Creating a Strategic Solar Reserve

There is always much discussion about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the US: How much to store, when to use it, etc. Given that our country's security certainly depends on the security of its energy supply, it is certainly a good idea to have a Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

BUT, if we are to be more forward looking, we should be establishing reserves of renewable resources as well. In particular, I would like to see a "Strategic Solar Reserve" and a "Strategic Wind Reserve" created. When I did a web search for these ideas, I found (thankfully) that some foresighted person in the government has already thought of this idea in general terms and actually has gotten some preliminary action passed in the recent energy bill. See below:

"Strategic Solar Reserve Program: Lands under the Bureau of Land Management’s
jurisdiction must be identified that can accommodate up to 25 GW of solar energy
development. Provides favorable terms and conditions for permitting, leasing and site
identification. (Sec. 7304)"
http://www.seia.org/Energy_Bills_Memo.pdf

25 GW is 25x3414 = 85350 BTUs

I just checked, and it looks like the US uses about 100 quadrillion BTUs of energy a year in total (10^20 BTUs, it seems).
http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/pdf/pages/sec1_9.pdf

So this resource would be only a small fraction of our total energy demand.

I think we can do better. We need to aim for true energy independence. Why don't we aim to develop, or least seriously look into, what would be required to be fully renewable in 10 years? I think this actually doable. Like the Apollo moon mission, which was extremely ambitous at the time, we need the Apollo moon project for our age. And I think renewable energy has to be the right choice. It is tied to our national security, the long term health of our economy and climate change. It is the only way forward. And just think what the trillions we will end up spending on the Iraq war could have done to move us there! We desperately need the leadership of the federal government on this issue. I hope Obama picks it up, I hope he wins, and I hope he makes it happen!

There are a thousand things people worry about with the potential of renewable resources, but they are all surmountable: transmission, storage, total potential, etc.

I have read in more than one source that people estimate somewhere between 60 and 100 square miles of southwestern US land would be needed to provide ALL of the electricity the US uses. http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/solarenergy.html

Think how small that is! Anyone who has been to the western US knows that there has to be 100s if not 1000s of times this amount of suitable land available. And these calculations rely on current efficiencies of solar systems. They are real estimates. AND of course systems will get significantly more efficient, and their production more efficient, as we go about actually building them on a large scale.

We should go beyond our electricity needs to include our oil/gas needs as well. With improvements in batteries, truly viable electric vehicles are only a few years away.

Reaching Peak Oil in 2005, which now most reasonable agree on (http://www.energybulletin.net/primer.php), means that conventional energy is only going to be more expensive each year from here on out. We urgently need to invest our existing energy in developing new energy sources. This is only rational thing to do: every year we wait means that it will be that much harder to make the transition from fossil fuels to renewable ones without significant pain. We need to start NOW! And we can't mess around. That is why we need a federal government level, Apollo moon project type effort, to ensure that we have a Strategy Solar Reserve to provide energy independence and ensure the safety, stability and well being of our nation into the future.

By the way, I focus on solar in particular because per area of land it is one of the most efficient renewable options out there. (I don't have a good reference for this, but I heard from Ben Luce of CCAE in New Mexico that it is true.) It is greatly more efficient that biomass, wind, or anything else on a square foot basis. and of course it is nearly infinite, falls all over the world, and will not run out or change in quantity significantly any time soon. It is out best option.

We need to start building our Strategic Solar Reserve immediately. Let your political representatives know and spread the word!