Solar4SF.org

Scientific American has published a report on how to achieve energy independence from foreign fossil fuels, develop a solar-based energy system for the U.S. and dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. To accomplish this would require major commitment and investment, but SciAm provides a roadmap of how to get there:

* A massive switch from coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power plants to solar power plants could supply 69 percent of the U.S.’s electricity and 35 percent of its total energy by 2050.
* A vast area of photovoltaic cells would have to be erected in the Southwest. Excess daytime energy would be stored as compressed air in underground caverns to be tapped during nighttime hours.
* Large solar concentrator power plants would be built as well.
* A new direct-current power transmission backbone would deliver solar electricity across the country.
* But $420 billion in subsidies from 2011 to 2050 would be required to fund the infrastructure and make it cost-competitive.

Scientific American estimates that we can develop a solar-based energy system for the country for a total cost of $420 billion. Compare that with the $611 billion we’ve spent/committed to the war in Iraq.

Read the Scientific American report: “A Solar Grand Plan”.