In Kingston, Ontario, Canada, lies the well known, research-intensive, Queen’s University, which began in 1841.
On April 14, 2010, a detailed report was released to the public which disclosed the findings of two unique studies conducted by the Queen’s University Applied Sustainability Research Group.
This Research Group claims that if you took the combined power of all of the nuclear reactors in the United States, the southeastern portion of Ontario quite possibly has the potential to generate the same amount of power using only solar energy power. Now that’s a very bold statement, don’t you think?
Queen’s Mechanical Engineering Department, led by Professor Joshua Pearce, is the first to conduct such an investigative solar energy study in the region. Their findings were surprisingly staggering with regard to the amount of gigawatts that could be produced.
Professor Pearce says, “We came up with enormous numbers and we were being conservative. There are about 95 gigawatts of power just in southeastern Ontario – that shows there is massive potential”.
The first study considered only the choice rooftops that were in position to glean the most sunlight with minimal shading. They discovered that if these roofs were covered with solar panels, they could produce five gigawatts, or roughly about five percent of all of Ontario’s energy needs.
“To put this into perspective, all the coal plants in all of Ontario produce just over six gigawatts. The sun doesn’t always shine, so if you couple solar power with other renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro, and bio-mass, southeastern Ontario could easily cover its own energy needs,” says Professor Pearce.
Land that could be developed into wind farms in the southeastern portion of Ontario was the focus of the second study. It was to be of little economic value, unusable for farming, rocky and barren, and most was located close to electrical grids.
Their conclusion was that there was enough land to produce about 90 gigawatts of power.
Professor Pearce exclaimed, “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.
The sole purpose of these studies was to inform the Canadian policy makers with solid numbers as to the potential of southeastern Ontario and also to locate land for developers of wind farms.
As I see these stories unfolding daily, it is becoming more of a realization that our energy future is evolving before our very eyes.
Traditional methods of energy production are becoming more dangerous. Solar energy is less dangerous, much cleaner, and equally powerful, according to studies like these.
The time to take advantage of this energy-revolution is now. Consider for yourself the possibilities of solar energy for your home or office building. You’ll save substantially on your electricity bills.
Project plans are available today that make everything very simple and easy to understand.
Take a weekend and teach your kids how to appreciate what has been given to us. Make it a training project. Solar energy and conservation is for everyone.
You’ll be glad you did.
Thomas Hayes, founder of The Solar Samaritan, uses his 26 year construction experience to help those less fortunate by building shelters used for housing, schools, meeting places, kitchens, and medical stations in various countries around the world. To find out more … visit => http://www.solarsamaritan.com
Article Source: Southeastern Ontario’s Solar Output Matches Entire US Nuclear Output