Is Solar Still Active? Water Heating and Other Solar Thermal Applications

Those of us who were promoting solar in the late ’70s just knew that by the turn of the century solar would be a standard component of building design and a significant fraction of our national energy mix. The solar water heating industry would be burgeoning. Vast arrays of concentrating collectors in the desert Southwest would be generating electricity safely and affordably. Passive solar energy would be a standard part of building design. And photovoltaic modules would be cost-effectively powering homes and utility grids.

The reality, of course, hasn’t lived up to this rosy vision. Indeed, we are nowhere near meeting projections from the 1970s of solar energy market penetration. One reason for this shortcoming is that while many of us solar advocates were singing the praises of solar energy—a supply-side answer to energy needs—others (fortunately) were approaching the issue from a different angle: touting demand-side solutions to our energy needs. Reducing demand for energy is almost always more cost effective than supplying it, no matter what our energy sources might be. Reduced demand also makes it more feasible to meet all or most of the remaining load with solar and other renewables.
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