Solar Energy - Viablilty as Alternative Energy

For as long as most can remember, we've heard about solar panels and their ability to capture the sun's rays as harnessable energy. Many support its expansion because of this clean, zero-emission concept, but is it the whole truth? Is solar energy an effiicient, harnessable source of energy that could one day replace fossil fuels? And if so, why hasnt a push been made to harness this power source?

The process of directly converting sunlight into electrical energy is known as photovoitiacs. This is often done by exposing certain materials, such as silicon, to sunlight. These materials reactively release electrons that are able to be harnessed as electrical energies. Layers of these materials are wired together on the surface of the panels, and contained in protective shielding to prevent damage from the elements and outside sources.

Technically known as Photovaitaic Arrays, the efficiency of most panels, even with the latest advancements in the technology, is around 19% for consumer-available versions, with around 27% for more advance, commercial panels. Other issues factor in as well, ranging from maintainence, costly additions to optimize production, to simpler things such as power loss in shading. Trackers that follow the movement of the sun and tilt the panel appropraitely are often very expensive, and when even small sections of the panel fall out of direct light, the power output drops sharply from the electrons backtracking the unused circuits.

But how much power does that actually produce, aside from the obvious deficiencies? And would that still meet our needs? For the last few decades, the estimated rate of consumption in the US has been steady at around 98,443 kwh (Kilowatthours) per year per person. This is roughly three to four times that of the rest of the world, which makes it a good focus group.

A standard solar panel in the United states can generally expect to harness about 1 kwh/m^2/day (kilowatthour per square foot per day) in favorable conditions. Taking into account the average usage of energy per person, every person would require approximately 270 kwh/day, or a minimun of 270 square feet per person. This is not accounting for unfavorable conditions where a surplus would be necessary, so an approximate double (by my opinion) would viably be needed for each person, equivalent to 540 square feet of solar panel coverage. For the entirety of the United States population, this would require 167,951,085,120 square feet to provide and compensate. That is more than half the size of Vermont!

Another barring to the use of solar energy is the very high cost of the panels as compared to normal hydrocarbon fuels. A typical array costs about $95 per square foot, when factored into the amount needed per person, would add up to around $25,000, before maintainance and upkeep. All together, it would cost $15,955,353,086,400 to construct the array that would be needed to support the Unites States population, more than the current total national deficit.

All in all, while solar energy is hailed as a clean, alternative form of energy, it is largely outside of a single citizen's ability to implement in their home, and well above the ability of the government to endorse.