Our planet has operated quite happily for billions of years as one giant solar system. It is only relatively recently that human activities have started to interfere with this natural process as industrialisation has taken an increasing toll on the ecosphere.

90% OF THE WORLD’S ENERGY IS USED TO SUPPORT THE LIFESTYLE OF CONSUMERS IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD

Mother Nature has now started to send warning signals in the shape of climate change that the time has come for us to take responsibility for the damage we are doing.

Conventional sources of energy – so-called “fossil fuels” such as coal, oil and natural gas – are finite and rapidly depleting. The trend towards increasing dependence on energy in our everyday lives cannot continue unless radical changes are made.

MORE ENERGY HAS BEEN CONSUMED BY MANKIND IN THE LAST 200 YEARS THAN EVER BEFORE SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME

Throughout the ages, the sun has been acknowledged as a free supply of heat and light for the universe, essential for the growth of the plants that we all need for survival. Not so obvious, perhaps, is that the sun is also a free source of electricity……

JUST 40 MINUTES OF SUNSHINE PROVIDES AS MUCH ELECTRICITY AS THE WHOLE WORLD CURRENTLY USES IN A YEAR 1% OF THE WORLD’S SUNSHINE WOULD SOLVE OUR ENERGY PROBLEMS ONCE AND FOR ALL

Fossil Fuels

Today around 60% of the electricity we use is produced by burning fossil fuels. This process releases large quantities of harmful gases into the atmosphere and is largely to blame for many of the environmental problems the world is facing today.

EVERY kW OF ELECTRICITY PRODUCED BY A COAL POWER STATION EMITS 1KG OF CO2 INTO THE ATMOSPHERE 1 kW OF ENERGY PRODUCED FROM NATURAL GAS GENERATES AROUND 450g OF CO2. THE PRODUCTION OF SOLAR ENERGY GENERATES ZERO EMISSIONS

Each day the sun delivers enough energy to meet global energy demand for 8 years, but it takes as long as 500,000 days to generate enough fossil fuel to power the world for a day.

As well as harmful CO2 emissions, power stations based on fossil fuels also add to air pollution in the form of acid rain caused by sulphur dioxide or soot as a result of burning coal. Solar energy creates none of these problems.