Why don’t we cover the desert with solar panels?

The Sahara Desert receives an abundance of solar energy, raising the possibility of covering it with solar panels to solve global energy problems. However, there are limitations to solar panel efficiency and challenges associated with large-scale solar farms, such as heat absorption and environmental impact. Alternative solutions, such as concentrated solar power plants using giant mirrors, are being explored. Additionally, solar energy can exist on smaller scales, providing a passive source of energy for individual buildings and rural communities.

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The Sahara Desert and Solar Energy

Every day, the Sahara Desert’s sands reach temperatures up to 80° Celsius. Spanning over approximately nine million square kilometers, this vast desert receives about 22 million terawatt hours of energy from the Sun annually. This is well over 100 times more energy than humanity consumes each year. This raises the question: could covering the desert with solar panels solve our energy problems for good?

How Solar Panels Work

Solar panels operate when light particles hit their surface with enough energy to dislodge electrons from their stable bonds. As these electrons return to stability, they generate electricity. However, there’s a limit to how much power panels can produce. Solar panels can only interact with certain wavelengths of light, making it impossible to convert over half the sunlight they receive. Furthermore, even light particles they can convert often bounce off them without ever hitting an electron.

Improvements in Solar Panel Efficiency

Thanks to the efforts of scientists, engineers, and substantial government investment, solar panels are generating more electricity than ever. Anti-reflective coatings and patterns on the panels’ surface create more opportunities for incoming light particles to hit electrons. These techniques have increased commercial solar panel efficiency from the low teens to 25%, with experimental models reaching up to 47%. Additionally, solar has become 89% cheaper over the last decade, partly due to global supply chains for other technologies that use the same materials. These factors have made solar power the cheapest source of electricity on Earth.

Solar Farms in Deserts

Countries including India, China, Egypt, and the US, have already taken these new panels into the desert. Their massive solar farms range from 15 to 56 square kilometers, and when the sun is high in the sky, these plants can provide energy for hundreds of thousands of local residents. However, these farms also get extremely hot. Light that solar cells don’t convert or reflect is absorbed as heat, which reduces a panel’s efficiency. The cooling systems employed by many farms can use significant amounts of energy powering fans or moving water to maintain optimal temperatures.

Environmental Impact of Solar Farms

Even with these systems, solar panels in the desert absorb far more heat than the natural sandy environment. This hasn’t been a problem on the scale of existing solar farms. But if we tried to cover the Sahara, this effect could create massive changes in the region’s climate. Constructing solar farms already disrupts local ecosystems, but a plant of this scale could dramatically transform the desert landscape.

Alternative Solar Power Solutions

Thankfully, solar panels aren’t our only option. Some of the largest solar plants in the world are trying a new approach: giant mirrors. Morocco’s Noor Power Plant, which will eventually cover roughly 30 square kilometers of the Sahara, is a concentrated solar power plant. This design reflects light onto a receiver, which converts that energy to heat, and then electricity. These mirrors still create a dangerous temperature shift for local wildlife, but they have less potential to transform the landscape. And since it takes time for the materials being heated to cool off, these plants often continue producing electricity past sunset.

Challenges and Opportunities in Solar Energy

Whether they use panels or mirrors, industrial solar farms are often easy to fit into existing energy infrastructure. However, getting their electricity beyond local power grids is much more difficult. Some countries are working on ways to connect electric grids across the globe. And many farms store energy in massive batteries, or convert their electricity into clean gas that can be used later. But right now, these techniques are still too expensive and inefficient to rely on. Worse still, industrial renewables can share some of the same problems as fossil fuels, relying on destructive mining operations and carbon-emitting global supply chains.

The Future of Solar Energy

Fortunately, solar can exist on many scales, from industrial solar farms to smaller installations that power individual buildings and rural communities. These projects can supplement energy use or provide a passive source of energy for regions off the grid. And since solar panels rely on a few simple components, they’re quick to install and relatively easy to update. In fact, it’s this flexibility that enabled solar to become so cheap and ubiquitous over the last decade. So if we want to keep up with humanity’s rising energy use, we’ll need answers both big and small.

Discussion Questions

  1. How much energy does the Sahara Desert receive from the sun annually?
  2. What are the limitations of solar panels when it comes to converting sunlight into electricity?
  3. How have improvements in solar panel efficiency been achieved?
  4. What are the challenges faced by solar farms in desert environments?
  5. What are the potential environmental impacts of covering the Sahara Desert with solar panels?
  6. What alternative solutions to solar panels are being used in large-scale solar plants?
  7. What are the challenges of integrating industrial solar farms into existing energy infrastructure?
  8. What are the advantages of smaller-scale solar installations for powering individual buildings and communities?

Lesson Vocabulary

saharaa desert in North Africa, the largest hot desert in the world – The Sahara covers much of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya, Chad, Sudan, Egypt, and Western Sahara.

solar energyenergy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy – Solar energy is a renewable source of power that can be harnessed using solar panels.

solar panelsdevices that convert sunlight into electricity – The house was equipped with solar panels on the rooftop to generate clean energy.

electricitya form of energy resulting from the flow of electric charge – We rely on electricity to power our homes, appliances, and electronic devices.

efficiencythe ability to accomplish a task with minimum wasted resources or effort – The new refrigerator model boasts improved energy efficiency, resulting in lower electricity bills.

solar farmslarge-scale installations of solar panels used to generate electricity – The solar farm in the countryside produces enough energy to power thousands of homes.

environmentthe surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates – It is important to protect the environment by reducing pollution and conserving natural resources.

mirrorspolished or reflective surfaces that reflect light – The solar concentrator system uses mirrors to redirect sunlight onto a central receiver for generating heat.

challengesdifficulties or obstacles that need to be overcome – The team faced numerous challenges during the project, but their determination led to its successful completion.

futurethe time or period of time following the present – Renewable energy sources like solar power will play a crucial role in shaping the future of our planet.

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