Conversion efficiency sucks.
Transmission sucks.
Storage sucks.
It sucks.
Go nuclear !!!
Let's review some basics about photovoltaics (solar cells) and see how much sense this really makes.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE USE SOLAR CELLS TO
CONVERT THE SUNS ENERGY TO ELECTRICITY:
| SOURCE | LOSS - % | POWER - W/m2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | solarconstant | -- | 1370W |
| 2. | atmosphere | 27 | 1000W |
| 3. | clouds | 21 | 790W |
| 4. | sun angle | 40 | 474W |
| 5. | night | 50 | 237W |
| 6. | cell efficiency | 87 | 31W |
| 7. | dirt/reflection | 10 | 28W |
| 8. | packaging | 20 | 22W |
| 9. | AC convert | 25 | 17W |
| 10. | storage | 30 | 12W |
Net efficiency = 0.85% (!)
The current rate of U.S. energy consumption is 3.3 trillion Watts. Based on the above data we would only need to cover the entire state of Nevada with solar cells! And because of a 6% annual growth in our energy consumption, in another 12 years we would also have to cover the entire state of Arizona with Solar cells! Yet the current world-wide production of solar cells is so small that it couldn't even keep up with the annual growth rate in energy usage, much less supply enough solar cells to produce the base amount of energy usage.