
Chapter 2
Solar Power for the World
Wolfgang Palz
World Council for Renewable Energy
2.1 Basics for a New Solar Age
2.1.1 The Ethical Imperative of Photovoltaics
Solar energy is not like any other energy! The Sun plays a central
role in our existence: the Sun heats the globe to an acceptable
temperature; otherwise, thanks to geothermal effects, it would be
just a bit more than the −270
◦
C prevailing in the Universe. And the
Sun is at the origin of life. Photosynthesis, a highly complex quantum
process that involves four photons hitting a molecule at the same
time, is the source of life. And that is not even acknowledging the
fact that to begin with there