How Solar Panels Could Power 90% of US Transportation
In January, Scientific American writers unleashed an ambitious plan to halt global warming, eliminate our dependence on petroleum and the substantial trade deficit, boost the economy and create 3 million jobs, and brighten the dismal forecasts for the mid twenty-first century.
The plan is conceptually simple but would be substantial to implement:
- Construct a 30,000 square mile array of solar panels in the Southwest,
- along with concentrated solar power arrays and,
- a massive direct-current power transmission backbone to distribute electricity throughout the country.
- Excess power produced by the photovoltaic arrays would be distributed and stored as compressed air in below-ground caverns.
Development of such a system could provide almost three-quarters of the nation’s electricity by 2050.
If this sounds like fantasy-land, it’s not. The technology is already here, and even if it wasn’t the need for renewable power is very real. Some scientists are calling for an all-out Manhattan-Project-style focus on developing alternative energy sources. One thing is almost certain: if we can’t move beyond coal as our (worldwide) primary energy source, we’re in for a rocky future.
I’ve written several posts lately about plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and their need for renewable energy charging sources. PHEVs are a stepping stone as the future of transportation heads toward electric vehicles powered either by batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. Solar power would be the ultimate source of clean energy for either type of electric vehicle.
The authors of the Scientific American article think all of this energy can come from solar power. Here are some excerpts:
- Utilizing only 2.5% of the sun’s energy falling onto the 250,000 square miles in the Southwest suitable for constructing solar power plants could match the total power used in the US in 2006.
- With a massive investment in solar power plants and infrastructure, solar could provide 69% of US electricity and 35% of total energy (including transportation) by 2050.
- If wind, biomass, and geothermal power sources were also developed, the US could produce 100% of its electricity and 90% of its transportation energy (in the form of hydrogen) from renewable sources.
- To make this happen, the US would have to invest $10 billion per year for the next 40 years. For comparison, the US is now spending $12 billion per month for military involvement Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. The entire solar array would cost approximately 15% of the total bill for both of these operations. $420 billion is also less than the tax subsidies paid for the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure in the last 35 years.
- A conversion to renewable energy of this scale would displace 300 coal and 300 natural gas-fired power plants, and eliminate all imported oil. Even better, greenhouse-gas emissions would be reduced to 62% below 2005 levels.
In sum, the potential is there, but it’s going to take some work. As the authors conclude:
The greatest obstacle to implementing a renewable U.S. energy system is not technology or money, however. It is the lack of public awareness that solar power is a practical alternative—and one that can fuel transportation as well. Forward-looking thinkers should try to inspire U.S. citizens, and their political and scientific leaders, about solar power’s incredible potential. Once Americans realize that potential, we believe the desire for energy self-sufficiency and the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will prompt them to adopt a national solar plan.
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Read Sustainablog’s take on this article here.
Source: Scientific American (Jan. 2008): A Solar Grand Plan
Photo Credit: GreenOptions
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Incorporating solar energy is an important part of the world’s future energy mix. The Hydrogen Education Foundation believes there is a need to adopt not only solar, but all renewable energy sources to move away from using fossil fuels. One of the benefits for adopting solar power, and other renewables, is that they can all produce hydrogen, moving us toward a self-sustaining, clean fueling infrastructure for hydrogen.
Solar energy uses the process of electrolysis, which splits water, to produce hydrogen. Hydrogen can be produced during off-peak periods and stored providing constant power using fuel cells or engines when the renewable sources are not available. In addition, solar energy and other renewables, such as wind and geothermal, often produce power intermittently (e.g., only when the sun is out or the wind is blowing), so hydrogen can also increase stationary power for electricity.
To learn more about the benefits of hydrogen, please visit www.h2andyou.org.
Why would you want to centralise the solar panels and have a big transmission losses and setup costs when you would localise power production using the same panels on the tops of buildings everywhere using space that is already wasted so that people get the power where they need it. It would be good to have a few big compressed air storage facilities spread out across the US with their own big arrays but then have the rest of the panels where the power is used. Obviously northern parts of the US get less sun but I doubt its more efficient to transmit it up from 1 spot in the south that to use panels with a little less light. You’d also need half as many panels for transport if you used Electric cars rather than hydrogen. Other than that I think it is a really good plan.
The keyword is renewable. ‘Perpetual Power’ sounds nice too! Can these installations be put in sterile desert locations and perhaps yield shade for bio-diesel crops? Extensions to current grids and perhaps high DC voltage transmission as the Europeans are doing with Sahara power to get it to Europe for big stretches will work for the US too. Greenpeace and Sierra will come out onside with this win-win won’t they? They can’t be just ‘against’ everything that comes along or they will lose credibility. They should be out front directing this, the biggest development for mankind over the ages, not dragging their feet at everyone’s expense.
The big problem will be to encourage the current oil barons over to investing in desert solar/electric in place of hi-jacking any gains Americans earn by raising the price of their product! As these guys run out of product, it should be easier to get then onside. When the ‘break-over’ for them occurs, and it will, here’s hoping they have the courage to see the light, It would be sad to see the leading edge go to Chinese venture capitalist wouldn’t it!
Yup–and if pigs could fly with smokehouses around them, we could have ham falling from the sky! Solve the world hunger problem prestamento!
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How did you obtain those figures as to the 10billion it will cost?