27-07-2012, 12:51 PM
SOLAR ENERGY SOURCES SOLAR TOWER TECHNOLOGY
ABSTRACT
Solar thermal industry is capable of supplying 5% of the world’s electricity needs by 2040 . The solar thermal industry is capable of becoming a dynamic, innovative €15 billion annual business within 20 years, unlocking a new global era of economic, technological and environmental progress.
The benefits of solar power are compelling: environmental protection, economic growth, job creation, diversity of fuel supply and rapid deployment, as well as the global potential for technology transfer and innovation. The underlying advantage of solar energy is that the fuel is free, abundant and inexhaustible. The total amount of energy irradiated from the sun to the earth’s surface is enough to provide for annual global energy consumption 10,000 times over.
On climate change, a solid international consensus now clearly states that business-as-usual is not an option and the world must move swiftly towards a clean energy economy. Solar thermal power is a prime choice in developing an affordable, feasible, global energy source that is able to substitute for fossil fuels in the sunbelts around the world. Modern solar thermal power plants provide bulk power equivalent to the output from conventional power stations and can be built in a matter of months. The aim of this blueprint is to push further forward the boundaries of technological progress and unlock the benefits that will follow. Solar thermal power does not need to be invented, nor is there a need to wait for any magical ‘breakthrough’; it is ready for global implementation today.