PV Gap

Claudia Said:

is solar power likely to be useful in australia and across the world in the future?

We Answered:

Solar Power is already gaining steady use in both Australia and world wide. However, it is not likely that it will become the only power source as the sun is unpredictable and not as consistant in every country. Several countries, territories and states have very little sunlight during the winter months. Having said that, it will more than likely, begin to gain popularity as the years go on and as money becomes available to install the solar panels in the first place.

Phyllis Said:

Why hasn't australia made headways on natural energy resources?

We Answered:

Because the people who make huge profits out of coal know how to get value for there donations.

How much does it take to have a Federal member's support these days?

Alma Said:

solar energy-i need help?

We Answered:

1. Current energy sources - mostly fossil fuels - have several problems. They are nonrenewable (on a human time scale - they will be replenished over millions of years), so when they run out, we'll be out for good. Burning fossil fuels produces a lot of pollution, including carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. Nuclear doesn't pollute as much, but there is still a problem with waste, and it is nonrenewable.

2. This depends on what source is being used. Hydroelectric energy is usually extracted by letting water flow through turbines in a dam. Wind energy is extracted with wind turbines. Solar energy is extracted with solar panels (or by heating water and driving a steam turbine). Geothermal energy is used to make steam, which is used to drive a turbine. Biomass energy would be extracted by burning (either in a power plant to drive a turbine, or it would be converted to liquid fuel and burned in vehicles).

3. Before the widespread use of fossil fuels, all energy used by humans was renewable. The biggest one was biomass - most work was done by people or domesticated animals, who get their energy from food. Windmills have been used to provide energy for milling The first factories were always established along rivers so that they could be powered by waterwheels. And of course, plants get their energy from the sun.

4. Widespread use of renewables should reduce pollution and global warming, and prevent us from running out of energy sources. It will also change the balance of political and economic power - solar and wind energy are pretty widespread, so whichever countries can exploit these resources (and export the required technologies like solar panels and wind turbines) first will have an advantage, much like oil-rich countries have today. On the other hand, countries lacking in these resources, like ones without much sun, might have to import energy or look for other alternatives (like geothermal). Finally (and this gets into #6), renewables are harder and more expensive to use - energy will be more expensive and less available, but not nearly as much as it would be if we just ran out of fossil fuels with no alternatives.

5. Australia has a fair amount fossil fuel reserves, but isn't the largest producer of these (I think it is currently a net producer and exporter of energy though). It has a lot of uranium, so nuclear power should be a part of Australia's energy plan (though it currently has no reactors or nuclear program). Australia also has a lot of renewable energy potential - it has a sunny climate with large expanses of uninhabited land, which could easily be covered with solar panels.

6. The positives have already been spelled out above - it is renewable and we won't run out of these resources, they tend not to pollute as much, and they don't contribute to global warming. The main negative is cost - they are more expensive than fossil fuels. While this cost can be brought down somewhat by focusing more research on renewable technologies, you must remember that fossil fuels are a very concentrated source of energy. All sources of energy that we use, with the exception of nuclear and geothermal, ultimately come from the Sun. Wind and rain are driven by solar heating, plants use sunlight to grow, and some dead plants eventually turn into oil, coal, and natural gas. A deposit of fossil fuels represents thousands of years of stored solar energy, concentrated into a nice, usable form. Thus, extracting some amount of energy from a coal mine takes up a lot less land than does extracting the same amount from solar panels or wind turbines.

7. I'm for it, but I think you are supposed to decide this...