Where Did Coal Get It’s Energy From? And Why Should You Care Anyway?
I remember seeing photos of PV fences in China – used to heat water in a truly frigid northern climate, with the sun at an acute angle so that the rays hit the panels that were perpendicular to the ground. Every time the cost of PVs drops – the economics of fresh solar power changes.
In my head, coal, oil and gas are just “OLD” solar emissions captured by trees, and stored for a few million years. Yes – coal burning RELEASES solar energy. And coal IS “solar energy storage”.
In a freakishly clever model, trees use solar energy and CO2 to make wood, at the same time releasing the O2 so that creatures like humans can survive. And when we burn the wood (or much older wood called coal or old wood farts called gas) – the solar energy is released as heat and radiation.
Who knew?
Before we were clever enough to harvest FRESH solar radiation by ourselves (eg with PVs) to make handy electricity – we used to have to find the OLD solar energy lying around in coal, wood, oil, gas… Then carry it all the way to our “power stations”, and “burn” it to get the solar power out.
Now we can capture FRESH solar power, more and more effectively. And soon we won’t have to dig up “OLD” solar, carry it to a big furnace and burn it…
It is a structural change. Because capturing FRESH solar is becoming cheaper than finding the OLD solar, using energy carrying it thousands of kms to a station, burning it, then transporting the electricity to where you want it. FRESH solar has fewer steps to complete.
And there is more FRESH solar power available than we could need. And once we (eventually) harness it better – the need for “OLD” solar energy will dissolve.
So – pop quiz – do all current motor vehicles run on energy that came from the Sun?
(For now leave nuclear energy out of the model – but that has a surprising place in energy production as well.)
Melbourne apartments get photovoltaic glass balustrade in Australian first