Can solar energy every make oil/gas obsolete?

Question

(Note: This is not a political question, it is a scientific question)

The USA has spent $100 billion to $200 billon dollars in the last 20 years on military action in the middle east, primarily to protect our oil interests in the region.

If the US had committed $200 billion to solar energy research in, say 1990, would we be less reliant on oil and gasoline today and if so how must less reliant?

Answer 1

Solar power has the theoretical ability to displace energy from fossil fuels but in practice there are other issues.

1) Solar power must be harnessed. To do this requires materials, some of which are currently made from petroleum.

2) Fossil fuels are also the feedstocks for many of the products we use in everyday life. Plastic and chemicals are usually from oil.

In practice, solar power could displace our energy dependence on fossil fuel much more easily than the demand for oil as a chemical feedstock. I've heard that at a long term stable price of $50-60 /barrel solar and other alternative energy sources (wind, geothermal, hydrothermal, tidal, biomass, ...) can competer and displace our demand on oil.

If you take a real twist on the problem, the $100 to $200 billion we've spent creating unrest in the middle east may be the best way to reduce dependence on oil. The more instability in oil producing regions, the higher the price of oil. The higher the price of oil, the more the government doesn't have to fund alternative energy work, because companies will naturally invest. In fact, for much less money the US could intentionally bomb and disable most oil producing facilities around the world and communicate that use of those materials for energy is no longer acceptable. That extremely unpopulatr unilateral policy decision could be extremely cost effective for supporting an alternative energy market.

On a more serious note, Europe does not require fuel efficient cars but does tax the use of gas. The US has had legislation for many years that requires car makers to be "more" fuel efficient. The approach in Europe has led to a significantly higher overall improvement in fuel efficienct.

Alternative energy in Europe is getting a similar boost in alternative energy from carbon taxes related to the Kyoto protocol.

The US is taking a more pork oriented approach of rewarding subsidized research grants to solar power work.

Why support solar power and an inefficient funding system? If we really think "oil" is bad, make it more expensive and the free market economy will very efficiently find and develop alternatives.

Answer 2

Solar power is a feasible and proven technology that has a lot of room for advancement. But the problem with you question is that it is too narrow.

Sure, solar can help relieve SOME of our oil dependence, however, it is much too inefficient to ever completely replace our power needs, especially where oil/gas are considered... seeing as how those run cars. Solar cars have been made, but they dont get very far without sunlight, and they go way to slow for the hustle bustle of the world today.

No, we need a mixture of all sorts of new energy technologies to relieve our oil dependence. Some things that come to mind are H2/O2 fuel cells, hydrogen power (very distant in the future before this is really widespread), vegetable oils (corn, soy, etc., though these have a long way to go), nuclear, natural gas...

Answer 3

If the US had committed $200 billion to solar energy research in 1990, who knows what kind of advances we could have made in the last 16 years?

It's a real tragedy to see that much money wasted on a nonrenewable energy source such as oil.

Answer 4

Solar power really isnt that great of an energy source. Put it this way...75% of the planet is water so no solar panels there....and its nighttime on half the planet at any given time. Solar is great and I totaly am in favor of research...but to replace oil we would need something like nuclear fussion. Only that could replace the HUGE amounts of energy stored in a gallon of crude. Also, plastics and other items are made from oil.

Answer 5

As a person that works in the solar power industry as a chemical engineer the answer is no. It is part of the solution but it is not the total answer. The truth is America will need many alternative fuel sources to replace oil. The solution to the energy problem is multifold and it includes everything from using coal in the Fischer Tropes method (converting coal to gas) to E85 to wind power to hydroelctric.

Answer 6

To have enough energy to power all of the United States with just solar power, every square inch of the country would have to be covered in solar panels. That is something one of my college professors told me. Now, how that translates to the energy required to power a car, I don't know. I do know that electricity is a poor substitute for the power of gasoline, so maybe more energy provided by solar energy would allow for more hybrid cars (although right now hybrids cannot be produced fast enough to keep up with demand so the amount of energy does not seem to be the problem right now).

Answer 7

Fix the energy grid first.

Then it will make it possible to transfer energy from solar, wind, nuclear, coal, hydrolics, ocean currents... etc all over the country.

Once this is done, plug in hybrids (hybrids that are also charged from an electrical socket) and other alternative sources of running your car would severely lower our dependency on oil.

Answer 8

Probably not. Things are not that simple. Even though you pose your question as scientific it is more about economics than politics. As long a there is demand for a certain product people will buy it. (you know like illegal drugs) You could make a comparison about all the money spent on the war against drugs. Has it stopped drug use? No.

Answer 9

from a strictly personal POV, i'm not sure if its possible. how many panels would it take to power a 26 cu ft fridge, not a 10 cu ft sunfrost? or a large capacity washer & dryer, not a manual load water, unload water, wringer top agitation machine? how about a 10000 btu room a/c? or a 1 ton house a/c? being an old hippie, i tend to be somewhat conscious of environmental issues- i use compact fluorescents, and turn off incandescents like a fiend.

Answer 10

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