From: Essential Information <ei@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: sci.energy
Date: 31 Dec 92 12:38 PST
Subject: Re: Energy Ideas -- Solar Power
Nf-ID: #R:cdp:1466300121:cdp:1466300122:000:3379
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!ei    Dec 31 12:38:00 1992



ENERGY IDEAS -- SOLAR TECHNOLOGY -- Vol. 1, No. 2, August 1992

A publication of the Center for Study of Responsive Law's
Government Purchasing Project, c. 1992

Ralph Nader, Founder Eleanor Lewis, Director, Government Purchasing
Project Jonathan Kleinman, Editor



SOLAR POWER: THE ENERGY OF THE FUTURE TODAY

Public awareness about the impact of our industrial society on
human health and the environment is growing.  The generation of
heat and electricity by burning coal at power plants and diesel
fuel in generators pollutes the atmosphere, causing the greenhouse
effect, acid rain and smog.  These effects cause droughts and
flooding, crop and property damage, and neurological and
respiratory disorders.   They also worsen the condition of older
people already ill with heart and lung disease, sometimes causing
death.  The generation of electricity by nuclear fission both
produces low-level radioactive wastes, exposing workers to
radiation, and threatens the area with a massive release of
radiation in the event of a plant failure.  Disposable batteries
contaminate groundwater with toxic metals when they are landfilled
and pollute the air when they are incinerated.  The need for heat
and electricity must be met by less harmful technologies.

The solar industry began in the United States through the space
program.  Scientists needed an electric power supply for
satellites, and developed systems which operated on sunlight. 
Stimulated by the 1973 oil embargo, continued research led to
reductions in the cost of these photovoltaic (PV) systems as well
as improvements in efficiency.  This interest in PVs also led to
the development of a solar thermal industry for the production of
both heat and electricity.  

Investment in solar power produces positive results.  According to
a 1985 "white paper" by the U.S. Department of Energy, between 1975
and 1985, the $4 billion spent on solar energy and the $2 billion
in tax incentives led to a reduction in petroleum expenditures of
$36 billion.  Investment in solar power saves money.  

Investment in solar power creates jobs.  A study by the natural
gas, energy efficiency and solar industry associations showed the
United States could create between 200,000 - 400,000 new jobs over
the next 20 years by developing those industries sufficiently to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions from current levels by 12 percent.

Solar power is a reliable source of energy, whether in the
Southwest or the Northeast.  Solar power systems received bad
publicity in the 1970s because many entrepreneurs, with less
concern for their customers than for their profits, saw an
opportunity to get rich quickly from federal tax credits. 
Frequently, these systems used poor materials, the vendors were not
knowledgeable and the products were poorly designed or did not
work. 

Today, however, properly-designed systems are plentiful and operate
reliably.  Some states, including Florida and California, have
instituted licensing requirements for solar companies, and the
Solar Energy Industry Association has established voluntary
certification of vendors.  

This issue of Energy Ideas discusses the many reliable and
cost-effective applications of solar power in many parts of the
country. The growth of this technology depends on increasing
demand, and government has the ability and the capacity to spur the
industry's growth.