, most of mankind energy needs are supplied by burning fossils. Inevitably, fossil fuels are depleted and the burning of fossil fuels cause unbearable environmental consequences. Therefore the increasing utilization of solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy and hydro energy is a sure bet. We simply won’t have another available alternative. It is however doubtful whether the most prominent resource will be solar energy. The two reasons are economical and the limitations of solar energy.

The competing Technologies

No technology is ultimate, each technology has its pros and contras. A balanced energy sources mix, weighing correctly the advantages and disadvantages of each resource and the local conditions will result in an optimum solution.

• solar energy has its advantages and disadvantages
• Wind energy has a great potential but suffers from large variation in the produced electrical power
• Experience showed (e.g. in Colorado and in Russia) that geothermal drills was responsible to an increased earthquakes hazard
• Hydro power has a big potential since it can provide a continuous and stable supply, however there is an increasing awareness to the undesired impact of damming big rivers.

Background on the Solar Energy Limitations

Solar has two main advantages that traditional energy sources don’t have.

• Solar energy is free of charge
• Solar energy is spread pretty much evenly in many of the globe altitudes and regions

The two limitations to using solar energy to produce electrical power are:

• The capital investment in solar power plants is still expensive compared to the investment in conventional power plants
• Sun radiation is available only during daylight and the technologies to store electrical power for use over the dark hours are still not mature