Desert solar energy in Ontario could provide immense electrical power

“Nuclear power for all of the United States is about 100 gigawatts. We can produce 90 on barren land with just solar in this tiny region

Solar Power in Ontario Could Produce Almost as Much Power as All U.S. Nuclear Reactors, Studies Find ScienceDaily (Apr. 14, 2010) — Solar power in southeastern Ontario has the potential to produce almost the same amount of power as all the nuclear reactors in the United States, according to two studies conducted by the Queen’s University Applied Sustainability Research Group located in Kingston, Canada.

These studies, led by Queen’s mechanical engineering professor Joshua Pearce, are the first to explore the region’s solar energy potential. Professor Pearce was surprised by how many gigawatts could be produced.

“We came up with enormous numbers and we were being conservative. There about 95 gigawatts of potential power just in southeastern Ontario — that shows there is massive potential,” says Professor Pearce, who specializes in solar photovoltaic materials and applied sustainability…….

A second study, published in May issue of the journal Solar Energy, looked at land in southeastern Ontario that could be used for solar farms. The study considered land with little economic value — barren, rocky, non-farmable areas near electrical grids — and concluded it has the potential to produce 90 gigawatts.

“Nuclear power for all of the United States is about 100 gigawatts. We can produce 90 on barren land with just solar in this tiny region, so we are not talking about small potatoes,” Professor Pearce says.

The professor conducted the studies to provide policy makers solid numbers on solar energy potential, as well as find possible solar farm locations for developers. Solar power in Ontario could produce almost as much power as all U.S. nuclear reactors, studies find

April 15, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, renewable | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, nuclear spin, renewable energy, renewables, solar

2 Comments »

I’m passing this on to my brother-in-law who is working with solar in France. Good post! Thanks.

Comment by designhouse9 | April 15, 2010 | Reply
What backs up solar power on the grid when it is nighttime or conditions are not suitable for the solar panels to generate electricity – you know, like 70% of the time? Once solar and wind advocates move past nameplate capacity to actually figuring out how to supply sustained baseload power, then perhaps we will be onto something. Until then, I’d like to see some power source that can reliably and cleanly supply electricity when it is neither sunny nor windy. Hydro’s good, but there are limits to how much we can get from it, and it also has environmental impacts.

Comment by Scottosaurus | June 30, 2010 | Reply