Today, many towns are making use of solar energy. From the Black Forest to Tibet, solar energy is beginning to play a large role in peoples’ lives.
In Freiberg, Germany, a city located in the Black Forest, an architect named Rolf Disch has constructed a solar village which consists of fifty apartments. The roofs are made of solar panels and all of the power is generated by solar electricity. The panels generate so much electricity that the residents make on average seven hundred and seventy-five Canadian dollars per month in surplus energy which they sell to the German power company. Although the apartments are heated with oil, they are well insulated which keeps down oil consumption. Plans are also under way to construct “solar ship”, a tower with apartments on top and offices and shops on the lower levels. As well, Disch has sold several homes identical to his own, which feature a swivel function that allows them to turn towards the sun.
In Tibet, solar energy is becoming extremely popular. People used to use straw, firewood, and cow dung to heat their homes and cook as well as butter to fuel lights until the Chinese government began to pay people to buy solar ovens. Now, according to a Tibetan woman named Zhoima, she is able to cook with her solar oven in the kitchen while her children watch a television powered by solar energy. China has built several large scale solar energy facilities, made so successful by the high amounts of solar radiation due to the high altitude in Tibet. Similar projects are underway in Zimbabwe and India.
Funding for these projects is being provided by the German homeowners, the Chinese government, the UN/World Bank, and the Italian Foreign Ministry. The biggest issue in the solar energy community is the procurement of enough funds to make these projects more widespread.