The Anonymous Widower

Thoughts On Solar Energy

On my trip to Wales on Wednesday, I was surprised at the number of houses and buildings in the valleys that were sporting solar panels.

I was surprised because according to the general view of the Welsh weather, there doesn’t appear to be enough sun. Although to be fair, Wednesday was a day of clear skies and a warm sun.

The cynic in me, asks whether the Welsh government is giving out a big subsidy or there are a lot of aggressive and ultimately successful salesmen about. But as to the latter, the Welsh have never struck me as particularly gullible. They also have a reputation of being rather careful with their money.

So, I have to come to the conclusion that the economics of solar panels must be getting better.

Here, in Central London, you don’t see too many solar panels, although Blackfriars station is roofed with solar panels. Wikipedia says this.

In January 2014 the Blackfriars Railway Bridge became the world’s largest solar-powered bridge having been covered with 4,400 photovoltaic panels providing up to half of the energy for the station.

Blackfriars station is a station that it is a good place to put solar panels.

1. It is an all-electric railway with no polluting smoke from diesel engines, that might damage the panels.

2. The platforms are a long low horizontal building with quite a large roof area.

3. Because of its position on a bridge, Blackfriars station is probably not a prime candidate for building offices or housing on top of the station.

4. Stations are also designed for the long term and I doubt that any major work will be done at Blackfriars for several decades.

I think we’ll be seeing several other stations being given solar roofs if the economics are right. Not all stations have magnificent Victorian train sheds like Kings Cross, Liverpool Lime Street, Paddington and St. Pancras or are candidates for serious oversite development like Euston, Liverpool Street or Marylebone.

Even Sainsburys are getting into the solar game. With supermarkets and other sheds, the adding of solar panels can help to make the stores less dependent on the grid, but I doubt many will last as long as Blackfriars station without a complete rebuild.

It would seem to me that large commercial applications, will have one major effect. They will bring the prices down.

Coupled with technological improvement like this one, we could be entering a virtuous circle for solar energy, as the shorter the payback time, the more likely a company, organisation or individual will invest.

Solar energy as a local power source has a few advantages.

1. As it produces electricity that can be fed back into the grid and the control systems can be very sophisticated, it is a very efficient way of generating and distributing electricity.

2. The drive is on for electrical equipment like lights, washing machines and cookers to use less electricity, which means people are getting used to pay to save energy, thus making the decision to cut energy bills further by installing solar panels easier.

3. Battery technology is getting better and it won’t be long before the sight of small solar powered units which can power the office-in-a garden or other remote sites become very common.

4. There is nothing mechanical to go wrong, as there is with anything to do with the wind.

The only problem that at present seems to hinder the installation of solar panels on buildings, is the attitude of some councils. Getting a better attitude is partly due to better design and sighting, but a bit of government push would help.

December 5, 2014 - Posted by AnonW | World | Solar Power