Do we lack ambition for a solar energy future

Publication Date: 8 June 2012

Author(s): Rajendra K Pachauri

Abstract:

As some of you are aware the IPCC in May 2011 brought out a Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. Somehow this comprehensive piece of work did not get the kind of attention that it deserved. However, the more I reflect on the energy challenge facing our country, the more I am convinced that we need to step up our efforts to develop and tap renewable sources of energy. An interesting news report which I read last week mentioned that on May 25 and 26, German solar power plants produced a record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour, which represents an amount of power equivalent to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity. According to Reuters, "Germany has nearly as much installed solar power generation capacity as the rest of the world combined and it gets about four percent of its overall annual electricity needs from the sun alone." A large share of power in Germany also comes from wind and other renewables. The big challenge with the use of solar energy is the problem of storage, and if suitable technologies are developed in this area, renewable energy production would grow by orders of magnitude. Germany's solar output, I believe, increased 36 percent, from 14 GW last year to 22 GW per hour last week. The country's total capacity is 26 GW.

Publisher/Organisation: TERI

Source: TERI Intranet