Future is bright with solar power

Would it surprise you to know that south of a line from Dublin to Kenmare Ireland’s potential for solar electricity generation is as good as that of Germany’s? 

The difference is that while Germany has installed tens of thousands of megawatts of solar, currently generating 6% of its electricity with plans to go to 20%, we have yet to install even 1 megawatt. This at a time when we need to increase the amount of renewable electricity we produce, reduce our CO2 emissions and decrease our dependence on imported fossil fuels.

What is solar electricity? It is produced by flat photovoltaic (PV) panels which generate electricity when light falls on them. To generate I kilowatt (kW) you need about 5 square meters of panels. A typical panel size is 1 square meter and produces one fifth of a kW (200 W) when the sun is shining. The panels are then interconnected to generate larger amounts of electricity; this is called a PV system. A domestic installation of 5 or 6 kW is typically mounted on the South facing roof of a house, while 15 or 20 kW could be mounted on the South facing roof of a barn to supply much of the energy needs of a farm. This demonstrates one of the great advantages of solar electricity; it is modular, allowing any size PV system to be built to fit the available space or budget.