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Competitive Solar Energy

Tapping the sun for our power needs always seemed such a good idea.

But solar power, while it has been around for years, has never captured a major share of the market, accounting for only 6 percent of the power generated in the United States the last time anyone counted (2004).

But that’s because solar power wasn’t terribly efficient, converting just 10-15 percent of the sun’s rays to useful energy. The rest was wasted, or worse. On occasion, solar systems that became clogged would catch on fire.

But now researchers have found a way to use mirrors and lenses to concentrate the sun’s rays by as much as 500 percent. These systems increase efficiency my more than a fourth, and could do so by as much as half. That would make solar power considerably more affordable and competitive as a choice for consumers.

It would also substantially reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions clogging the earth’s atmosphere and could help to slow global warming. For example, the single largest planned solar power plant is now being built in Portugal and is expected to supply power to about 8,000 homes. That might not seem like a lot, but that one plant would cut 30,000 tons of greenhouse gases that are now being generated by the burning of fossil fuels.

The new systems aren’t out on the market yet. It’ll be a few years before they’re ready for commercial sales. But if you’ve ever considered going solar, you might soon find it’s not quite so far out of reach.

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To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org