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Solar Energy Source in West Texas

By Solar energy | October 31, 2008

Solar Energy, The Chihuahuan Desert, and the
National Power Grid

Nature lovers that we are, my husband and I just returned from three days of soaking up the sun. We were not at the beach. We were in the desert; the Chihuahuan Desert to be exact.

Three days of hiking in the sun drenched Guadalupe Mountains invigorated and heightened all senses.  Maple, oak, and aspen shimmered in colorful fall array. Ponderosa pine, Texas Madrone, and Mountain Mahogany offered intriguing texture, pleasing both the visual and tactile senses.

But I’m wondering…

…with all the concern around environmental conditions, peak oil, and energy independence, why are we not harvesting energy from this perpetual sunshine?

Maybe one of the problems is the national power grid. Look closely at a map of the Texas Interconnection Grid and you will notice something about west Texas. There’s no grid out there!

Solar thermal and solar electric can and is used on a small, individual scale. But before we can harvest the Chihuahuan Desert sun for national energy use, we have to make a way to carry that energy to consumers.

Until the power grid comes to west Texas, harvesting renewable energy for the masses will be impossible.

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