Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Future of Solar Power?


Basically I am very much interested in Solar power which is clean and limitless energy source.

So, I published a Guest post about Solar power few months back.

When going thro' this Guest post, I had a question about future of the Solar Power.
And, I posted my question as "Will Solar Panels dominate the World in near future?" in LinkedIn Q&A.

Many people are giving their answer for this question.

I have extracted keypoints from their answers and listing them below.



  • Solar power system is very expensive now.

  • Due to economics reasons, technical limitations and resource constraints, using solar in large scale is difficult. So,solar will remain a limited source of electricity relative to coal, nuclear and hydroelectric power.

  • There is a possibility for launching giant solar collectors
    into space, with the energy beamed down into the grid.

  • Currently Solar products are good only in advertisements. But in reality, no solar company is giving enough details (price, expected daily output in specific location) about their products.

  • Due to the variety of conditions (weather, night, short daylight at higher lattitudes etc) they will always remain a useful but minority source of generation.

  • Solar power is suitable only for small devices eg. mobile devices

  • Need R&D to increase Energy Storage capacity & Installation-Maintainability.

  • Few years back, price of mobile phones got reduced only after large number of people started using mobile phones. Similarly price of solar devices will be reduced only when large number of people start using it.

  • This will be ideal for global warming problems and cleaner

  • Solar panel is not disposable.


  • Instead of talking much about solar energy people should start using it in small way. i-e we can use solar light in garden .It will be very useful in the nights




By going thro' these answers I understand that it is difficult to effectively utilize solar power in near future.

We know how big/powerful is solar power. And, we know how to get electricity from solar energy. But still we are not able to get the full benefit from Solar power.

The reason is, we are not having proper plan for making large scale use of solar devices. It seems India is taking some initiatives to create awareness about Solar power. Many people are saying that Government's plan for spreading Solar devices are not properly utilized.

I am just wondering why scientists are not doing enough R&D for enhancing solar devices, wherein solar devices are having great need and huge potential. Why they are giving preference to Space and Moon research than giving preference to enhance solar technology? You can share your thoughts thro' the comment.

Speech of Hermann Scheer explains the importance of utilizing Solar and other renewable energy.

He says

"Renewable energies are inexhaustible. They do not destroy the environment. They are available everywhere. They ensure peace. They enable independent developments and a fairer distribution of wealth possibilities. Their use facilitates solidarity with future generations. They secure the future of mankind. Their use must lead towards the replacement of the nuclear/fossil energy economy. Whether this replacement will be done in time - that is, in the first half of the 21st century - will be the answer to the question whether the industrial revolution was a unique chance for mankind to improve life conditions - or the start of its collective extermination. This replacement cannot be implemented without conflicts and we have to cope with them. We have to fight for the better alternative. It needs a grand design. This perspective is essential for overcoming the psychological disaster of having no alternative."

And he says People can bring this revolution without requiring help from the Industries .

He says "Solar energy is the energy of the people. To use this energy does not require big investments of only a few big corporations. It requires billions of investments by billions of people. They have the opportunity to switch from being a part of the problem to becoming a part of the global solution. That is globalization by the people"

I understand that bringing Solar in every day use everywhere is a challenging task. But still, personally I believe Solar power will be playing major role in energy sector very soon.

So, I am planning to create some kind of web applications (e.g calculating energy output for any Building) related to solar power. And, I am gathering more details about any existing applications. If you know any useful information about solar related web applications you can share it thro' the comments or you can send the details to me (rajamanickam.a@gmail.com)

Updates on November 2010
I am happy to know that India and US are taking joint initiative to use Space Solar power.


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8 comments:

Unknown said...

although solar power can be very useful, it should be studied well how to use it in every way! Some countries had the advantage specially they are experiencing the hot seasons all the time but what about the others. Solar Power Queensland

Jacinto Demonteverde, Jr. said...

The future is bright especially for developing countries if only we can encourage promotion of the most basic thermal applications of solar like cookers, pasteurizer and food dehydrators. These devices will certainly improve the quality of life of the people. PV technologies can wait when these are within the reach of developing countries. Visit me at http://www.justsolarhome.blogspot.com for more practical articles on these devices.

Continuing Education Contractor said...

I always like to think about how my house will be. I really like the thought of having a solar powered house. Helping the environment reduce emissions and make a green surroundings. It's good news then that solar energy has been getting it's prices lower and lower each year. I hope common people with minimum salaries can afford it in the near future.

பாண்டி-பரணி said...

csp power production will get more unit of power from solar system but its very expensive

Green Iowa Energy said...

I noticed your post is a few years old. Solar equipment (especially the panels) have dropped tremendously since you posted this article.

Would be worth it to make a follow up post now that prices have dropped.

Krista Hiles said...

The alternative energy resources include options, like solar energy, wind energy and geothermal energy. Before it's too late. It's the right time for all of us to switch over to these resources

Sterling Energys

Shreyl Joi said...

What is the difference, if all energy sources presented at the chart, use same measurement units? And that falling curve in the present would not change it's direction, nor it's angle towards the axis. Solar Energy Even if we turn to cost of electricity as a method of comparison, I doubt it we would see much of a change.

Solar Panels Las Vegas said...

As increasing pollution and global warming we must choose the renewable resources as they never cause any harm to our environment.Solar energy is a convenient and renewable source. It is environment friendly energy source which will be available for the our future generations also.

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