whatis the energy’s future use in society?
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Unfortunately, money talks. As long as solar is a lot more expensive than so many of the alternatives, solar is going to be a minority. That’s too bad. In Iraq, it’s sunny 11 months a year but people use diesel generators for electricity instead.
Which type of technology? Thin film cells? Multi-junction cells? Solar-thermal? Concentrating? Thermal storage? Thermal hydrolysis?
I think you would have to be a bit more specific in order to get a good answer.
The future for solar energy is that it will generate close to 100% of the energy for mankind within 100 years. It can’t be any other way because it has all the physical advantages one could be looking for in a renewable energy source and few if any of the disadvantages of others. Moreover, it is the only renewable energy source that can be scaled up to what we need. It is also the cheapest energy source by far, once you factor in the hidden costs.
That is more of an environment question. It really has nothing to do with astronomy or space.
But I hear that thin film solar cells are the wave of the future. They are less efficient, but even less expensive. So even though it might take more square meters of thin film solar cells to produce a kilowatt, it will still cost less money than with the more efficient crystalline cells.