On January 25th, a new executive order 13767 was issued by the U.S. president Donald Trump. The executive order 13767 is about border security and immigration enforcement improvements by building, in his own words, “a great wall” on the southern border between the U.S. and Mexico. Trump has promised that this wall is going to “save thousands of lives, millions of jobs, and billions and billions of dollars”, and he also promised to make Mexico pay for it. Obviously, the Mexican government does not want to pay for the wall if there is no benefit to them. However, what if the wall could generate beautiful clean energy, not from coal but from a clear solar panel wall, and deliver the electricity to the cities in Mexico? Might this motivate the Mexican government to pay for it.
Only if the wall has to be built due to the executive order 13767, the U.S. government now has to think of a possible solution to work with the Mexican government to build an effective and environmentally friendly ‘clear’ solar panel wall.
Researchers at Michigan State University recently developed a new solar panel technology that uses fully transparent panes of glass. Ubiquitous Energy, an MIT StartupCompany, is already looking forward to bringing this technology to market. Clear solar panelsare fully transparent and can turn any window or glass surface into a photovoltaic solar cell. It will enable clear solar panel users to utilize greater surfaces area to generate electricity. This innovation is already a reality.
Clear solar panel technology still needs to be supported by the government because research funding and green subsidy levels will dictate how quickly these panels become mainstream and fully utilized on a large scale. Once green technology companies successfully bring this technological advance to the market, both the company and government could profit by exporting this technology all over the world. Thus, government smart subsidies for a clear solar panel wall could be a great opportunity not only to be a market leader, but also to create a new eco-friendly job market, which also might help to meet their 2015 Paris Agreement goal.
The idea of building the wall, however, has been a very controversial topic. There is an uncertainty about how effective this wall is going to be to stop illegal immigrants, and the costs of labor and material to build the wall is going to be very expensive. Bernstein research group estimated a total cost of building the wall at least $15 billion, and it could reach $25 billion. Also, many scientists argue that building the wall will cause negative effects on the environment such as wildlife habitat destruction and the air pollution from the concrete material.
Many foreign investors, particularly the U.S. manufacturing industries, have started to invest in Mexico since NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) was adopted. Due to a weak environmental regulation in Mexico, Mexico has been exposed to toxic waste and air pollution. Also, many poor cities in Mexico have poor infrastructure and accessibility to the energy resources. If a clear solar panel wall could be built and bring the electricity to the cities in Mexico, the wall not only could help Mexico with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also make the eco-friendly renewable energy cities.
Many opponents to building the wall might argue that this idea of a clear solar panel wall still results in habitat destructions and extinction of some endangered species. However, if the wall is just made of steel and concrete, there are only negative effects on the environment, and it will increase CO2 emissions during the procedure of building the wall. Also, a historical southern border will be no longer visible.
If the Trump administration invests in clear solar panel rather than the coal industry, and if the companies are able to sell this technology to Mexico, or if Mexico could do it the other way around, both the U.S. and Mexico not only could expect to stop illegal immigrants, but also to keep a historical ‘visible’ US and Mexico border. Also, a clear solar panel wall could contribute to reducing CO2 levels to meet Mexico’s emission goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, and Trump will finally realize investing in renewable energy and installing a clear solar panel wall could create more jobs and profitable markets than a ‘beautiful clean coal’ industry. Clear solar panel wall will bring a huge change not only to our local community but also to our planet where we live, by reducing huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Again, only if the wall has to be built.