Solar Energy, Including Solar Cars, May Be the Way of the Future

I envision solar energy as the way of the future. I even expect the majority of cars to be solar-powered.

I admit that I may be dreaming. But there seems to be increasing support for solar power, which is becoming more practical.

What About Fossil Fuels?
Use of fossil fuels like coal, oil, natural gas, and gasoline is likely to decline dramatically in coming years. Indeed, their use is already declining. One reason: the pollution incurred by their production, transportation, and consumption. Another reason: their limited supply.

What About Alternatives to Fossil Fuels Other Than Solar Energy?
Solar energy is not the only alternative fuel source that can replace fossil fuels. Nuclear energy, wind power, and hydroelectric power are also in use and being considered for expanded use.

But nuclear energy is arguably much more dangerous than other fuel sources, including fossil fuels. Past accidents like the 1979 partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the 1986 disaster at Chernobyl in Ukraine , and the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan that followed an earthquake are examples. The need to store radioactive nuclear waste may be an even larger problem--a huge one. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission states “the only way radioactive waste finally becomes harmless is through decay, which for high-level wastes can take hundreds of thousands of years.”

Wind power requires turbines that take up a lot of space and kill enormous numbers of birds. Furthermore, they only work when the wind is blowing. Some areas seldom receive significant winds.

Hydroelectric power is useful in certain areas. For example, Norway generates most of its electricity this way. But relatively few places seem to have water resources suitable for safely producing hydroelectric power in large quantities. Altering water flow for electricity generation affects the environment, droughts impact water availability, and some areas lack much water to start with.

How About Solar Energy?
The sun offers an enormous potential amount of energy that can be used for solar-power. The cost of solar panels has dropped enormously in recent years. Economies of scale can lead to further huge decreases in upcoming years. And solar power is already price-competitive with other energy sources in some areas.

A weakness of solar energy is that it doesn’t work at night when the sun isn’t shining. During times like the twilight before dawn in the photo taken the morning of September 7th, 2021 of part of the Lexington, Kentucky skyline below, solar power would not be generated. And the electric lines in the photo, like others in Lexington, are powered entirely or almost entirely by fossil fuels, which remain the #1 source of energy generation here in Kentucky.