If we have a power source, 24 hours a day that’s slated to last at least a billion more years or so, why is this not our main source of energy?
We have been using solar panels (photovoltaic cells) to harness the photons but the panel are limited in their capacity. Isn’t it quite possible that we have been using the wrong approach to capture the sun’s rays all along?

Best answer:

Answer by DavidK93
The problem is harnessing the power. We don’t have solar panels that can transform 100% of insolation into usable commercial power, so solar energy cannot yet be used in the way you’ve described. Once the technology improves to the point that solar energy can be harnessed and sold for a profit, it will start to happen.

The pros of solar power are that it is non-polluting, has an ultimate source that is free of charge, and can be used on a small scale by private individuals. The cons are that a private individual’s power generation is unlikely to satisfy his or her energy requirements in many cases (locations where there is not much sun and heating requirements are high due to cold, for example), the equipment used for power generation can be expensive and is not highly efficient, and the storage capacity of solar cells is insufficient to offset unlit periods such as nighttime or cloudy days.

Your concern about the validity of solar cells as the method for harnessing solar power is not without merit. But even though photovoltaic cells are not yet effective enough for wide-scale usage, I believe that they are fundamentally a viable technology. They just need refinement. Consider the automobile. When Bertha Benz made the first long-distance trip by car in 1888, from Mannheim to Pforzheim in Germany, it took her from dawn to dusk to drive the sixty miles. She had to stop numerous times to refuel and to improvise repairs from her possessions, using a hairpin and her own garter! The fundamental technology of the automobile was refined and developed over many years, and now a trip of this length can be completed by any casual driver in an hour without visiting a gas station or repair garage , and a racecar driver travels equivalent distances in about 20 minutes (though the vehicle does require maintenance in this case). This demonstrates that it is normal for a nascent technology to exhibit shortcomings that are eventually overcome through research and development.

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