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The Future of Energy
book

The Future of Energy

by Brian F. Towler
May 2014
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
390 pages
11h 10m
English
Academic Press
Content preview from The Future of Energy
Chapter 8

Solar Power

Abstract

There is intense public interest in developing solar power for widespread use, but there are two major problems. First, the sun does not shine all the time, and, as a result, it cannot serve as a reliable energy source without reliable storage technology. More importantly, the cost of solar energy is still 10 times the cost of other energy sources, making it uncompetitive in the energy market. Surprisingly, solar power generation also has environmental impacts that are not fully appreciated. For instance, would people be happy if we had to cover the Mojave Desert with solar collectors? What if we cut down 50 million trees so that they would not shade the solar collectors on our roofs?

Keywords

solar energy

photovoltaics ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780128010273