Mindzle

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Significant solar power plant projects are being considered in locations like California and New Mexico where there is significant sunshine.  It is therefore reasonable to consider the overall effectiveness and practicality of solar power plants on a large scale.  To what extent can solar power be used to power America’s energy base?

The proposed answer is simple.  Pound for pound and dollar for dollar solar power stations can not create the output of a fossil fuel power station.  The energy trapped in coal, natural gas, and diesel fuel is very concentrated and very potent.  Combustion fuels will continue to outperform the renewables market for as long as carbon based fuel prices remain low.

Combustible fuels are nothing more than solar energy locked up and concentrated from millenia before, so don’t think of them as a bad thing.  Without combustion, we would be without many modern technological developments, and we could not support our industrial base.

Most of our comforts and commercial activities are founded on several industries.  This foundation includes the mining of ores from the Earth, and the manufacturing of raw materials such as aluminum, iron, steel, copper, and more.  This includes plants that produce machinery, tools, cars, airplanes and all the gadgets and gizmos we use in everyday life.  This also includes heavy agricultural machinery and sawmills required to provide basic products to our economy. 

Put simply we use a lot of power to accomodate our regular daily lives.  This energy consumption is rooted in the infrastructure that bolsters our economy and our existence and the reality is it is supported by energy generated through combustion.

Here in lies the fundamental problem with large scale solar power stations.  They can’t supply adequate energy to support America’s industrial base.  This does not mean they are irrelevant or undesireable.  It means solar energy systems make the most sense in small commercial and residential applications where energy consumption is lower.

For example a 500 MW fossil fueled power plant can fit in a small area of less than a quarter square mile without much difficulty.  As a comparison a PV solar power plant would need almost 2 square miles of PV panels to equal this same capacity.  This is 2 square miles of actual solar panels, and does not account for the mounting and maintenance space.  Being that solar panels provide peak power only 5 to 7 hours per day, then apples to apples we’re only getting ¼ the total output with more than eight times the space!

Where there is plenty of sun and good weather we need to use solar power solutions to supplement our energy portfolio.  Our modern combustion technologies deserve recognition.  Modern combustion power systems are more efficient and cleaner than ever before capable of reliable power 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  The energy density of fossil fuels is just to high to ignore when it comes to powering America’s industrial base.