Why hasn't solar taken off?

Form of renewable energy isn't as popular as it could be

Earlier this week, the chief executive of Desertsec Paul van Son denied his plans for a scheme to produce 15% of Europe’s energy from solar panels in North Africa was in turmoil following the withdrawal of two major investors. Both Siemens and Bosch pulled out of the project, which would see energy produced by solar power in countries such as Tunisia and Morocco relayed to Europe via underwater cables, whilst the Spanish government has backed away from a deal to build the panels. Despite these apparent set-backs, van Son laughed off suggestions the €400 million scheme was in crisis. But does this situation suggest that solar power has still yet to really take off as a form of energy production?

An outline of the Desertsec energy proposal - which may now be in doubt

(Source - The Guardian)

Solar power seems like the ideal form of renewable energy. Even more straightforward than wind power, all you have to do is watch as the sun shines and produces electricity. But despite this seemingly simple process of producing energy, solar has yet to really go mainstream. Whereas wind power is gaining more and more momentum as the answer to the question of how to produce clean, renewable energy, solar power is getting left behind. But why is this? Why haven’t we committed to solar yet?

Cost. Installing solar panels in a home can cost nearly £9000 on average; a price a lot of people aren’t willing to pay, especially as it may also require adjustments or renovations of the roofs of houses, which adds further costs. Many people could have had help covering costs via a grant, but last year the Government cut the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) by over half, meaning people who could have earned money for merely having solar panels (up to £1000 a year in many cases), which would have helped cover the cost of the initial installation, will now earn significantly less. 

Solar power is a great form of renewable energy - but people don't like the cost

(Source - The Guardian)

On top of all this, it has been announced that energy bills will increase to cover the costs of implementing green energy schemes, such as solar power. Any form of price increase is bound to anger consumers and, despite the assurances that using renewable energy will actually decrease prices in the coming years, the new deal has been met with criticism from consumers, MPs and environmental campaigners. 

So with the current negativity surrounding renewable energy in the media – mainly focusing on the cost – it seems that solar power has an even harder task of trying to appeal to people as a realistic alternative to traditional energy production.