SolarByTheWatt.com » energy sources

Can Solar Energy Completely Replace Fossil Fuel and Other Sources?

SolarByTheWatt.com — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:12:48 +0000

Is solar energy capable of providing so much power that to offset the need for use of fossil fuels?

We want to look at the needs of energy of the United States and the world and compare with the practical size installations of solar power stations needed to replace that.

The question of completely replacing all fossil fuel or all other sources of electricity and other energy is much more complex than just looking at the numbers. Probably replacing the other sources in just electricity production is simpler but still in addition to simply adding capacity, changes of large scale are needed in the national grid configuration.

Replacing resources used to produce other energy, other than electricity, is even more complex. That will mean changing how energy is being transported and used. While electricity is a type of energy easy to transport what may need to be changed is the way it is utilized at the end consumer – industrial, residential or transportation. That will involve changes and costs again more than the ones related to replacing the source with solar power stations.

The current electricity generation capacity in the US is about 1TW (1,000,000 MW). About 395 GW (1GW = 1,000 MW) is from natural gas, 315 GW from coal, 100 GW from nuclear, 100 GW from hydroelectric 56GW from oil products, 30 GW from renewables other than hydro, and other small components.

We will look at these numbers separately to see what it will take to replace the more urgent ones of them – coal, oil etc.

The US total energy consumption, not just electricity is 3.5 TW. Most of the difference between just electricity and this number is made up of energy produced from oil so we are not going to try to break this down. We will look at this as one of our theoretical targets.

The world total energy consumption is at around 16 TW of which 4.5TW is electricity.

So, lets build a scale of the different stages that theoretically can be achieved in solar replacing other energy sources.

For our calculations we will assume installation / construction cost for one 1MW of $5m. This is a number ($5/Wp) we think smaller than the recent historic numbers for cost to install solar capacity. But we want to factor for future falling prices of solar modules and other components and overall improving efficiency in the industry. Anyone is free to factor the $ numbers we have if they believe $7/Wp or $10Wp is a better number.

For surface area needs we will assume 200 kW per acre. With different design and technology 800kW per acre is possible but we will go with the low number on this to be on the safe side. Since 1 sq mile is 640 acres, with our assumption we will have 128 MW per sq mile.

To Replace	We Need Solar Capacity, GW	That May Cost, $bn	Will Take Approximately Surface Area, sq miles	Approximately the area size of (examples)
Oil used for electricity production in the US	56	280 (notice this is less than the stimulus package!) like GDP of Ireland, 2% of GDP of USA	438	Guam, Cairo, half the size of Luxemburg or simply area 20×20 miles
Oil and coal used for electricity production in the US	371	1,855 like GDP of Spain or Italy, 13% of GDP of USA	2,900	Sao Paulo, Puerto Rico, Cyprus or Lebanon or simply area 55×55 miles
Oil, coal and natural gas used for electricity production in the US	766	3,830 like GDP of Germany or Japan, 28% of GDP of USA	6,000	Connecticut, less than New Jersey, New York City, Swaziland, Kuwait, Fiji, New Caledonia or simply area 80×80 miles
Total electric generation capacity of the US	1,000	5,000 like GDP of Japan, 36% of GDP of USA	7,800	Belize, Djibouti, Macedonia (Republic of), less than New Jersey, or simply area 90×90 miles
Total US Energy Consumption not just Electricity	3,500	17,500 like GDP of the European Union, 32% of GDP of the world	27,300	UAE, Austria, Serbia, less than South Carolina, 10% of Texas or simply area 165×165 miles
Total Electricity Generation Capacity in the World	4,500	22,500 1.3 times the GDP of the European Union, 41% of GDP of the world	35,000	Hungary, South Korea, Cuba, Bulgaria, Maine, 13% of Texas, 30% of Arizona or simply area 190×190 miles
Total Energy Consumption in the World not just Electricity	16,000	80,000 1.5 times the GDP of the world	125,000	Norway, Malaysia, Finland, Germany, a bit less than Japan, a bit more than New Mexico or simply area 350×350 miles

We tried to display this comparison between energy currently produced by different sources and capacity needed in solar in gigawatts (GW), cost of installation in billion dollars ($bn), land area needed in sq. miles, marks of different countries GDP, and land areas of different geographic locations (certain US states in this case).

Click here or on the graph below to see it in full scale.

On the above diagram, since it uses a linear scale for the capacity, cost and land and the large values (world energy needs) are much larger than the smaller ones (oil and coal for electricity in the US), the small values are not given a good presentation. So here we put the same numbers on a logarithmic scale for the solar capacity, cost and land requirements. We have much better clarity on the comparisons now for the smaller values.

Click here or on the graph below to see it in full scale.

We think in general our study is much more important in reference to the smaller values. They deal with some levels of scale of capacity that are practically easier to achieve in terms of replacing with solar. We are talking about the unquestionably very polluting coal and oil burning for electricity. Again – look at the numbers to replace oil products used for electricity generation in the US we only need $280b and spending that will create jobs, help growth in technology and give all sorts of other economic and social benefits.

The numbers given in our study in reference to the higher levels – world electricity and total energy consumption are simply for getting a better view of the comparative size of all levels.

