Solar Southwest Initiative

Renewable energy will be the energy supply for society's future energy needs because it is sustainable and doesn't add to the carbon burden of our atmosphere. As it turns out, electricity will be the key means of getting the clean renewable energy to energy users with minimal energy losses.

Why electricity?

Electricity is a one of the most efficient carriers of energy and when electricity drives end-use devices like electric motors, computers and cellphones, it doesn't emit any greenhouse gases or for that matter any other pollutants. Using current and emerging technology, we can convert most forms of renewable energy (wind, sun, waves, geothermal heat) into electricity and use more of that energy to do work than with other competing methods of converting energy (hydrogen, biofuels, synthetic gasoline).

Additionally, electricity has and can be used now and increasingly in the future in cars, trains, streetcars, trolleybuses and even trucks to transport people and goods, with no impact on air quality or climate, if the electricity is generated and stored cleanly. Some vehicles can operate effectively attached to the grid through electrified rights of way, while others can store electrical energy in batteries for a period of time. One of the existing technological challenges is designing batteries that can contain enough energy to enable long-distance transport of people and goods entirely on electrical energy. As a solution, large and small vehicle manufacturers are working on Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs or EREVs), which are able to get fueled both from grid electricity or from conventional liquid fuels and biofuels. Another alternative would be to segment vehicles into local and long-distance categories, allowing current generations of battery technology to be used for most local trips.

So as we are facing limitations in our supply of fossil fuels and are trying to avoid climate change, it looks like using electricity to power most devices is the way to go. Some machines like airplanes and ships may still need liquid fuels which require much more energy and material resources to produce cleanly than electricity. If we convert many of the machines we use to electricity, the main challenge then is to harness enough renewable energy to meet most of society's energy demand through electricity.

It is here that the massive energy potential of the desert sun in the US Southwest as well as the world's other deserts comes in. A fraction of the area of world's deserts could through CSP with storage power all of the world's electrical devices, if we build enough transmission though more reality our power needs will be fulfilled through a variety of sources. In Europe, there is an effort underway called TREC which looks to develop Trans-Mediterranean cooperative links between North Africa, the Middle East and Europe to be able to power Africa's, Western Asia's and Europe's energy needs through the power of the sun in the Saharan and Middle Eastern deserts.