Solar Energy ~ What A Source Of Power!

Posted on September 5, 2021

/ Pradeep Mishra

“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! Hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”
– Thomas Edison

In an attempt to reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation countries around the world are ramping up solar power installations. Australia is no exception to this trend. Australian continent has the highest solar radiation per square meter of any continent and consequently some of the best solar energy resources in the world. The regions with the highest solar radiation are the desert regions in the northwest and center of the continent.¹

The below Infographic shows some interesting statistics related to Solar Power in recent years.

Domestic adoption of Solar energy has also picked up pace in recent years. The initial cost of installation and cost of maintenance has decreased gradually over the years. Solar panels have now become more accessible than ever. Newer solar energy generation models such as the ‘Prosumers’ model where individual house owners can lend the residual power after their household consumption has become popular. Also, a relatively newer concept community solar is enabling consumers to receive credit on their electricity bills for the power produced from their portion of a solar array in a centralized location, offsetting their electricity costs.

“An hour and half energy from the sun if tapped fully translates to meeting the global energy needs for a full year. “

However, on the commercial front rooftop solar has failed to gather the required momentum. Lack of awareness, inconsistent government policies, high initial costs, and unreliable installation partners are some of the reasons for the failure of the rooftop model. Another major problem is the availability of cost-effective storage solutions. On average, a solar energy storage solution from one of the leading solar installer’s costs upwards of $5,000 depending on size, adding a significant chunk of change to the already high price of solar panels.²

All said and done, the future of solar still looks bright and we expect to see a steady growth of solar adoption and rapid advancements in solar power technology across the globe in near future. We are talking about an infinite source of energy that has not been tapped even to the minuscule amount. Sustainability and a cleaner and greener planet should be everyone’s priority. We are already seeing governments of developed and developing nations headed in the right direction by provisioning subsidies and incentives for solar power adoption. With the application of newer technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning, Advanced Analytics, and Blockchain in solar energy generation, transmission, and monitoring we hope to see breakthroughs and newer sustainable business models.

¹https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/energy/resources/other-renewable-energy-resources/solar-energy

² https://www.mkbattery.com/blog/challenges-solar-energy-storage

How to start and not stop at the end of this article piece?

I would recommend starting simply by just taking this approach, which has negligible risk, simple and yet an amazingly effective positive step towards our goal of a proactive strategy

A) Take pen-paper or manual method (start now)

Start implementing the recommended strategy using your existing technology resources for a known and low-risk segment of business to find out what works and what doesn’t. Indeed, this causes efforts, but this will pave the way for better clarity around unknown risks.

B) Take help from technology

Work towards making it unattended, assisted by using Super-fast digital solution such that it works autonomously without losing its efficacy by engaging a solid, affordable Business and Technology solution partner.

If you are a CEO/COO/CIO/Managing Director/General Manager who is spending more time in reactive/preventive mode than future-facing, please reach out for an exploratory conversation.