The diversification in terms of sustainable energy and the utilization renewable energy options in various practical uses have become one of the most significant factors as a substitutable source for oil and gas. In addition, it could be a viable solution for environmental problems. Omubo-Pepple et al. (2009) believe that the effective solution for environmental degradation, resulted from the use of fossil fuels which caused some dangerous problems such as acid rain, green house effect and ozone layer depletion, is to increase in renewable energy options uses. Indeed, some countries such as United States, Germany, Spain and Japan are progressively undergoing transition from hydrocarbon-based economy to one based on sustainable forms energy. Although Saudi Arabia has one-fourth of the world oil reserves, it has a massive quantity of solar radiation. Therefore, the government encouraged researchers by launching an energy research institute (ERI) at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. During two decades, the ERI has several of international participations such as SOLERAS with the U.S. institute and HYSOLAR with the Federal Republic of Germany and some major research such as development and demonstration (Alawaji, 2001). Even though Saudi Arabia is a leading oil producer, it is widely believed that solar energy is a viable energy source that should be exploited for the benefit of the country. This essay will discuss the conditions that facilitate the use of solar energy in Saudi Arabia such as the geographic location and the amount of sunshine, and the obstacles that hinder it such as availability of oil, the effect of dust and non-availability subsidies. The first condition is the strategy geographic location of Sau... ... middle of paper ... ...and industrialized nations that could run on the same pace and take an active part in the development of new technologies. References ALAWAJI, S. H. (2001) 'Evaluation of Solar Energy Research and its Applications in Saudi Arabia- 20 Years of Experience'. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 5(2001) pp. 59-77. Al-SALAH, Y. (2008) 'Renewable Energy Scenarios for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia'. p.1. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (2009) ' Country Information on Saudi Arabia' p.2 RAMACHANDRA, T. V. (2007) 'Solar energy potential assessment using GIS'. p.106. MOHANDES, M., et al. (1999) 'Use radial basis functions for estimating monthly mean daily solar radiation'. p.161. OMUBO-Pepple, V. B., et al. (2009) 'Effects of Temperature, Solar Flux and Relative Humidity on the Efficient Conversion of Solar Energy to Electricity' No.2, pp.173-180.
Solar power in Canada is gaining attention to many people. You will be informed about what solar energy is and how it works, the environmental impacts of solar energy, why you should care about it and what you and others can do to help promote it. You will have a better understanding of solar energy and why you should take the switch.
Lof, George. “Solar Energy: An Infinite Source of Clean Energy.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol 410:52
The sun has been a major aspect of life since the beginning of time. People used many other forms of energy before electricity was discovered. There has been a debate over energy resources for years. Many people are worried about what current energy resources may be doing to the environment. Oil spills and nuclear power plant mishaps have only been a few accidents that have had a big impact on the environment and the people who inhabit it. There are plenty of energy sources that do not harm the environment and are still able to get the job done. Solar energy is one energy alternative that will insure the betterment of the country and, at the same time, protect the natural environment.
In this modern fast paced world that we live in, there are many issues that are looked over, energy is one of these. As a world, we are dependant on dwindling fossil fuel supplies and take for granted electricity, oil, and gas. There are four completely renewable sources of energy around us that should be used and developed, they are: wind, growing plants, flowing water, and the sun. These sources of energy are the ones we should be tapping, because they are reliable and renewable. Harnessing the suns energy is the most certain and ultimate energy source. Looking at a brief history and some facts about solar energy, a glimpse of the future can be seen, a future not dependant on fossil fuels.
Energy is the basic necessity of daily life. Nowadays, dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs becoming lower in numerous countries due to the potential of renewable energy to supply sustainable energy to the huge populations in many developing countries who are short of clean and continues energy. Generally, renewable energy can be defined as energy that is derived from natural resources which are constantly replenished and theoretically inexhaustible. Fossil fuels on the other hand can be described as energy that cannot be renewed and will eventually diminish. Thus, in many developing countries renewable energy is the alternative energy to replace non-renewable energy or commonly known as fossil fuels. In addition, according to Sorensen (2004), there is a greater demand for renewable energy sources nowadays due to the uncertainty of fuel price rise in living expenses. Commonly, there are many types of renewable energy available in our world such as wind power, biomass energy, solar energy, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. However, the main three example of renewable energy are hydroelectric power, solar and biomass energy (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).
