Solar power set to take over the world?
Is solar set to take over the world? https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/03/is-solar-set-to-take-over-the-world Keith Breene, Senior Writer It’s the largest power plant of its kind. Built in the Moroccan desert, the $765 million Noor-Ouarzazate complex is set to power over a million homes.
Even a few years ago, a project of this scale in the North African desert would almost certainly have been an oil or gas power station. But the Noor-Ouarzazate complex runs on the power of the sun.
It is a sign of how far solar power has come that such large infrastructure projects are now being built. That the scheme was partly funded through a loan from theWord Bank also shows how solar is becoming mainstream.
What’s behind the growth in solar?
Of course, concern over the use of fossil fuels and global warming is a large part of solar’s current success. But the reason it is doing quite so well, quite so quickly really comes down to price.
The cost of power generated by solar has plummeted to the point where, in many parts of the world, it is now close to coal or gas generated electricity.
Source: Earth Policy Institute/Bloomberg
The more solar grows, the cheaper it becomes to manufacture solar panels, and the virtuous cycle continues.
But it’s not just that solar is becoming cheaper – it’s also that fossil fuel generation is becoming more expensive. That’s because once a solar or wind project is built, the marginal cost of the electricity it produces is almost nothing, whereas coal and gas plants require more fuel for every new watt produced. Power companies will choose the free power whenever they can, which means less is required from the fossil fuel power stations and the marginal cost of their power rises.
It’s a self-reinforcing cycle. As more renewables are installed, coal and natural gas plants are used less. As coal and gas are used less, the cost of using them to generate electricity goes up. As the cost of coal and gas power rises, more renewables will be installed.
BNEF reports that in every major region of the world, the lifetime cost of new coal and gas projects rose considerably in the second half of 2015, while the cost of renewables continued to fall.
How can we solve the problem of storing solar energy?
One of the problems with solar power is, of course, that it’s only there during the daytime. This has been used as an argument for keeping fossil fuel generation for the “base load” generation needed 24 hours a day.
But even this is changing. The Noor-Ouarzazate complex is not a photovoltaic power plant. Instead it uses concentrated solar power (CSP), which holds vast potential due to its ability to provide reliable power even when the sun is not shining.
Hundreds of mirrors focus the sun’s energy to heat a fluid that is used to produce steam that drives turbines to generate electricity. The fluid can also be used to heat molten salts stored in large storage tanks on site. The salt stays hot enough to generate steam even after the sun has gone down.
It is such a promising technology that the International Energy Agency estimatesthat up to 11% of the world’s electricity generation in 2050 could come from CSP.
What about batteries?
Another major change is rapidly improving battery technology. Alreadyhouseholds can buy battery packs for their solar panels, and the cost of these is expected to reduce significantly over the next few years.
Entrepreneur Elon Musk reckons that the entire world’s electricity demands could be met with around 2 billion large batteries.
What if it’s not very sunny?
It is easy to see why Morocco might look to solar to meet its energy needs. The same goes for many other hot and sunny parts of the world. But is solar really workable elsewhere?
For the answer to that, take a look at Germany. Hardly famous for its year-round sun, the northern European nation has nevertheless led the world in solar generation.
Germany has the capacity to generate over a third of its electricity from solar and in the summer of 2014 even managed to briefly generate over half of its power this way. Germany shows us that solar is not just a technology for the sun-drenched parts of the world.
Solar isn’t the only answer to the world’s energy needs, but it has much to offer. As the cost falls and the energy market is further disrupted, solar energy is set to play a huge part in meeting our global energy needs.
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1.This month.
The Road to War brings a sharp focus to why it is not in Australia’s best interest to be dragged into a war with China which will almost inevitably go nuclear very quickly. The filmmaker has interviewed some of Australia’s senior foreign policy analysts who have vast experience behind them in analysing what really is going on here as the United States rattles its sabres with China. And sets us up to be its proxy, like the poor Ukranians have been fed into the Meatgrinder. So America can remain the Top Dog. The Road to War reveals how the United States through its spy base at Pine Gap and by stationing six nuclear capable B52 bombers in the Top End (without permission from the traditional owners) is making Australia a prime nuclear target if the current war of words suddenly melts down into full scale war.
The Road to War shows the implicit connection between Carbon emissions (the US military uses a whopping 70% of America’s annual petroleum to move its armies and vast War Machine around the globe to its 800+ military bases..but under a loophole wangled at Kyoto, the US military does not have to report its C02 annual emissions). The Road to War starts screening at selected cities and regional centres in March. See the trailer end for details.
Antinuclear 
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