Here Comes The Sun: Solar energy is becoming more attractive for mainstream consumers

The price of a barrel of oil has never been higher ($62.00+ in
summer 2005 even before the chaos caused by Katrina). Some say
this is a temporary spike, but more and more analysts are
agreeing that this kind of pricing is here to stay. World
consumption is at an all time high and given the new thirst for
oil in China and India it is unlikely to diminish. According to
International Energy Outlook, global demand is expected to
continue to increase by as much as 59% in the next fifteen
years.

Already, consumer energy bills have been increasing on average
6.5% per year for the last thirty years in the United States.
Given the dramatic rise in the cost of producing energy using
traditional non-renewable resources, this rate is bound to be
overtaken by unheard of price increases in the very near future.
And for consumers who are becoming more and more environmentally
conscious, the thought of the millions and millions of tons of
CO2 and other bi products being released into the atmosphere
annually through the use of fossil fuels in creating energy is
very alarming.

It is a no brainer that our reliance on oil to create energy
leaves us very vulnerable. There are renewable technologies that
produce energy, but the problem has been one of cost
effectiveness. It has always been cheaper to supply energy using
fossil fuels, and consequently, renewable sources such as solar
or wind power have not taken off. But the situation now appears
to be changing. More and more, our consumption of energy is
outstripping supply. The grid can barely keep up with demand and
rolling blackouts are no longer just a concept. No wonder
governments are looking for alternatives. And no wonder everyone
is talking solar once again.

In 1985 annual worldwide solar power system installation
accounted for 21 megawatts of power. By 2004, this had
multiplied to an incredible 927 megawatts in new installation
power production alone. The demand for solar produced energy
over the last several years has increased annually about 25%,
although in 2004 sales were up a whopping 67% from the previous
year.

There are several reasons for this increase in popularity for
all things solar powered. Beyond the obvious environmental
considerations and the privilege of not having to rely on power
from a grid that is aging and stretched to capacity, solar is
getting cost effective. While traditional energy production gets
more expensive, technological advances are making solar power
cheaper. In 1980 the cost of harvesting energy from the sun
stood at about $100 per watt. Literally a hundred times more
expensive than the going rate of electricity, these systems were
not economically viable. By 1999 however, technology had reduced
this to about $4 per watt and costs have continued to decline by
about 5% per year since. The Return on Investment is becoming
very attractive for many commercial organizations and consumers.

Efficiencies have been realized in several technologies. The
inverters that transform the collected DC energy into usable AC
energy used to deliver only about 65% efficiency. 35% of the
collected energy was lost in the transformation process. Today’s
transformers are so efficient they deliver up to 96% of
collected energy into usable AC current.

Photovoltaic technology has also made solar collection far more
efficient. Twenty years ago, only 5% of the sun’s energy hitting
a solar charging panel was harvested. This figure is now in
excess of 15% and will continue to climb as more efficient
compounds are designed and introduced in the manufacture of
these photovoltaic panels.

All levels of government are increasingly looking at solar to
provide stable, cost effective and environmentally friendly
power. 35 states now have some kind of rebate program for
homeowners that install solar power systems. And this is not
just the southern “sunny states”. While California is the clear
leader in promoting solar powered energy solutions (a program
introduced in 2003 is promoting the introduction of solar
powered energy systems into a million homes over the next
several years) New Jersey and New York are next in line for
solar investment.

At the municipal level, many jurisdictions have introduced solar
solutions for traffic and streetlights. 50% of the energy used
to run the City of Sacremento’s water purification plant is
solar. NASA uses solar powered energy systems in many of its
buildings. And governments are not using solar just because it
is good for the environment and sets an example for commercial
entities and consumers (although these benefits cannot be lost
on them!). They’ve concluded that opting for solar systems will
save them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

With so many rebate programs today homeowners are coming to the
same conclusions. Once the initial return on investment is
recouped (as early as 4 to 6 years with the rebate programs in
California for example), solar users don’t have any additional
energy bills, almost no maintenance to worry about and are not
slave to an electrical grid that is becoming more and more
fragile as demand outstrips supply. No wonder solar power is
getting attention!

Solar power is still more expensive than traditional energy
production methods, but the gap is narrowing every year. Solar
power applications are also multiplying at an amazing rate.
House heating, solar pool lighting and heating, hot water tank
heating, calculators, flashlights, solar garden lighting and on
and on. Solar is clean, it’s efficient and it’s here to stay.