Solar Total Energy Project

The committee did not consider hydroelectric power explicitly except as part of the electricity grid mix. The remaining renewable energy resources—except wind, solar, and biomass—were not considered owing to their current small fraction of total primary energy supply or small projected growth. 

Array of solar panels (photovoltaic cells) on the roof of terraced houses in Heerhugowaard in the Netherlands. This is part of a Dutch government pilot project to investigate clean, renewable energy forms such as solar power. The 10 houses in this terrace (only two seen here) have a total of 200 square meters of solar panels on their roofs. The total power output of these solar panels is 24.6 kilowatts. The photovoltaic cells contain a semiconducting material that converts sunlight directly into electricity. Solar power is relatively cheap, as once the panels are installed, they continue to produce electricity indefinitely. (Courtesy of Martin Bond/Science Photo Library)... 

The private price projections used are those implied by the National Energy Plan of 1977 as expressed in various DOE reports. The social prices were derived from the private prices by correcting for taxes and subsidies and by adding pollution and foreign dependence costs where appropriate. The homeowner s real opportunity cost of capital was 1% and the real social opportunity of capital was 8%, Table I shows the public benefits of the solar technology with and without the storage R D activity for each time period. The present value of the total benefits of the storage R D activity under these circumstances is S. 7 billion. 

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