MAKE SOLAR ENERGY ECONOMICAL
Although solar energy provides a very small percent of the world's total energy, it has the potential to provide much more. Because as a source of energy, it out-powers anything that human technology could ever produce (Make solar energy economical). Therefore, making solar energy economical is crucial.
Firstly, despite the fact that nowadays solar energy is not widely used, it will play an important role in human's life in futute. Fossil fuels cannot remain as the main source of energy forever. According to many scientists, those will be used up in several decades. For a long-term, solar energy offers a auspicious alternative because of its greatness and environmentally friendliness. Although there are some challenges we must encounter in making use of solar energy, the technologies to solve these problems are in our hand.
Secondly, even though today's commercial solar cells, most often made from silicon, typically convert sunlight into electricity with an efficiency of only 10 percent to 20 percent, prospects for improving them are promising (Make solar energy economical). In the 21st century, one of the challenges for the engineers is searching for the way to improve the efficiency of the solar cell and therefore, lower the cost of manufacturing. Many ideas are being discussed such as using new material or nanotechnology. Recent experiments have reported intriguing advances in the use of nanocrystals made from the elements lead and selenium (Schaller 2008).
Thirdly, how to make solar energy economical is also vey important. New material for solar cells may be a good method to considered. “This area is where breakthroughs in the science and technology of solar cell materials can give the greatest impact on the cost and widespread implementation of solar electricity,” Caltech chemist Nathan Lewis writes in Science (Lewis 2007). However, the main problem is material purity. Current solar cells must be designed in high-purity and therefore, very expensive. Many technologies are being tested but large improvement in efficiency must be made.
Fourthly, other problem that engineering will encounter in order to make solar energy economical is storing it. However advanced solar cells become at generating electricity cheaply and efficiently, a major barrier to widespread use of the sun’s energy remains: the need for storage (Make solar energy ecnomical). There are three method which are now being considered. The first one is pumping water and then, recovers it as hydroelectric power. The second one is using a large banks of of batteries. And the last one is mimicing the biological capture of sunshine by photosynthesis in plants.
In conclusion, if the engineers can solve those issues of improving solar cells, reducing the costs, and providing the efficient methods to use the solar energy to create storable fuel, solar power will express its preeminence to fossil fuels. Therefore, it will become a motive force for civilization's continued properity (Make solar energy economical).
Reference:
Make solar energy economical (n.d.). Retrieved September 1st, 2008 from
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9082.aspx
Lewis, N.S. 2007. Toward Cost-Effective Solar Energy Use.
Science 315(5813): 798-801.DOI: 10.1126/science.1137014
Schaller, R.D., and V.I. Klimov. 2004. High Efficiency Carrier Multiplication in
PbSe Nanocrystals: Implications for Solar Energy Conversion.
Physical Review Letters 92(18): 186601-1 - 186601-4. DOI: 10.1103/
PhysRevLett.92.186601
2 comments:
Indeed, scentific achievements with regard to power source are always the most special concern which is manifested as interest in solving energy problem for human. For many decades, solar energy has been considered as the most ideal alternative power supply without environmental contamination like like fossil fuel, albeit many doubts of economical viabitily remaining. Anyway, solar energy is actually an potetially great power generator in the future when people have tamed the fire of the sun with more advanced and economic solar cells.Solar energy will impress it preeminence to the contemporary energy sources, such as fossil fuel and coal.It will become a motive force for continued civilization's prosperity.
Indeed, solar energy is a potential energy source in the future. Even it is still expensive now, it will soon become much cheaper and effective once breakthrough is made. Since the only problem is with the process of converting the energy, it will need only one breakthrough, that is the process itself. While for coal or oil, we must continously find new site when the stock in a particular site almost empty.
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