The history of solar energy is a sad one. It was back at the time of the industrial revolution when equipment to convert solar energy into useable energy was first invented. Unfortunately these ideas were pushed aside in favor of fossil fuels, as the equipment to convert them to useable energy was cheaper. Now, with concerns about the environment, people are again beginning to think about alternative, cleaner energy sources and the demand will hopefully continue to grow as fossil fuels get more scarce and more expensive.

If people had decided to use solar power instead of fossil fuels from the time of the industrial revolution, chances are that we would not have so much pollution now. They had found a way to make steam using solar power and it is likely that as technology improved and electricity was discovered they would have used solar power rather than fossil fuels to power it. Perhaps if we had been aware of the damage the fossil fuels would have caused, they may not have been used at all.

It is all very well regretting what happened in the past but it is too late now to change it. What can be done is to use as much clean energy as we can. This has lots of advantages – clean energy all comes from a renewable source and it is free. It causes no pollution and is easy to produce.

Of course there may be an energy source that is cheaper, which people decide to use instead. Or perhaps the fuel companies will decide on a fuel source and they will be the ones that lead the market and cause a demand for that type of fuel. It is likely that several new energy sources will be tried and the cheapest one or the one that has the best advertising will be the one that becomes the most popular.

No one can predict what will happen in the future, however, what we do know is that we need a good clean, renewable source of energy and solar power certainly answers all of these criteria.


Quick Tip #1

Solar energy is best for countries that get a lot of sunlight. It can be a great source of electricity and help add to the current supply, providing a cheaper and renewable source that causes no pollution.


Quick Tip #2

In India it is possible for the country to be able to produce more energy from the sun than they would ever use. This is because they receive a huge amount of sunlight and their population is not massively in demand of electricity.