Go Solar Power For Homes

In this YouTube video we are looking at Israel’s Negev Desert as a starting place for a revolution in the production of solar power for homes and industry.

California energy company, BrightSource Energy and its Israeli subsidiary LUZ II, are busy working on efficiently producing solar power for homes. They recently unveiled a solar field in Israel that will test new technology the company plans to use during the construction of several massive solar power plants in California next year.

The new solar field, with its 60 meter-high tower and some 1641 mirrors, sits on about 12,000 square meters of Israel’s southern Negev Desert.

For many years the Negev Desert has been considered ‘the unlucky desert’ because it is one of the few deserts that turns out to be oil-free.

Back in January 2008, Professor David Faiman of Israel’s Ben-Gurion University, the proprietor of the largest solar energy dish in the world, suggested that it is possible to supply all of the world’s electricity needs with the aid of slightly under 10 per cent of the Sahara’s solar energy capabilities.

He is currently working on a project with this massive solar energy dish that also involves a series of solar energy power stations in the Negev. He is sure that this could supply all of Israel’s power needs.

The Negev plant uses large curved glass mirrors to focus sunlight onto a 10cm x 10cm area of cells.

Currently, despite being relatively unattractive from the point of view of available sunlight, it is Germany alone where solar power for homes has really thoroughly caught on. There solar power for homes has been made into an attractive option because the government there has obliged electricity suppliers to buy in surplus power from domestic solar systems at more than the market rate. They believe that loading the business in the favor of solar thru subsidies and other government incentives will create a tipping point past which solar product costs will fall to the levels of natural affordability.

Meanwhile, going back to the case for Israel and the Negev, it has been estimated that the average German rooftop would produce the equivalent of one barrel of oil over two years, which is pretty cool right? Yes, but the same roof in the Negev would do it in one. Therein lies the opportunity being pursued by many adventurous energy producers.

One of the main players is Nanosolar. All set to build a 1MW solar power station in Eastern Germany, this burgeoning company is looking very seriously at Israel also. Here is how they see at it:

Simply put, Nanosolar believe that solar power could resolve Israel’s power needs by using a small number of 1 Gigawatt units. A single 1GW solar plant would create the same output as a large conventional power station. The cost would be roughly €1 billion to build it.

One plant would generate 2 terawatt hours of solar power per year – enough to cover the predicted annual growth in Israel’s power demand. Estimating that each plant would create roughly €200 million in revenue at today’s prices, therefore we can conclude that the first five plants would pay for the sixth.

Assuming each plant has a 30 year lifespan, Nanosolar predicts that on the 29th year they would have to start building a further  two solar power plants per annum unless they are already producing enough electricity by then, or they’ve run out of customers and/or desert.

So, as you can see in simplistic terms, going to the Negev Desert for solar power for homes makes sound economic sense. Now here’s the real twist in the tail! The people at Nanosolar believe that the plan to introduce solar power for homes in this way could work, after a fashion, anywhere on the planet except Antarctica.

There remains certain obstacles though. The primary one is space. We mentioned above about the possibility of ‘running out of’ Negev Desert. Clearly, creating plants that take up less and less space is an optimal focus for these projects.

It all depends ultimately upon the efficiency of the solar cells. If companies like Nanosolar can develop solar cells that are roughly 60 per cent efficient, then it becomes feasible to build these 1GW plants on 5 km. sq. of land each.

Because the gathering of solar power for homes doesn’t happen at night, so facilities for storing energy become important. The search is on for efficient battery storage techniques that can match the pioneering work being down in the area of solar power.

What I hope we are seeing here is what has happened time and again throughout the evolutionary history of our species as human beings. When challenged with a major issue that seriously threatens its existence, the human race, through its own ingenious thinking processes, has created a solution that enables us to move forwards through whatever challenges face us.

Now is not the time to be complacent however. Now is the time for action. Thankfully, this action is ongoing, and must be supported vigorously by all concerned – and that means you and me!

from Sam Deane,
your solar power for homes guide,
at www dot go solar power for homes dot com

Info via: theregister.co.uk and YouTube

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