The Myths of Solar Electricity

18 May

Author: admin | Category: Myths & Facts

solar power for the home

The Myths of Solar Electricity

Solar electricity, or photovoltaics (PV), is a thriving business worldwide. It makes good on its promise of “delivering clean, reliable, on-demand power.”

Research progress continues, better positioning current and next-generation photovoltaic (PV) technologies to meet future electricity needs. But these successes seem to spark some criticisms and questions. Some are warranted. Some are based on partial truths. And others are perpetuated from urban legends or myths about the technology.

Common among these criticisms and questions are the seven myths of solar electricity:

Myth 1: Solar electricity cannot serve any significant fraction of U.S. or world electricity needs.
Myth 2: Solar electricity can do everything — right now!
Myth 3: Photovoltaics cannot significantly offset environmental emissions.
Myth 4: Photovoltaics is a polluting industry.
Myth 5: Photovoltaics is merely a cottage industry, appealing only to small niche markets.
Myth 6: PV is too expensive and will never compete with “the big boys” of power generation. Besides, you can never get the energy out that it takes to produce the system.
Myth 7: Nothing remains to be done. Essential R&D is complete, the product works — just close the laboratory doors and let industry fight it out.

Here are the facts behind the myths:

PV technology can meet electricity demand on any scale. The solar energy resource in a 100-mile-square area of Nevada could supply the United States with all its electricity (about 800 gigawatts) using modestly efficient (10%) commercial PV modules.
A more realistic scenario involves distributing these same PV systems throughout the 50 states. Currently available sites—such as vacant land, parking lots, and rooftops—could be used.
No way. Solar electricity will eventually become a major player in the world’s energy portfolio. The industry just doesn’t have the capacity to meet all demands right now.
PV systems produce no atmospheric emissions or greenhouse gases. Also each kilowatt of PV electricity annually offsets up to:
- 16 kilograms of nitrogen oxides
- 9 kilograms of sulfur oxides
- 2,300 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO₂)
The PV industry is neither “squeaky clean” nor a major environmental, safety, or health problem. When it comes to emissions, PV’s electricity-generating portion of the fuel cycle is the clear winner versus fossil fuel sources. However, semiconductor processing can involve the use of chemicals and toxic materials.
This is a real business — one that has been growing by more than 35% per year over the past 2 years. In 2001, PV module shipments closed in on the 400-megawatt mark, representing a $2.5 to $3 billion market. The U.S.-based industry itself is now approaching $1 billion per year and providing 25,000 jobs. It’s expected to grow to the $10-$15 billion level in the next 20 years, providing 300,000 jobs by 2025. This sustained growth exceeds that of the semiconductor industry.
The cost of producing PV modules, in constant dollars, has fallen from as much as $50 per peak watt in 1980 to as little as $3 per peak watt today. This causes PV electricity costs to drop 15¢-25¢ per kilowatt hour (kWh), which is competitive in many applications.
As high-tech energy production, PV has immense potential to evolve, develop, and advance. Our current technologies still have substantial potential for improvement.
Research and development (R&D) in processing, process understanding, and manufacturing remains in its infancy. There is much important R&D still to be performed, not just on cells and modules, but also on balance-of-systems components and on systems themselves.