‘I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of
power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out
before we tackle that.’ Thomas Edison made
that strong proclamation to Henry Ford in 1931.
Edison’s confidence most 
likely stemmed from the fact that our sun is responsible for
the propagation of life in addition to the vast majority of
available energy on earth. (The most notable sub-surface exceptions
being the energy potential of nuclear and geothermal which each
come with their slew of challenges)
Wind is a “by-product” of the sun, created by the diurnal (day
& night) effect of warming and cooling. Fossil fuels are simply
what their name suggests – the fossilized remains of living
organisms. Coal was the flora that photosynthesized the sun’s
power; oil, natural gas, tar sands (collectively petrochemicals)
the fauna. In short, the sun is responsible for the life and
lifestyles here on earth both directly and indirectly.
If you believe that humans will be most effective by mimicking
universal biological patterns and are already “regressing” in
that direction (as I strongly do) this begs the question…What is
the most direct way to sustainably harness the power of the sun? I
assert that the two means that are most effective are (i) passive
solar design and (ii) photovoltaic electricity production.
“Passive solar” is a relatively new term for the way that humans
have traditionally built shelters, before large cities, for
thousands of years. Basically, passive solar design consists of
orienting homes to benefit from the heat gain of the sun. The
modern incarnation of this design principle is all about the
appropriate south-facing windows that allow the sun to warm an
architecturally integrated thermal mass (adobe, river rocks, etc.)
and then reradiate that heat at night. Awnings above the windows
are carefully designed so that the unwanted summer sun (higher in
the sky) is blocked but the winter sun (lower in the sky) is able
to effectively warm the thermal mass. A properly built,
energy-efficient, passive solar home can eliminate the need for any
supplemental heating or cooling.
“Solar photovoltaic” (PV) refers to a class of technologies that
are able to convert the rays of the sun into electricity. This is
human’s best attempt at mimicking plants by photosynthesizing the
energy of sun directly into a form that is practical for our
modern, electrically-powered lifestyles. PV systems are quickly
gaining popularity as many governments around the world are
providing incentives to kick-start markets and gain the economies
of scale to continue the rapidly decreasing price trend. Beyond
being able to install solar PV in remote places where other
power-generation is unavailable, locations such as Hawaii are
already at “grid-parity,” where the cost of purchasing electricity
from the utility equals that of producing one’s own from an
unsubsidized solar PV system. Most PV manufacturers anticipate
grid-parity within 5 years in most places around the world. Even
George W. Bush proclaimed the goal of grid-parity by 2015!
“Distributed” or “on-site” PV (as opposed to “centralized or
“industrial-scale”) is the preferred method of propagation,
becoming more popular and widespread as it is one of the most
effective ways for individuals to take action. In summation,
building well-designed, energy-efficient, passive solar homes with
an on-site solar PV system is one of the most effective ways to
sustainably address some of the greatest challenges of the 21st
century: climate change, diminishing fossil fuels, energy security,
and the corporate stranglehold on what should be our means of
production.
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