Solar Panels are
the Future of Sustainability

Transforming our planet from being primarily petroleum based to solar power based will take hard work at all levels. Here at WGSI we are committed to moving towards the goal of 100% reliance on the power of solar panels.

Imagine that we had the ability to travel through time into the future. Flash forward nearly 20 years… How will the world of 2050 be affected by climate change, peak oil, a rapidly growing population and other challenges we are just now starting to face? What if our best efforts 20 years ago weren’t enough? What if – looking out the door of our time machine – we wished we could have done things differently? Where will your electrons come from in 2050? From a rapidly disappearing, expensive resource under the ground? Or from a plentiful, basically unlimited power source in the sky?

From 2011 to the beginning of 2021, Waterloo Global Science Initiative launched an ambitious undertaking to reboot the global conversation on energy and explore how cutting edge science and technology may advance an electrified and sustainable future. The inaugural Equinox Summit: Energy 2030 took place for this very purpose, and fostered high level scientific collaborations and public outreach activities.

The energy summit was not the only event that WGSI launched before its hiatus at the end of 2020. The WGSI Youtube channel shows the many WGSI events: Openaccess Energy, Generation SDG, and others. All of these events had one goal, to be a catalyst for collective action to improve our world. Whether it be to advance sustainable technologies such as solar and wind, or to explore ways to pursue the global SDGs in innovative ways, WGSI was at the forefront.

Learning 2030 was another WGSI event. It focused on the next generation of young leaders. It brought together global leaders in education to discuss ways to innovate in education so the next generation can be equipped to solve the problems of the next century. If we are truly going to become reliant on renewable energy, the next generation will need to be equipped with the best education to achieve this goal.

WGSI also partnered with other organizations on events like “Together Ensemble” which it hosted in 2020. Together Ensemble addressed the UN SDGs using a multi generational approach in energy, education, and more. It also served as a facilitator and promoter of events by Community Foundations, Renison College, Cycle WR, and the Climate Caucus.

We are proud to continue the tradition of WGSI on this site. WGSI brought together brilliant minds and unheard voices from different disciplines, generations, and geographies to address the pressing challenges of tomorrow — today. Carrying on this tradition today, we provide consumer information about solar panel installation in cities throughout the USA. Whether you are in sunny places like Tucson, Arlington, TX, San Diego, Las Vegas, Cary NC, Sarasota, or Hawaii, that are ideal for solar panel installations, or less sunny locations such as Washington state, Michigan, or New York, we want to show you how to make solar work for you! What is this pressing challenge? To transform our world to 100% reliance on the power of the Sun.

Solar solutions that include diverse viewpoints have never been so important. Our world is changing with unprecedented speed — and although we are more connected than ever, we continue to approach global challenges from a remarkably narrow lens. Even inside the solar panel industry itself there is much improvement necessary. With so much talent and ingenuity worldwide, we know there is a better way.

Some ideas may seem far fetched, but by keeping an open mind and an open conversation, we can make much progress. For example, how about solar power beamed from space? Seem unlikely? Many don’t realize that solar panels in geostationary orbit could collect 25% more energy than on Earth, always face the sun, and beam solar power back down to Earth. Seem unlikely? There is a company that is actually spearheading the creation of space-based energy infrastructure like this.

And on a more personal level, start moving toward solar energy for your own home! Whether you choose a grid tied setup, or an off the grid solar array, it might be time to start doing this for your house.

Even if you don’t convert your personal electricity bill to “sun dependence,” you can still learn more about the energy you use. There is a plethora of information on this available on the internet today.

Through local and global collaborations, we create the conditions where big picture conversations happen. Then we offer the space and time for people to act on that change.