Let the Sun Shine but Solar Energy??

I like sun shine as much as the next dude, but Solar Energy??  Are you going to depend on whether it is rainy or cloudy or night time to get your energy??  No thanks I don't want to live like an animal.

Same thing with wind power... what happens when there is no wind for several hours, day or weeks?  You could die from food poisoning, no refrigeration... could be rather serious.

So what does wind power come down to??

2 - What is the wind speed?

Wind speed bears an even more drastic relationship with output, since the power generated by a wind turbine is proportional to speed cubed. This means that doubling wind speed increases turbine output by a factor of eight. For this reason, it is very important to carry out a detailed study of windspeed in the prospective project site - even slight variations in windspeed can cause a considerable variation in the projected output.

Furthermore, this is another factor that favors large scale wind turbines - wind speed is higher farther away from the ground, and the considerable height of megawatt-scale wind turbines allows them to benefit from it!

3 - For how long are favorable windspeeds present?

Diameter and wind speed define the instantaneous power. However, energy is the product of power and time. This means that, for a wind farm to be feasible, favorable wind conditions should be available constantly. Normally, a capacity factor of 20% or more is preferred.

- See more at: http://thegrid.rexel.com/en-us/energy_efficiency/f/energy_efficiency_forum/519/what-does-the-energy-output-of-a-wind-turbine-depend-on#sthash.lJFjm2BJ.dpuf

OK, how about solar power??  Batteries??

Advancing Technology

Current batteries are always being improved upon, and new designs for flow batteries, hydrogen batteries, and even salt batteries are all being developed in the hopes of increasing our potential energy storage capacity. For longer periods of darkness, many solar energy–powered structures are also hooked into the municipal power grid allowing for conventional energy to be used when necessary. And, as an added bonus, many cities will actually buy back any surplus energy that your panels produce, allowing you to use summer sunlight to make up for low energy production during the winter months. And if your home is located near one of the poles and you’re dreading the long dark nights of winter, just remember that once the earth’s orbit takes it halfway around, you’ll be sitting pretty in long days of pure sunlight—it all evens out in the end.

So, even if you live in a less sun-lit part of the world, there are advantages to solar power. Of course, in the end, the choice is still up to you. You can either use the free photons that fly your way, or you can let a million-year journey go to waste.