Article by Stephen Moore
Fossil fuels are running out and are not good for the environment. Nuclear energy is highly controversial.So to prepare for the future, we need to increase our use of renewable and alternative energy sources. Solar energy is likely to be an important sustainable and clean energy.
The Advantages Of Solar Energy
Solar energy is abundant and is free. We can count the Sun to rise tomorrow and the day after that. Oil and natural gases on the other hand are non renewable. Once a source runs out, it is gone forever.
Solar energy does not pollute the air. The heat coming from the sun cleans the environment and maintains the earth’s eco balance. Not so with oil. Oil, its derivatives and its byproducts are great pollutants. In fact, 22,000 pounds of carbon monoxide will need to be produced first for the oil to be processed and supply a home with electrical energy for a year.
Solar (or photovoltaic – PV) panels are silent operators. Except maybe for the Sun tracking mechanisms that are built into the panels, PV panels give neither a peep nor a squeak. It is a world of difference from the cacophony of giant drills and pumps that are used to extract oil from the ground or under the sea.
Maintenance for PV panels is minimal. Apart from the mechanical tracking parts (optional), almost no maintenance is needed. Once a solar panel is installed nothing much will be the cause for worry. The energy that is harnessed is free.
In many countries, any excess electricity produced by domestic solar energy systems can be sold back to the national electricity grid.
The Disadvantages Of Solar Energy
Cost is the main restricting factor. Solar energy systems don’t come cheap. Whilst energy from the Sun is free, the cost of installation setbacks many household from installing it.
Although the investment tends to pay off over time (and also increases the value of a house) the initial outlay is many thousands of dollars. The cost depends on the quality and volume of generated power a household or a business needs.
While solar energy technology has been around since the 1950′s, it is only in recent years that its development has taken off. Hopefully, solar panels will follow the path of many other technologies, like cellphones. At first, cellphones were an expensive luxury; now they’re cheap and ownership rates are high worldwide.
Scientists at Stanford University in California have developed a new technology photon-enhanced thermionic emissions (PETE) which should reduce the cost of solar panels but also should massively increase their efficiency.
Geography also plays a major part in the advantages and disadvantages of solar power. In places where there is constant sunshine, such as Spain and California solar panels are obviously going to generate more energy than in the cloudier climes of, say, Northern Europe. But wind power may be a better option in those areas.
It’s no coincidence, that Spain and the USA are the two largest producers of solar energy, with large, commercial solar power stations.
All in all, solar power is an increasingly important energy. The Sun is shining on solar energy!