Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
against the tide of history. And CONG has been so shrill in its opposition to common
sense and good economics that it seems to be driven by greed—and by the fear that the
rise of a new, competitive industry is going to affect its bottom line.
Which brings us back to those things you've heard—about why solar isn't ready to
provideyourhouse'spower.Thefossil-fuelindustrymakesalotofmoneyforitsvarious
executives and shareholders—and making money is fine unless it comes at the expense
ofothers.It'sclear thatthisisincreasingly thecase.Theseinterests wanteveryonetobe-
lieve that there's no real option, as this is how they can maintain their wealth and power.
The motivation is plain, as greed and fear of losing privilege have long driven people to
do things not necessarily in the interest of the greater good. At the very least we should
take their views with a grain of salt.
The Myth of Inefficiency
I hate to repeat myself, but how efficient is the steam-based energy system, where you
take sunlight that was stored 200 million years ago in some form of plant material, dig
it up from where it was buried, truck it somewhere, burn it to boil some water, use the
steampressuretodriveaturbinethatwilllosemuchoftheenergyasheat,andthentrans-
mit the electricity generated to some point of use many miles away?
With solar energy you take that solar power directly captured by panels, at the point
of use, and—presto!—use it as electricity. Just the first step of the process by which we
extract stored solar energy from fossil fuels in the steam-based system is less efficient
than the photovoltaic effect, which we use in solar systems. Photosynthesis, which was
the process by which plants took up the sun's energy in chemical bonds, works less effi-
ciently than the 15 percent conversion of photons to electrons of the standard solar mod-
ule. Then there's a step down in efficiency across every one of the other stages of the
steam-based system as a source of electricity.
When comparing these two systems, which would you agree is the more efficient?
Another commonly held misconception that prevents people from investing in solar
panels is that they'll become much more efficient in time, so you shouldn't buy now. It's
true that solar panels will become increasingly more efficient, but this does not negate
the fact that a solar panel is the superior way to get electricity right now.
But hold on, CONG pipes up. What's the rush? Wait until solar panels produce elec-
tricity at 20 percent efficiency in terms of photons to electrons; or wait five years, for 30
percent efficiency; or wait a decade, for 50 percent efficiency. This ignores the fact that
at 15 percent efficient conversion of photons to electrons, solar panels make electricity
both cleaner and more cost-effective. If we had waited for a car to be as efficient as a
solar panel is right now, we'd still be driving around in horse-drawn buggies.
