Solar Energy - Saved by the Sun

12. Amory Lovins

Physicist
Lives in Colorado Rockies
Energy expert
Ultimate goal
His biggest project
Helping the U.S. get completely off oil by 2040s
U.S. energy policy
keep wasting lots of energy
import "energy"at whatever prices and whatever means are necessary
keep stealing from our kids
keep screwing up the climate
Investment in energy
Recognized as one of the most creative thinkers on energy use and mi
suse
Private and public investments has shrunk in the last decades
5. What is this about?
Reducing CO2 emissions
Reducing effects of global climate change
Reducing global warming
Consequences
Unexpected other cnditions
Droughts
Severe weather conditions
Reducing individual carbon footprint
Savings
Payback
3. Solar cells
Like a sandwich
The more sunlight = more juice they produce
Top = protection
Middle = silicon (where action occurs)
Bottom = base
1. Intro
Innovative business models
Chance to meet inapetitable human for energy
Solar dancing
Small electronic devices
Increasing worldwide demand for electricity
Important source after 70's oil crisis
Can solar power produce enough electricity to meet the demands of energy
of 21st century?
7. Needing for power
Grid managers
Intense heat waves = more electricity
Needs to buy electricity from other places
Peak use (A/C on) = blacouts
Extreme winters = more heating
Efforts to conserve energy
Ask companies/municipalities to turn off
2. Kazmerski
Threat of electruction - Pres. Carter
Collector of solar history
Solar enthusiastic
Present when solar started in the US - President Carter
6. Alternative Energies
Nuclear energy
Fear over nuclear accidents

Virtually carbon-free
Renewable: solar and solar
Needs to get cheaper
Don't have the nuclear's drawbacks
4. Solar power adoption
Bill and Debi Lord
Website and Podcast 4 the curious: MAINE SOLAR HOUSE
Passionate advocates 4 solar power
Solar houses
Offers on-site tours to convert houses
Solar electric panels
For home uses
Net metering
Sells the surplus to the grid
Solar hot water panels
Phill Reavis Jr
change = motivated by oil crisis
Industrial designer
Sommerville, MA
1st to go solar in the community
Incentives to go solar (US)
Phill pays less than a half
Net metering
Massachusetts = 50% off investment
14 states
1) Illinois / 2) Wisconsin / 3) Minnesota / 4) Florida / 5) Cali
fornia / 6) Nevada / 7) Massachusetts / 8) Maine / 9) New York / 10) Vermont / 1
1) Connecticut / 12) Maryland / 13) Delaware / 14) New Jersey
8. Solar Thermal Power Plant
Powers 150,000 homes in Greater LA area
occupy area bigger than NY Central Park
largest solar power plant in the world
3h driving from LA
Mojave Desert
built 20 years ago = response energy crisis
Kramer Junction
Uses parabolic-shapped mirrors
Uses synthetic oil
Reaches up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit
0. About the movie
Watched Jan. 14, 2015
To buy: shop.wgbh.org
NOVA DVDs
2007
56 minutes
ISBN: 978-1-59375-721-2
9. Germany
Leader in solar cell production
More and more renewable
Walls of solar panels on the roads
Hermann Scheer
80% of the people support the Clean Energy project
National Renewable Energy Act
ahead on schedule: close to 30% by 2020
Leading advocate
20% of renewable energy by 2020
cash incentives
prices fixed for 20 years to build huge solar structures
50 cents to sell
20 cents to buy

11. Technologies
Nano solar paint
Nathan Lewis
CalTech professor - nano technology
Layer of something conductor of electricity
Wires to transport energy
Layer of the solar paint
Uses titanium oxide (TiO2)
Put a positively charged coat over the Lewis's paint to freed electr
ons
Flexible solar sheeting
More power than conventional panels
Photovoltaic panels
Solar heat panels
Multijunction solar cell
Several layers of light-absorbing materials
miniature version of a conventional solar solar cell
harness energy in different energy bands = more efficiency
technology used in the robot that is being used in the Mars robot by
NASA
10. Promising trend led by business
SolarEdison
Jigar Shah - CEO
company and its investors pay the solar systems
contractor promises to buy buy power over a long-term contract
Whole Foods Market
Solar panels complements but not replaces energy from the grid
Jennifer McDonnel - green missions specialist
Roof covered with solar panels
Solar provides only 15% of the year round store needs
The panels supplies from 50%-100% daylight needs
Daylight fares are the most expensive ones
Fixed prices for 20 years
Because of that - prices are predictable
13. Final considerations
California's plan to get solar panels on a million roofs
Solar power + wind (2007) less than 1%
U.S. need to achieve 20-30% of solar power + other renewables to signifi
cantly reduce CO2 emissions
Is this target realistic? (20%-30% solar)
Sterling Burnett
Energy Policy Analyst
Don't think 20-25 y it is going to be 20%
Larry Kazmerski
National Renewable Energy Lab
Fairly certain that it is by 2025 - 25% from solar