The future of solar power systems

Solar power represents an opportunity to harvest unlimited power. The sun produces more energy every minute than the human species has used in its entire history. Solar energy will be available long after all the fossil fuels run out. The future of solar power is likely to be far beyond the capabilities of any other energy sources today.

Solar basics – Economics

The economics of solar power are very simple – Solar energy costs nothing except the materials required to harvest it and plug it into the power grid. The real cost of a solar panel can be measured by the energy it delivers. If the average solar panel costs $X, and returns $10X or more in the value of power that it provides over its product life, you’d have to say that the cost efficiency was pretty good. In practice, a solar panel can continue to deliver power for many years.

Present-day power grids are expensive, and geared to fossil fuel power generation. That means that the systems that power modern societies are effectively held hostage to the cost of fossil fuels. That cost base is insupportable, with fossil fuels costing more and more money to provide less than society needs. Solar power is in fact propping up most modern power grids today, providing additional power on demand when required. That capability to produce power endlessly is one of the irrefutable characteristics of solar power, and why solar will be the source of future energy for the world.

Solar power and energy efficiency

The new technology coming on stream in consumer markets every day is designed to be energy efficient. Modern electronics actually don’t need enormous amount of electricity. From an engineering point of view, solar power naturally increases energy efficiency both at the point of power collection and the point of power distribution. This is a far superior, systemic form of energy efficiency which is currently lacking in modern power grids.

Future technology is likely to require an extremely diverse range of power usage in multiple electronic systems. Modern “smart homes” are already designed to operate a large array of electronic systems, and it’s far more efficient to generate power on site, than to carry the cost of a huge infrastructure to provide the same service. Current power systems will look very primitive indeed in future, compared to systems where the domestic power supply can be tailored to meet the needs of the household rather than the grid.

Future power demand

Fossil fuels cannot meet existing demands, let alone the demands of a global population 30 percent higher than today. The old power systems are antiquated, even in market terms. On a cost basis, it is extremely unlikely that they will be able to deal with the massive increases projected for global power consumption by the end of the century.

Solar power really is the only option. Other alternative energy sources can provide significant power, but they tend to be locally available, whereas solar power can quite literally go anywhere, even into space. The future is solar.