There is no energy shortage on earth, there is a shortage in technology to harvest the energy available on earth.
To put things in perspective - the sun delivers more energy to earth in a single day, than the combined population of earth (including the industries) are capable of using in a year.
So why the energy "shortage?"
Well bluntly, the problem has been in the costs of collecting or harvesting the energy provided "freely" by the sun.
Are there solutions on the horizon? Fortunately there are. Alternative energies are being developed and investigated at an increasingly rapid pace.
In fact, development of solar energy is no longer in the phase of "is it feasible?" Its simply a matter of getting it pushed through and implemented. Current research is aimed primarily at increasing the effectiveness of solar energy, and reducing the manufacturing cost of solar energy devices.
We have already seen a considerable drop in the prices of PV modules/solar panels. They are no longer used only on space satellites. They are now installed in everyday devices, and have come into common use.
And now, a new solar energy technology is on the verge of a breakthrough. This new technology will boost solar energy into the mainstream consumer market and make it cheaply available for anyone.
Its called "solar ink."
- What is Solar Ink?
Good question. Do you write with it?
No, but you probably could if you wanted to. The breakthrough is that it is actually printable.
Okay, not to confuse you any further. Solar Ink is a new method of dissolving tiny particles of silicon (nano particles, which are only a few atoms thick), into a solution that allows one to "print" solar panels in extremely thin layers, on all sorts of materials. It can be printed out by the acre, and is a fast process. This process would allow a vast quantity of solar paneling to be produced, at only a fraction of the current cost.
A solution such as the one above is exactly what we need in order to rapidly and inexpensively mass-produce solar panels.
The future for solar energy can be very bright - it's just a matter of what we do with it.