Solar Energy Potential

Skeptics about renewable energy will frequently say things like, "Solar and wind will never be anything but a minor contributor to the entire energy needs of our country." If that is the case, then the problem is definitely not on the potential supply side. Frequently, I have posted information regarding the solar potential that is available, such as:

"The earth receives more energy from the sun in just one hour than the world uses in a whole year."

http://www.globalwarmingsolutions.com./solutions/cleanenergy.php

 "Each day, more solar energy bathes Earth than its 5.9 billion inhabitants consume in equivalent electric power in 27 years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo." 

"A patch of 100 square miles of open space covered with efficient solar panels such as in Nevada, where sun rays are powerful, could generate all the electrical power needs of the United States, according to NREL calculations."

And... 

"In the continental United States, Hawaii and Alaska, the average daily equivalent of electrical power from the sun is an almost incalculable 385 quadrillion megawatts. The heaviest concentration is along the Sun Belt in Southern California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, although ample sun power falls throughout the nation. Just five megawatts meets the electrical needs of 500 energy-efficient homes for a full year." 

http://www.solardesign.com/pdf/ENN-SolarPower.pdf

Sam Carana recently published an article, showing an impressive image of "...how much (land) surface needs to be covered in theory by solar power facilities to generate enough electricity to meet the entire demand of respectively the World, Europe (EU-25) and Germany.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977115548

So, the skepticism cannot come from the potential supply of solar energy. It has to come from (I'm guessing) our ability to capture that energy - or whether we can become as intelligent as plants (photosynthesis).