Sun As an Energy Resource

Energy deficiency makes education, health and livelihood extremely difficult for developing countries. Therefore, solar energy can be used to empower three billion people in the rural areas and urban informal settlements in the globe.

Although sunlight is free and anti-global warming, solar energy cannot totally replace fossil fuels at least for another 100 years. Even Green Peace, that wishes to see the world entirely functioning without fossil fuel and nuclear energy, believes that by 2040, solar energy will meet only 26% of the global energy demand.
However, the remaining 74% of global energy should come from “dirty-sources” – fossil fuel or nuclear energy. They are necessary evils to maintain our civilization. Even though industrial nations try to promote renewable energies, their economies run and thrive by fossil fuel and nuclear energy.

The following table shows the electricity produced by various sources (including renewable energies like solar, wind and modern bio-masses) in 2001:

Coal=38.3%, Gas=18.1%, Nuclear=17%, Hydro=16.5, Petrol=7.5%,

Geo-thermal+ Wind+ Solar=0.6%, Small- hydro = 1.1%, Waste=1.1%

(Source: World Energy Assessment Overview-2004/UNDP)

For instance, highly industrial nations such as the USA, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Japan and South Korea are heavy users of nuclear energy in the world. Moreover, they invest heavily on the nuclear energy RD&D (in 1998) and less on renewable energies in the following manner:

All Africa