Solar energy and conservation

Any list of the motivations for energy conservation — increasing scarcity and price of fuels, environmental and health consequences of large-scale fuel consumption, foreign trade deficit, vulnerability of imported fuel supply, nuclear weapons proliferation and help to the third world — is precisely the same list of reasons for using renewable, indigenous energy sources. These sources are sun, wind, and biomass; they appear in several direct and indirect forms, all of which are commonly grouped together under the inclusive general title of solar energy (SE). This paper summarizes the principal SE technologies and assesses the status and problems of the various programs. The two general problems with SE, the diffuse and intermittent nature of the source, increase the costs of these conversion systems. The wide diversity of SE technologies requires careful attention (there are four that generate electricity). Although they are at very different stages of development, technical feasibility has been established for most of these technologies. For those, current efforts are directed chiefly at cost reduction, information dissemination and determination of their best areas of use. Other programs are still in design stages with uncertain prospects. Altogether, the combination of effective conservation and renewable energy sources offers great promise for our energy future.