Over the past 200 years, mankind discovered the fossil fuels and they used this source to produce hug energy. This affects the environment in many negative ways and caused many issues worldwide such as urban air pollution and acid rain, oil spills and the high temperature of earth. Saudi Arabia has the biggest oil reserves in the world by 19.66% (the world factbook, 2011) and the second oil producer country in the world with roughly 10.121 million barrels a day – which account for 12% of the total world production of oil in 2010 (Fontinelle,2011). Moreover, the country relies heavily on oil industry. And the most successful companies in the country are thus whose work in oil industry such as ARAMCO Company. The reason behind this success is because most of these companies get financial support and attention from the Saudi government and sometimes the government owes these companies. Because of the massive reserve of oil and the high income that generated from oil, the country has less attention to seek for other sources of clean energy such as solar energy and wind energy which leads to the increase of air pollution in the country. However, oil is expected to last in the next 50 to 100 years (Hubbert, 1956). Furthermore, the International organizations have made many decisions to protect the environment and environmental resource such as Kyoto Protocol which decided to raise the use of solar energy to 50%of the total global energy use by 2020 (UNFCCC ,2005 ). Recently, these issues lead the Saudi government to realize problems, such as air pollutions, and start to invest in clean energy area but not as expected. These days many people in Saudi Arabia argue the uses of clean energy and replace with the fossil fuels. And they d...
Preview: Today I will discuss the potential that solar power has to become this country’s main supply of energy and the latest research that can make solar power more efficient and cost effective. I will also present the environmental benefits that come with using solar power over other and more harmful forms of energy.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a petrostate. It is a petrostate in the sense that the oil sector dominates the national economy and international exports. (Colgan 226) This is due to Saudi Arabia’s one crop economy, oil. (Ali 100) Oil accounts for 70-80% of the state revenue as well as roughly 95% of export revenues. Before the discovery of oil in the 1930s, the economy rested on Islamic pilgrims. Containing the Grand Mosque, Al-Masjid al-Haram, Saudi Arabia gets a large influx of believers every year for the Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam. During this time of year, income was made by food and shelter sold to the travelers. This was enough to support the state, but not enough to make it the monetary power it is today. What allowed for Saudi Arabia’s climb in the world economic ladder was oil. Oil has been a valuable industrial resource since the beginning of World War 1. Since then the demand for oil has progressively become higher and higher amongst industrial nations, allowing for oil rich states to receive large amounts of affluence. Among these oil rich states is Saudi Arabia, the region with the highest capacity for oil production out of the entire Middle East. From their remarkably high oil production, Saudi Arabia was able to gain considerable amounts of wealth and political significance. Oil in Saudi Arabia politically affected the Saudi government in both their foreign and domestic policy by providing economic power, the ability to fund wars, the ability to use economic diplomacy.
Saini, Keshav. "Solar Thermal Energy Pros and Cons | Environmental Issues." Environmental Issues Blog. N.p., 6 Jan. 2012. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. .
Solar power utilizes the sun’s energy to produce electricity, unlike other sources of energy, which rely on continual mining for raw materials. Consequently, producing solar energy from the heat from the sun does not result in the annihilation of the ecosystem, compared to the extraction of fossil fuels (Bode, 2005). Therefore, with the use of solar energy, it will help keep the environment clean, thus helping to combat the issue of global warming, which is a threat to the world’s ecosystem worldwide. The use of solar energy will help save the worlds vegetation, and help prevent the effects of global warming in future.... ... middle of paper ...
Of course, during the daylight hours only, solar energy is directly accessible. Depending on the weather conditions and the season, the intensity of the energy varies at different locations. The solar radiation that reaches the top atmosphere is equivalent to 1366W/m2. At the equator, the radiation that reaches the ground is about 1000W/m2. In the lower atmosphere, the energy is about 0.5 W/m2 due to the thicker atmosphere. Conditions like clouds, pollution and aerosols can also reduce the amount of radiation that reaches the ground. In North America, the average solar energy available varies from 3000 to 9000 Wh/m2 per day. In Northern Europe, solar energy varies from 2000 to 3000 Wh/m2 per day. In contrast, the tropics receive around 6000 Wh/m2 per day. There are a lot of different ways to use solar energy. Some technologies are used to produce heat from solar energy. Other technologies use solar energy to produce electricity.
"Top 6 Things You Didn't Know About Solar Energy." Energy.gov. United States Department of Energy, 22 July 2012. Web. 23 May 2014.
In chapter thirteen of our book, Environment by Raven and Berg, it shows us just how important renewable energy sources are. Currently the United States of America thrives on the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power. The main problems with these types of fuel are that they are both limited and can be extremely harmful to our environment. They cause global warming, air pollution, acid rain, and oil spills (Environment), and not only that, but in the grand scheme of things, these sources really aren’t even that cheap of a fuel source. There are many alternatives to these all but outdated fuel sources.
...ndustrial capacity, technology, and infrastructure to compete with the industrialized countries, which have been honing their economic might for over a century.
“Load shedding”, “depletion of non-renewable resources”, “global warming”- these are all terms that we have unknowingly learned and understood over the years simply because they are becoming severe social and environmental problems on a global level. Thus the hunt for an energy source that is independent of the above problems is the prime of the day in the 21st century. The most promising alternative, especially in a sunlight-rich climate like South Africa’s, seems to be the sun’s radiation or what’s commonly known as “solar power”.