The future of solar power
generally quite expensive, especially when aiming to optimize efficiency. Furthermore, as the vast majority of cells that are currently in use are made from silicon, it takes a huge amount of time and resources to change panels in large solar farms/parks. Another key issue is that solar radiation is not evenly distributed around the earth. The amount of power that can be generated from solar radiation can be shown with the following formula (and therefore be used to compare how much each country can generate):
Energy = Total Solar Panel area • Solar panel efficiency • Annual average solar radiation • performance ratio
E
=
A
•
r
•
H
•
PR
(The performance ratio is defined as an evaluation of the quality of a photovoltaic installation.)
If taking the same exact solar panel, with A, r, and PR remaining constant, the only variable quantity is the annual average solar radiation, measured in Kilowatt-Hours per metre squared or kWh/m^2. In Saudi Arabia, the quantity is around 2600 kWh/m^2, whereas in Norway, this stands at around 200 kWh/m^2. This means that certain countries have a considerably larger potential for solar power production, unless there is a way to store and transfer said energy, which leads to another problem: solar energy storage is expensive. Solar farms and parks which have access to an excessive amount of solar radiation (such as the one near Dubai) must invest huge sums of money into Lithium-Ion batteries, and even more into finding methods to transfer this energy. Finally, solar panels themselves aren’t entirely environmentally friendly. The production of solar panels involves the handling of hazardous and toxic compounds, and their shipment indirectly leads to greenhouse gas emissions from transportation vehicles. To sum up, photovoltaic energy has been, and still is, an ever-increasing and revolutionary form of energy. With every year, solar panels become more efficient, cheaper, and induce a wider range of applications than before, even seeing some use in systems such as drones. While there is an environmental debt to pay with production of solar panels, it is still miniscule compared to the amount of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that result from the combustion and processing of fossil fuels. And, as storage of energy and transportation of energy are beingmore researched, the world could one day redistribute the energy resulting from solar hotspots, and power the world as we know it.
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