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We have just finished looking at the historical and modern contexts for valuing solar energy (and SECSs) in society. I wanted to put you in the frame of mind that solar energy as a valued resource is a flexible concept. The value expands with energy constraints and with positive health and safety implications; the value shrinks with the reduced costs of alternatives such as fuels. There are many different ways that society values the solar resource, however, and as a part of a design or engineering team (or part of a policy team), we should remain creative and persistent in trying to develop and expand SECS deployment into society.
You have made your first step toward the solar assessment project that we will present to our peers in Lesson 12 at the end of the course. I would like you to make sure that you have found the SAM (System Advisor Model) website and downloaded the software onto your systems. Your future clients/stakeholders will be informed by your creative ability to present them with a valuable solar resource in their locale, one which also yields financial benefit, social benefit, and/or greater ecosystems services. SAM is a useful complementary tool in that communication.
Reminder - Complete all of the Lesson 1 tasks!
You have reached the end of Lesson 1! Double-check the to-do list on the Lesson 1 Learning Outcomes page to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there before you begin Lesson 2.