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Renewable energy has become a very common topic of conversation as it has become more apparent that we are overly dependent on fossil fuels. The United States alone consumed 62,066 kWh of energy from fossil fuels alone. Fossil fuel is not an unlimited resource either, so to keep up with our energy demands and to help keep our planet
clean many people are now using more clean energy systems, such as solar power.
Solar energy harnesses the power of the sun to generate heat and electricity. In fact, The amount of sunlight that strikes the earth’s surface in an hour and a half is enough to handle the entire world’s energy consumption for a full year. Solar technology uses Photovoltaic (PV) panels or a system of mirrors to concentrate the solar radiation. The energy can be used to generate electricity or it can be stored in batteries for later use. The main advantage to solar energy is its positive environmental impact. Solar power generation creates no greenhouse gas emissions, a significant improvement over fossil fuels. Additionally solar panel systems require very little water for maintenance, which can be beneficial in drought prone areas. Thanks to developments in the past decade solar energy has become even more efficient and affordable.
According to the International Energy Agency, solar energy is among the most affordable sources of energy costing approximately $32.78 per megawatt-hour, compared to coal which is widely used and costs around $72.78. Although many people have concerns about expensive installation costs for getting solar panels, most people will end up having significant savings over a 25 year period. There are online calculators that show approximately how much money you can save based on current energy consumption and how much sun your home receives. By estimating my home’s energy use and how much daylight I receive based on my home’s location, the estimated net savings over 25 years would be $70,000 dollars. While the initial cost of installation might be high, I wouldn’t mind keeping that additional 70000 around for a rainy day. Aside from being relatively inexpensive, solar energy also helps to stimulate the economy. In electricity generation, solar was the fastest growing technology, adding 17,212 jobs in 2021. This is a growth of 5.4% that occurred during an economic downturn.
As promising as solar energy is, there are some challenges to fully implementing solar energy systems. For example, it’s not always sunny so there has to be either a backup energy source to be used when it’s cloudy or at nighttime. Alternatively the energy could be stored in batteries, but those can be expensive for containing large amounts of energy. Land use is another important thing to consider. To implement solar energy on a large scale a significant amount of space is required to house the PV panels, which can lead to conflicts over land use. However there are innovative solutions such as rooftop solar and solar panels that can float on bodies of water.
Solar energy is an important resource that we as a society should strongly consider investing more in. On a more local level, I would like Furman to better utilize solar power. While we do have a large solar farm, I think we could do better. Why not expand the use of solar panels for water heating in the Greenbelt Community to other residences? We need to be able to make the developments on a local scale to be able to globally transition to clean energy.
References:
https://energycentral.com/c/ec/comparing-costs-renewable-and-conventional-energy-sources
https://ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels
https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/how-does-solar-work