Misguided Solar Farm | Guest Column | The Journal of the San Juan Islands
The problem with the Bailer Hill solar farm is the technology and not the location. Solar energy lacks sufficient energy density to power a modern economy. Since it takes energy to make energy, energy output to energy input ratios best describe energy densities. For carbohydrate energy that existed before the Industrial Revolution, the ratio was four. With a ratio of 30, fossil fuels powered the Industrial Revolution and provided 26 additional energy units to create more goods, increase gross domestic product, and raise living standards. Nuclear energy has the highest ratio of 100 and the grea...