Is solar energy the energy for the future?

Answer 1

The future of solar power depends in large part on its cost. Critics of renewable energy complain in large part that coal and other fossil fuels are much cheaper. In fact, some utilities even claim that they cannot, in good conscience, raise rates for their customers in order to use solar power because they have a duty to provide the least expensive energy.

However, world-wide, we may still have to wait until the cost of solar power has dropped substantially enough to be price-competitive with our cheap coal and gas sources.

The simple answer is to build an auxiliary system that will store energy when the sun is out.. However, the problem is that such storage systems are unavailable today. Simple systems, like water pipes surrounded by vacuum, do exist. It is based on the concept that provided the pipes are insulated, the water will store thermal energy.

The ocean is a natural reservoir of solar power and could be used as a source for thermal energy. If we can draw warm water from the surface and cold water from the depths, an ocean thermal plant could operate 24 hours a day. George Claude tested this hypothesis as early as 1930 in Cuba. Cold water from the pipe and warm water from the surface were pumped into a plant on shore. It produced 22KW when the water temperatures were optimum and 12KW when seasonal current fluctuation reduced the efficiency.