Global energy consumption is projected to double from 15 Trillion Watts (TW) today to about 30 trillion watts by 2050.

When we examine the options available to humanity to fill this growing energy requirement here is what we have:

Not including Coal or Solar, these energy sources can only provide 5 TW out of the 15 TW humanity will need by 2050.

Solar bombards the Earth with 8,000 times more energy than all of the requirements of humanity.  It is a very abundant, renewable and clean source of energy.

The problems with renewable energy such as Solar and Wind is its intermittency.  The sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow.  A backup using fossil fuel based energy is usually required.  This marginalizes the contribution that these forms of renewable energy provide.

The following table shows the current energy mix:

The only way to dramatically reduce fossil fuels is to use solar energy.  It is possible to put a significant dent into fossil consumption by using the CSP Ultra Lite Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) with efficient thermal energy storage.  This would be most useful in areas with good solar conditions such as the American Southwest, the Middle East, Australia and other regions.  This technology could reduce fossil fuels for power generation in these regions by about 80%. 

When we look at the energy mix for the future, we will have no option but to adopt solar on a massive scale.  24/7 power is an absolute necessity.  CSP Ultra Lite Solar offers a solution to make a significant contribution to our future energy mix with a clean renewable energy source that is available nearly 100% of the time for many locations on Earth.

Our low cost breakthrough makes it possible to start deploying this technology today.

Source: German Advisory Council on Global Change