All You Ever Need To Install Solar Power for Homes

SolarByTheWatt.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:03:51 +0000

Are you thinking of installing solar power for homes? If so then here’s an inventory of all the parts you’ll need so as you can get a sense of the scale and general cost of the job.

Begin by establishing exactly how much of your home’s total energy usage you want to be run on solar power. Do you want solar power merely to heat the water and the water-heating system? Do you want to go completely off-grid and power the whole house by solar power? Either way, you’ll need to know how much energy your home is consuming per month on average.

Using your monthly utility bills, calculate your home’s average energy usage. Note any peak times when you use radically more energy. The Christmas period can cause surprisingly heavy energy demands. In essence, you need to design your solar power system to cope with your home’s maximum energy demand.

Once you have these figures, I recommend multiplying the amount by at least 1.5. This will give you a working leeway for any extra appliances you might add to your home over time. Now you know how much solar energy you need to pull in from the sun, you also have an idea of the amount of solar panels you will need to buy.

I would advise you to buy solar panels online. Go to Ebay and input the words “solar panel pallet”. You’ll probably get an amazing bargain there. Prices have dropped dramatically recently. For an average family house, you can probably buy enough panels to power your home for less than $15,000.

Get good quality skilled and experienced tradesmen to do the job. Again, look online or check your local phone book. Always get at least three quotations. Cost is central, but it is very important that they have previous experience in installing solar power for homes.

Once you have someone you can trust at a good price, discuss with them which inverter to get and how much that will cost. Solar panels harness the power from the sun and turn it into direct current (aka DC power). The inverter converts this DC current into alternating current, (aka AC power). Everyone who installs solar power for homes needs to buy an inverter. Just about everything in your home runs off AC so your inverter is essential.

A good inverter will cost about $2,000. Add another $500 or thereabouts for installation. Inverters have a lifespan of about 10 years, while solar panels, if looked after, will last 25-30 years. So you’ll probably need to replace your inverter over time.

If you want to go completely off-grid, you’ll need to store your excess energy in good quality batteries to store excess solar power harnessed on sunny days. That way, you’ll have a reserve of power to run your household appliances on darker days and at night-time. They cost about $50 – $100 each for the deep-cycle types. You’ll need about 10 of them. New batteries generally need replacing every 3-5 years.

Typically, your installation costs shouldn’t be much more than $10,000. However, installation costs depend on a variety of factors. How is your roof constructed? Steep roofs or Spanish tiles cost more to install as the panels need to be properly secured. Yet further cost goes into ensuring leak-proof seals in these roofing systems.

Installing solar power normally doesn’t need much electrical work to set up. Older houses may require additional rewiring, though this is rarely extensive. Nevertheless, have a qualified, experienced electrician check all the wiring.

Don’t forget to look for government support. Most local governments around the world are offering major tax credits. Your utility company might also have incentives to offer. These can all add up to as much as 50% of the total cost.

Final point – if you are investing in solar power for homes, it makes sense to protect your new asset. Ask your insurance advisor to add this to your homes and contents policy. Adding your new solar power system to your homeowner insurance policy won’t cost you more than $100 per annum. This will protect the investment you’ve made on your house. An additional $100 per year to cover your $40,000 solar system against any disaster really is an absolute bargain!

Look on your solar power system as a long-term investment. Each step of the installation process should be taken carefully. To remind yourself of the value of your investment, ask yourself, “What is the payback time?” Of course, after it’s all paid off, you have free electricity for years to come.

Consider if you were to take a loan to finance your solar power for homes system. Although it may seem like a hefty initial outlay, the monthly payments will probably be less than your current utility bill. So all ways up you’re saving money.

Of course saving money is not the only reason it makes good sense to install solar power for homes. It’s good to know that you are reducing your carbon footprint. Thereby your children and their children can inherit a planet worth living in. That’s the very least you can do for them, don’t you agree?

——

As a travel magazine editor and publisher, a life coach and trainer, Sam Deane has seen the world. Nowadays, he dedicates most of his free time to maintaining the well-being of this precious, miraculous planet on which we live. Sam runs an important and lively blog about solar power. http://www.gosolarpowerforhomes.com

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_766371_27.html

Author: samdeane author www.articlealley.com

SolarByTheWatt.com to Publish Info about Solar Panels and Other Products Focusing on Dollar Price per Watt

SolarByTheWatt.com — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:00:59 +0000

SolarByTheWatt.com starts to publish information about solar panels, inverters and other products focusing on dollar price per watt. Dollar price per watt in the solar power industry is believed to be a critical factor that will lead to even further acceptance of the technology and realizing its potential as a real, long term solution of numerous issues with securing reliable super clean way of generating energy on national and international basis.

Grid parity, or the potential for electricity generated from solar power stations, to compete in terms of price with other energy sources on the national electric grids, is a phenomena expected to critically turn the table so that solar ultimately becomes a major player in the efforts to find a clean, reliable, on mass scale, source of energy.

When we say price per watt we refer to the watts in Wp or watt-peak – the nominal or peak power output of a device (solar module, etc.)

SolarByTheWatt.com will collect data from solar products vendors and will publish price reviews and comparisons specifically focusing on the price per watt.

In addition SolarByTheWatt.com (Solar By The Watt dot Com) will publish news and commentary on the developments in the industry that leads to lower price of the solar cells and solar modules (panels).