By Timothy J. Peters
This is almost embarrassing to say out loud ... the United States, a great proponent of finding and using renewable energy sources, shows statistically as getting less than 1% of its energy needs met through the use of solar power.
While the United States actually has good solar potential, or radiation, throughout the majority of its geographic area, coal, gas and oil have been considered more cost-efficient and reliable in the past, and therefore more widely used. What hasn't been taken into account in the past is their cost in terms of environmental pollution and expenditure of non-renewable resources at an alarming rate.
Global warming has brought on demands for reduction in the creation of greenhouse gases. This combined with ever-escalating costs associated with finding, producing and bringing coal, gas and oil to market, is heating up the demand for alternative energy sources including and particularly solar energy, at all levels of the market.
To assist with current costs associated with installing solar energy, and to help drive those costs down, there are specific federal and state tax laws that permit homeowners, as well as private companies to credit their purchases of solar power systems against their annual income tax payments, and as rebates against their energy bills assessed by public utilities. Offering a 30% energy tax credit to businesses, the federal government is strongly encouraging purchase and installation of renewable energy systems.
Industrial applications continue to increase slowly with the tax rebates, although they have been the power supply of choice at remote locations for some time. This includes power for repeater stations for TV, radio, and microwave. Many road signs and traffic signals are now powered by solar energy.
Some cities and states, California in particular, have been moving rapidly to get greater advantage from solar power. Central power applications, using various methods of collecting solar energy, are distributing power in grid-like fashion similar to other power distribution methods, albeit on a smaller scale.
One aggressive and promising look at moving more of America into the "solar age" is the US Department of Energy's alliance with Solar American Cities. With a 2007 kick-off of 12 cities, this group of 25 current metropolitan areas is working with both private and government agencies to find ways to use solar energy for municipal power. "[The] Cities... are taking action to make solar energy a more viable option for their communities. These Solar America Cities are using innovative approaches to remove market barriers to solar and to encourage adoption of solar energy technologies at the local level" - statement from SolarPanelsPower.net.
Their primary efforts have been focused on reducing the costs of photovoltaic (PV) cells to make it more competitive with current energy sources. In addition, one of their greatest successes to date has been in streamlining the permitting process for solar energy installations and removing market barriers to encourage the adoption of solar energy for municipal power.
Deterrents for broader use of active solar energy systems through photovoltaic (PV) cells in the United States have been its cost and space requirements. One of the most promising new developments is coming from Sandia National Laboratories, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the latter part of 2009, they announced the creation of "glitter-sized solar photovoltaics." According to their news release on this new technology, both the cost of PV's, and the space requirements for using the new PV cells will be dramatically reduced as the benefits of scale are introduced.
Through the potential for improvements in performance, reduced costs and higher efficiencies of the smaller cells, solar energy could be captured and used as diversely as on clothing used by hunters, hikers, and military personnel, who could then power items like cell phones, flashlights, etc., while in remote areas.
On a larger scale, Sandia field engineer Vipin Gupta says, "Photovoltaic modules made from these microsized cells for the rooftops of homes and warehouses could have intelligent controls, inverters and even storage built in at the chip level. Such an integrated module could greatly simplify the cumbersome design, bid, permit and grid integration process that our solar technical assistance teams see in the field all the time."
Because the microcells don't require much material to form "well controlled and highly efficient devices," they will be cheaper to make and install, particularly compared with current PV techniques.
While the United States may still be behind many other countries, including those in Europe, Asia and China, there is clearly an unprecedented incentive and desire as a nation to not only catch up, but surpass other countries in our development and use of solar power.
Timothy Peters is a renewable energy enthusiast and author. He lives in Spokane, WA and enjoys teaching others how to save money on their utility bill and help the planet through home solar power. He has gathered a wealth of solar power information and has written a new book to teach the everyday person how they can easily benefit from the use of home solar power. You can check it out at: www.HomeSolarPowerExplained.com/ebook/
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http://EzineArticles.com/?Eye-Opening-Information-on-US-National-Solar-Power&id=4394969
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