We’re Going Further Than Reaching the Moon, We’re Reaching For The Sun
Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers,
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People! People! My belief/suspicion has been confirmed ! Solar Industry is going to be BIG! Huge! In time, solar energy will no longer represent less than one percent of our energy portfolio. If I were to wager on the matter, I’d bet that solar energy will eventually take care of more than 50% of our energy needs…just wait…in 10-20 years….
I’d like to invite you to a live discussion with Secretary of Energy Steven Chu on Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, at 2:00 pm EST, that was later streamed on Google +, Youtube, and energy.gov/live on the progress of SunShot Initiative and the role solar power is playing in our growing clean energy economy. Questions were taken in advance and during the Hangout: via emailing newmedia@hq.doe.gov, posting comments on the Energy Department’s Facebook page, Google+ event, or tweeting @ENERGY using #askEnergy. In addition to Secretary Chu, various representatives from across the U.S. solar energy industry were also on the panel of discussion: Jeffery Halsey from Broward County (Broward County of Florida’s Director of Pollution Prevention, Remediation, and Air Quality division), Jeff Allen of Solar Junction‘s Vice President of Business Development, and Joe Desmond, Senior Vice President at Bright Source Energy. Video below:

Shockley-Queisser limit for the efficiency of a single junction solar cell. It is essentially impossible for a single-junction solar cell, under unconcentrated sunlight, to have more than ~34% efficiency. A multijunction cell, however, can exceed that limit.
Joe Demond talked about Ivanpah Solar Generating Complex in California’s Mojave Desert;this utility-scale solar installation is the world’s largest solar thermal power plant under construction. Supported by an Energy Department loan guarantee, this project using mirrors to focus the power of the sun on solar receivers (through high temperature high pressure steam to turn the turbines) and is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 140,000 homes annually. Bright Source hired over 2,300 workers to complete this project’s construction and installation phase. Furthermore, majority of this project’s supply chain comes from more than 17 states (such as Michigan-based Guardian Industries that supplied 160,000 of its EcoGuard Solar Boost mirrors).

View of Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System from Yates Well Road, The Clark Mountain Range can be seen in the distance.
Evidently, SunShot Initiative has already accomplished a great deal in reducing the soft costs, in developing new approach in technological advancement, and improvement of old way of doing things to utility-scale. It will continue its aim in reducing the cost of solar energy to be competitive with any other form of energy, without the need of subsidy. The future looks bright for solar industry. The potential of reaching below $1/watt is within reach;cost of solar will be comparable to the new cost estimate of energy from natural gas within 10 years, without any need of subsidy. As Secretary Chu indicated, “Without any subsidy, solar energy will be able to hold its own with any other form of energy. This is our SunShot! We’re going further than reaching the moon. We’re reaching for the Sun!”This is very exciting! It is so palpable that all solar enthusiasts can feel the energy soaring…now we need to spread this good news so to speed up the process of reaching that clean, healthy and war-free Clean Energy World. Earthlings, get ready to learn more about Solar Energy so we can all apply ourselves in this Solar Future! Thank you, Secretary Chu, for making SunShot Initiative a reality!
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments/suggestions/questions will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.sunisthefuture.net
Tags: and Air Quality division, bandgap, Bright Source Energy, Broward County, California, cell efficiency, Department of Energy, EcoGuard Solar Boost mirrors, Florida, Go Solar, Guardian, Ivanpah Solar Generating Complex, Jeff Allen, Jeffery Halsey, Joe Desmons, Mojave Desert, multijunction solar cell, multijunction solar cells, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, Pollution, Prevention, Remediation, Secretary Steven Chu, Shockley-Queisser limit, SJ3, soft costs, Solar Junction, Sun Is The Future, sunisthefuture, sunisthefuture.net, SunShot Initiative, susan sun nunamaker