‘What If?’ is the result of an over-active imagination and too much free time on one’s hands. The rules of this game are simple. To play ‘What If?’ grab a cuppa, a comfy seat and choose a scenario. It can be anything you fancy from dropping litter to travelling to the moon and back. Now, spend hours musing over what might happen if the world at large did or didn’t do that specific something. What outcomes could arise?
I find that pondering on hypothetically extreme scenarios staves off boredom in retirement as well as providing much needed exercise for those little grey cells that have no doubt gone into hibernation since I quit the workplace. You can make your scenarios as ridiculous as you like such as imagining what might happen if everyone in the world only wore pink spotted knickers.
After the recent energy ‘pants’ cap announcement, I got to thinking with my ‘What If?’ hat on and asked myself this: What would happen if everyone in the world got solar panels? And in my ridiculous scenario, I mean everyone. Every mud hut, igloo, tree house, cave, skyscraper, shack, tent or any form of dwelling/building anywhere on the globe. Stick a panel on it, generate your own power.
OK so that is complete nonsense because not every structure is built to support solar panels but I mean, think about it. What would happen if EVERY house or building in the UK got solar panels?
Let’s see. In just a few minutes, these are some of the far-out hypothetical outcomes my brain came up with:
- Cheaper electricity bills as you’d only pay a standing charge.
- Increased sale of batteries to store all that power.
- Demand of electricity from the grid reduced.
- Energy suppliers’ profits plummet due to lack of consumption.
- Energy companies go bust.
- Ofgem would have to rethink all its policies and pricing mechanisms.
- Standing charges would rocket to prop up ailing suppliers.
- Smart meters would become mandatory by law.
- Risk of cyber hijacking of smart meters.
- People working at energy supply companies would lose their jobs.
- Increased burden on UK taxpayer.
- Rising house insurance premiums due to risk of roof fires.
- Increased pressures on emergency services.
- Increased risk of cowboy solar panel/battery installers.
- SEG payments stopped due to excess power being sold back to grid.
- Grid infrastructure overload.
- Detrimental impact on power station operation.
- UK becomes major exporter of renewable energy to other countries.
- Government’s excessive renewable energy export income reduces taxes.
- Reduced national dependence on fossil fuel imports.
- Less emissions better for the climate.
- Increased solar radiation as protective 'pollution' layer removed.
- Rise in skin cancers.
- Collapse of global economies dependant on gas or oil sales.
- Increased illegal migration as people struggle in countries facing economic ruin.
- Jobs created in UK solar related industries such as panel servicing or battery replacement.
- World’s supply of precious minerals decimated to produce batteries.
- Used batteries create environmental waste hazards.
- Waste hazards impact eco-systems to cause mass extinctions of species.
- Loss of animal habitats due to mining or land given over to solar energy production.
- Rise in artificially created food stuffs.
- Planet and even possibly the moon raped in the mining of precious minerals.
- Global wars erupt over mineral rights.
- Disruption to financial markets due to over-supply of renewable energy.
- Population over dependence on solar energy.
- Lack of research and development on other energy types.
- Re-nationalisation of electricity.
- AI data centres mushroom.
- UK population re-trains in manual trades.
- Government housing target smashed as no lack of skilled labourers.
- Housing market crash.
And the list could go on and on, limited only by your imagination because when you play ‘What If?’ there are no financial constraints or global politics to consider. It’s all in your head where anything’s possible no matter how silly or improbable.
Of course, the major spanner in the works would be the unexpected arrival of a giant meteorite or the death of the sun. No sun, no solar power.
OMG! What if there was no sun? Here we go again.
