Engineering Challenges

Great engineering comes out of great challenges. Difficult, interesting problems are what drive us to creative solutions and innovation that change our world beyond the scope of just a single instance. From commercial flight to personal computers, the last few decades have produced so many engineering achievements that we now rely upon.

One of the most important challenges right now, voted highest by visitors to Grand Challenges for Engineering, is the development of solar energy into a economical source of power. Solar energy is such an important resource because it is a freely available clean resource that could easily meet the demands of Earth's entire population. This is surprisingly lower than other resources, like offshore wind turbines. It can also continue to meet our demands far into the future for any conceivable demands, and unlike the fossil fuels and nuclear fuels we use now, it does not produce any pollutants. To further the viability of solar energy, the technology needs further development to increase cell efficiencies and reduce costs.

Viability does not stem only from the solar cells themselves, but also from surrounding technologies that support and enable the resource extraction and usage. For one, "current solar cell designs require high-purity, and therefore expensive, materials..." However, developments in nanotechnology may make that problem obsolete, allowing cells to be produced with more inexpensive materials. Also, energy storage is an expensive support infrastructure, especially when implementing at-home solar energy. Several technological and infrastructure changes may help this issue, such as better batteries, mechanical energy storage, or smart power grids that can accept excess power during the day and supply power at night.

The reason for the lack of solar energy implementation in the United States is not due to a lack of feasibility, but rather a lack of direction and push for its widespread use. Several other countries have substantial solar energy infrastructures, and Germany produces 6,000% more solar energy than the U.S. despite the U.S. having 4,000% more available sun light. The amount of money spent in the U.S. on solar energy subsidies is miniscule compared to those on fossil fuels, hindering its growth.

Fun infographic on the growth of solar energy vs growth of facebook.