More energy in the form of sunlight hits terrestrial earth in one hour than is used by humanity in an entire year. The prairies are particularly rich in solar illumination; southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba have the best annual insolation statistics of the entire country (‘sunshine’), and thus sunlight in the prairies represents an enormous, almost entirely untapped energy resource. In this work plan, we will show how we will successfully tackle the dual-pronged challenge of efficient conversion of solar energy into electricity, enable the conversion of solar energy into fuels, while effectively addressing policies and regulations with new regulatory models to encourage adoption by utilities in Canada.
Materials constraints are the single most formidable challenge facing solar energy conversion, storage, and conversion. While photovoltaic technologies, in particular those based upon silicon and other inorganic materials like Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) and Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS), are commercially available and have become cost-competitive with coal-based electricity generation, fundamental materials problems persist.
The first and most important challenge of using an energy source such as solar or wind is its inherent intermittency, necessitating efficient and inexpensive energy storage. The development of catalytically active materials that use solar energy and enable the conversion of CO2 and/or H2O to a chemical fuel is critical.
A second issue with respect to penetration of photovoltaics in our energy mix is inherently a materials problem. Silicon, for example, is a highly energy-intensive material to process from sand, and requires 2-6 years of operation to break-even from an energy standpoint. Standard methods to identify new materials are fraught with blind alleys and lack of rational methodologies; we propose to change this. The third major problem results from the restrictive Canadian regulatory environment - new policies are required to effectively enable and motivate utilities to integrate renewables into their energy mix.
The 5 projects described here represent 4 technology-based directions, and one policy-based project, which together address these three critical aspects of effective use of solar energy, conversion, and storage and provide a path forward to a low-carbon future for Canada.
