The Earth receives at any given time 120,000 terawatts of sunlight (1 terawatt is 1 trillion watts), whereas the global need of power is 16 terawatts (to increase to about 20 terawatts in the next decade).

This means that 0.013 per cent of the sunlight reaching us is enough to satisfy all our energy needs.

Clearly the challenge is to tap from this endless source of energy, and if we are clever enough renewables will help us keep the lights on and fight climate change at the same time. There's no need for lowering thermostats and jumpers all around, sharing showers and living with frugal amounts of electricity. Our priority has to be to switch to ways of producing clean and abundant electricity, not using less of it.

If we do it well, our high-tech societies can become decarbonised not by decreasing power consumption but by increasing it by as much as our technologies require it.  

The September issue of National Geographic contains an interesting feature article on Solar Energy "Plugging into the Sun". If focuses on the example of the 250 acre compound of 182,000 mirrors in the Mojave Desert, called Nevada Solar One. It is owned by a Spanish utility company and it is capable of pumping 64 megawatts into the grid, enough to serve 14,000 households in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

It is a success story that needs to be replicated worldwide.

Brunella

The new REVA NXR can be seen at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (15-27 Sep) and will be distributed in the UK by GoinGreen. 

 See www.revaglobal.com

EV manufacturer REVA in India has led the electric car revolution with the legendary G-Wiz, which now symbolises the electric car itself.

In the UK, the G-Wiz is the best-selling electric car. Although initially regarded as a bit niche and an eccentric choice of vehicle, Londoners have enjoyed the benefits of owning an electric car, in addition to the environmental benefits. With no congestion charge to pay and free parking in the City of Westminster and other London boroughs, the G-Wiz has gained a lot of visibility in Central London. It is now the classic EV.

We very much hope that the new REVA NXR will take the EV success to a new level, catering the needs of families and drivers who need a more spacious car, and still enjoy all the perks of tax-free driving.

Brunella