Why solar?

• Our planet receives about 274 million gigawatt-years of solar energy, which translates to an astonishing 8.2 million “quads” of Btu energy per year,

• A “quad Btu” refers to one quadrillion British Thermal Units of energy, a common term used by energy economists.

• The entire human race currently uses about 400 quads of energy (in all forms) per year.

• Put another way, the solar energy hitting the earth exceeds the total energy consumed by humanity by a factor of over 20,000 times.

• The key is developing technologies that efficiently convert solar power into usable energ y in a cost-effective manner.