¥In
1931, Thomas Edison said: ÒIÕd put my money on the sun and solar energy.
What a source of power! I hope we donÕt have to wait until oil and
coal run out before we tackle that.Ó
¥
¥
¥Ultimately the sun
is the source of all power
¥Globally averaged
solar power is 240 watts per square meter (higher at equator, lower at poles)
¥~2000 W
per person is needed for residential electricity
¥At 10% efficiency,
~80 sq. meters (30 ft x 30 ft) of solar energy collection is
required per person
¥(at
6B humans, surface area per human is 1000x1000 ft)