Commercial wind power was born in the
late 1970s, and after the year 2000, developed countries such as Denmark and
America entered into the growth period of wind power. Currently, it is believed
that by the year 2020 or 2030, the wind power industry will enter outbreak period,
and so does photovoltaic (PV) power generation. In 1986, America has built the
first PV power station in the world, and after 30 years’ development, the
global PV industry has entered growth period at present. If we predict in
accordance with China's average annual growth of 30%, PV industry will enter outbreak
period by the year 2030 or 2040.
The annual solar radiation
energy to the earth equals to the energy generated by 116
trillion tons of standard coal, while total energy consumed by all humans in
2014 equals to the energy generated by 20
billion tons of standard coal, which is less than 2/10000 of the annual solar radiation energy.
That is to say, as long as we cover the Sahara desert which
account for one percent of the earth's surface with photovoltaic solar panels,
the generated energy could satisfy the energy demand of all humans by 2050
(consider factors such as solar photovoltaic panels’ power generation
efficiency and illuminate angle).
So why we need to excavate fossil fuels that require hundreds of
millions of years to form if we can get electricity by covering solar panels ?
Clean energy could purify our life greatly. We human beings should have enough
confidence to get rid of the dependence on fossil fuels by 2050.