Harnessing The Sun as Alternative Energy Source
Published by The sun is an energy and energy source that is available to all. On a bright sunny day, the amount of energy reaching the earth coming from the sun is equivalent to around 1000 watts of energy per square meter of the earth’s surface. Given its limitless source, the sun’s energy can really be the ideal alternative for fossil fuel, and it is clean, renewable, sustainable and free for all.
For all the good that fossil fuel has contributed to mankind, it is now both wise and mandatory to look for an alternative to it. Oil is not renewable; it is in fact rapidly depleting.
The US Geological Survey and Energy Information Administration predicts that fossil fuel production would reach its peak in 50 years, at most 100 years, and that warning was issued in 2000 yet. Furthermore, aside from its fast depletion, the irreversible impact of the use of fossil fuel on the environment is now showing its heavy toll upon the very item that sustains life, and that is the air we breathe. Experts predict that by 2050, unless the greenhouse effect (the earth’s warming) caused by carbon emissions is not checked, it will have a catastrophic consequence on mankind and the universe.
Alternative Energy
All these things point to an urgency to look for an alternative to oil. There is no time to lose. Among the many options available, the only most reliable, workable and sustainable alternative is solar energy. Solar energy is not subject to proprietary ownership, it is available to everyone, and is limitless and non-depletable.
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But we need to convert sunlight into domestic utility. It has to be converted to energy that man can use, and the way to do that is to convert it into electricity. Electricity is what powers homes, industries and all other facilities that produce goods for man.
Sunlight to Electricity
Conversion can be done, as it has been done initially in limited scales, by capturing sunlight and converting it directly to electricity or otherwise storing it in storage batteries. This is achieved with the use of solar cells presently made up of silicon semi-conductors that are organized into panels and connected in series or parallel corresponding to the required output or source capability. These cells are called photovoltaic cells and earlier prototypes of these have been used extensively in solar calculators and outdoor lamps.
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The principle behind this process is that as sunlight strikes a cell, some amount of energy is absorbed by the semi-conductor and activates its electrons into frenzy. By connecting metal contacts at both ends of the cell, the energy can be drawn out as an electric current.
Solar Generating Plants
To make this photovoltaic cell useful for wider applications, the cells have been enlarged into modules and are now being used to generate electricity in large solar electric plants and stations in several countries. These solar generating stations provide electricity to homes and offices.
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Solar power has not been tapped to its maximum because of the tremendous costs involved to convert it into electricity. But very satisfactory results have been achieved with the few solar generating stations that have been initially built.
Just like computers and mobile phones which started as rich men’s gadgets, solar energy may be very expensive to produce at the beginning but it is expected that with man’s creativity and ingenuity, it is not too distant into the future that solar energy will flow like water into every person’s home.
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On January 23, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Wonderful article… Sana ganyan ang gamit na enerhiya sa Pilipinas… Mas makakatipid pa…
On January 24, 2011 at 3:14 am
Cool! But I was wondering if this would again add up to solid hazardous wastes with all those photovoltaic cells….I hope if this goes mainstream, they also plan well on how to manage and dispose those used up batteries and other materials.
On January 24, 2011 at 5:04 am
Thanks, Ima Vee. Malapit na tayo dyan.
It seems, Brewed, that they have learned from the past mistakes. The latest on PV cells is that they are now moving into organic materials. Besides, the cells they use for wide circulation are meant to last for 25-30 years and if the energy is generated by large plants, it simply will be distributed to homes and offices as electricity. The batteries for the stand-alone house solar system will need to be replaced every five years, but I am sure they would work for a recycle of the batteries the way they do with car batteries. The small PV cells used for small gadgets like lamps and calculators are now being done on paper stickers. You are right, these things must be considered in the entire transition process.