ABSTRACT
Addressing climate change, pollution, and energy insecurity problems all at once requires major changes in our energy infrastructure. Over the past decade, a number of studies have proposed large-scale renewable energy plans, mainly based on wind, water, and sunlight resources.1-4 As shown in Figure 12.1,5 the solar energy resource potentially dwarfs all other renewable and fossil-based energy resources combined. The yearly sustainable renewable supply of solar energy received by the emerged continents alone is more than 30 times larger than the total planetary reserves of coal and 1500 times larger than the current planetary energy consumption.1 Therefore,
12.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 337 12.2 Fundamental Limitations ..............................................................................340
