In the future (40 years or so) do you think it would be possible to get about 60% of our energy during the day from solar? And what does the future look like for wind?
I would guess maybe 5-10 percent at most. The problem is Solar only produces power when the sun shines bright. That is about 30-35% of the time in a good area. Many areas of the country have a lot of rain and cloudy days and there it is practically useless.
Wind energy has the same problem.
Nuclear, with Solar and Wind to supplement in areas where they are practical is the best strategy.
Wind power was growing fast until the present financial meltdown in 2008. When the economy starts moving again factories assembling wind turbines will be built in many more places and wind will become a larger source of energy. At present that’s only about 2 percent, but it will grow quickly when the money becomes available.
The Discovery Science Channel quoted some expert saying that if the potential for wind energy in the center of the US (Minnesota and Dakotas south to Texas) is harvested, it could power the entire USA.
That may not happen, but they could certainly supply enough energy for that part of the country. Likewise, the potential for solar energy in the Southwest is enormous. Most experts think the US in 40 years will be relying on a mixture of solar in southern states (Virginia to southern California), wind in the center, wind and biofuels on the east coast, hydroelectric in some areas also. With thin-film solar panels now, maybe more roofs will have solar panels and more future energy will in fact come from solar.
In my observation, projections about the future have always been wrong except for the prediction of global warming! Our future energy sources may be something we don’t imagine now, like algae farming, or the combination that most experts expect.
100% if the country wanted to invest the money into it. Solar thermal can be made to store energy for up to three days at least. Somewhere in the south it’s going to be sunny at least once every three days. Super conducting power lines would have to be strung across the country connecting all regions and many other parts of the grid would have to be updated to at least 1980 standards. Most everything we have now was designed in the 1950′s or earlier and is ready to break down.
So much money is going to be spent building nuclear power plants that we will just have to buy that power to use our investment. There will have been so much government financing that we will not be able to walk away from it.
In this scenario we should not expect solar to be able to compete for dollars. If it is going to do so, it will have to find ways to do so without government assistance. That model should be promoted, not complained about. But it should apply to all energy systems.
Not even close. We depend too much on fossl fuels and have too much invested. Plus, slar arrays are very expensive to install, maintain and operate. Solar energy will only be used in great numbers on top of buildings in the future.
I would guess maybe 5-10 percent at most. The problem is Solar only produces power when the sun shines bright. That is about 30-35% of the time in a good area. Many areas of the country have a lot of rain and cloudy days and there it is practically useless.
Wind energy has the same problem.
Nuclear, with Solar and Wind to supplement in areas where they are practical is the best strategy.
Wind power was growing fast until the present financial meltdown in 2008. When the economy starts moving again factories assembling wind turbines will be built in many more places and wind will become a larger source of energy. At present that’s only about 2 percent, but it will grow quickly when the money becomes available.
The Discovery Science Channel quoted some expert saying that if the potential for wind energy in the center of the US (Minnesota and Dakotas south to Texas) is harvested, it could power the entire USA.
That may not happen, but they could certainly supply enough energy for that part of the country. Likewise, the potential for solar energy in the Southwest is enormous. Most experts think the US in 40 years will be relying on a mixture of solar in southern states (Virginia to southern California), wind in the center, wind and biofuels on the east coast, hydroelectric in some areas also. With thin-film solar panels now, maybe more roofs will have solar panels and more future energy will in fact come from solar.
In my observation, projections about the future have always been wrong except for the prediction of global warming! Our future energy sources may be something we don’t imagine now, like algae farming, or the combination that most experts expect.
100% if the country wanted to invest the money into it. Solar thermal can be made to store energy for up to three days at least. Somewhere in the south it’s going to be sunny at least once every three days. Super conducting power lines would have to be strung across the country connecting all regions and many other parts of the grid would have to be updated to at least 1980 standards. Most everything we have now was designed in the 1950′s or earlier and is ready to break down.
So much money is going to be spent building nuclear power plants that we will just have to buy that power to use our investment. There will have been so much government financing that we will not be able to walk away from it.
In this scenario we should not expect solar to be able to compete for dollars. If it is going to do so, it will have to find ways to do so without government assistance. That model should be promoted, not complained about. But it should apply to all energy systems.
Not even close. We depend too much on fossl fuels and have too much invested. Plus, slar arrays are very expensive to install, maintain and operate. Solar energy will only be used in great numbers on top of buildings in the future.