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1. Muy buen libro. Recomiendo su lectura ya que será la energía del futuro. Saludos
   
   José
   Rating: 4 / 5

   
   Jose Acosta Jaime
   January 7th, 2010

2. A very interesting, informative and well researched book. The author provides a good overview of the energy industry including its history and the possibilities that lie in the future. Solar energy is obviously the focus, concentrating on photovoltaics, which the author convincingly argues will be instrumental in transforming the energy industry. In addition to summarizing well the many known issues and arguments concerning the future of energy, the book contains some interesting new analysis.
   Rating: 5 / 5

   
   James C. Mitchell
   January 7th, 2010

3. A sometimes dull accounting of current and projected future energy needs and likely supplies accompanied by the argument that solar will be inevitable but slow in arriving. I think that neither the supply/demand accounting nor the solar inevitability timetable arguements are thorough analyses, but the conclusions are probably not too far off.
   Rating: 3 / 5

   
   citizen of earth
   January 7th, 2010

4. I’m trying to do my part in promoting clean energy by investing in green stocks including companies like First Solar, Vestas, Suntech and General Electric so what I wanted to get from this book was some information on whether or not I’m making a wise investment. More specifically I wanted to know what is currently holding back solar energy and the possible timetable for a worldwide energy revolution. The author answered most of my questions but new ones arose. Make no mistake the author is a solar power proponent so there is little to no criticism of it as an emerging energy source.

   After getting through a history of energy and comparison of new alternative solutions the author finally gets down to the nuts and bolts. The benefits of solar power include its ability to be deployed quickly and in a piecemeal manner. Solar power can start generating energy in months rather than the years that it takes to build a traditional power plant and additional panels can be brought online as needed. Countries like Japan and Germany that are leading the world in solar power deployment are creating their solar infrastructure in a distributed manner. Individuals can generate there own electricity with panels installed on their homes and then send the excess into a ‘smart’ grid. Unlike wind power, which is considered by some to be an eyesore, solar panels can be created as “roofing materials, architectural glass, and potentially paint and plastic casing”

   The author writes, “The amount of sunlight that falls on the earth every day is equivalent to the total energy that is used by the earth’s current population in twenty seven years” What is holding solar power back as a viable alternative to fossil fuel energy is simply cost per watt and the barrier is shrinking every day. The lowest cost for a PV system was $5 per watt in 2005 but First Solar has set a goal of 65 cents by 2012. In one chart the author shows solar power costing between 15 and 27 cents per kWh while other forms of energy ranging from 3 to 15 cents per kWh so there is a gap to close. Mr. Bradford points out that the gap is even smaller than it appears because in addition to the apparent cost we pay for energy, taxpayers pay billions in hidden costs including military costs and the environmental price of using dirty fuels. Once solar power approaches parity with fossil fuels we will likely see a positive feedback loop as increased usage cause prices to drop creating increased usage. As the world’s appetite for energy grows solar energy is the perfect solution in that the regions of the world most in need of energy are the same regions that are flush with sunlight and in those areas solar energy doesn’t need to compete with an already existing fossil fuel energy grid.

   One major problem with this book is that the breakneck speed of technology has left it woefully out of date having been published in 2006. The author writes that the “current” six percent efficiency ceiling of PV panels may reach 30 percent in three to five years. However, in late 2006 a solar cell broke the 40 percent efficiency barrier so the author’s prediction was too conservative and the book is already outdated. The author’s confidence in efficiency improvements was in response to new solar cells that could generate electricity from light rays outside the visible spectrum which leads to one of the questions I had that the author didn’t answer. If electricity can be generated using rays outside the visible spectrum does this mean that electrical energy could be generated even on a cloudy day in winter? This is important for someone like myself who lives in northern Ohio.

   I’m 100% sold on solar power but I would like to know what the feasibility and environmental impact is of manufacturing millions of solar panels. I mean that is a lot of material. That’s one subject never addressed in the book. My belief is that if solar energy is not adopted soon my portfolio value may well be irrelevant given climate change and other problems related to having a fossil fuel based energy policy so I might as well place my bet. I found this book informative however even at a slender 200 pages it still seemed to have quite a bit of filler and as mentioned previously its numbers are out of date.
   Rating: 4 / 5

   
   E. David Swan
   January 7th, 2010

5. Great book. I have taken a renewed interest in solar power the past few years and everything this fellow wrote about only a few years ago is coming to fruition. As the utility companies come to see having residential solar installations not as competition, but rather as a way to ease stress on the grid during peak usage periods (when the sun is the brightest), meaning less brownouts, and less need for new substations, you’ll see the rate of change accelerate. And need I say anything about the obvious fact that the Obama Administration is going to kick the renewable energy field and solar into a new gear?
   Rating: 5 / 5

   
   R. C. O'Brien
   January 7th, 2010

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