For the average person in North America, utilities bills are an ever increasing expense. Homeowners who decide to use renewable energy in the form of geothermal, wind, or solar power are seeking a way to defray the cost of utility bills. As the average cost of solar power set up or kits decrease and the popularity increases, the question becomes what is the long-term return on investment. For a better understanding of return of investment on renewable energy, in this case, solar power, consideration must be given to the implementation of the system. While prices vary on the size of the system, the location of the installation, and the company installing it, in North Carolina the solar systems cost in general from $11,000 to $35,000. Currently in North Carolina, there is a state renewable energy tax credit of 35% with an additional 30% credit from the government. (Database of State Incentives For Renewals and Efficiency, n.d.) This means the average $11,000 - $35,000 installation cost is reduced to $5,200 to $18,000, a much economically feasible cost. With an average utility bill for those living in North Carolina it is approximately $1,100 to $1,400 per consumer year (Public Staff Commerce for NC, n.d.), it would take approximately 5 -7 years for a homeowner to recoup the cost of installation. That is assuming that during those years there are no rate increases and the average usage remains steady. After which, the cost of electricity is ‘free’ to the homeowner. In some situations, solar panels and the homeowner’s own conservation not only covers usage, but also supplies extra energy. In which case, the homeowner may actually make money by providing utility companies with electricity. For those North Carolina residents who are... ... middle of paper ... ... from the state, the federal government, and the utility companies themselves, whatever initial outlay of cash will be recuperated in a short amount of time. Based on my experience of living in Southern California, which, due to uncontrollable growth strained the local utility companies which caused them to allow their customers to experience brown outs and black outs. A brown out is when the utility company cuts electricity in a certain area for an amount of time, in order to reduce the strain on the power grid. A black out is caused by an unintentional loss of power or electricity in the system. Rolling brown outs are a frequent occurrence in the heat of summer, leaving many, included high-risk elderly and children without electricity. Solar panels mean never being at the mercy of the utility company. Works Cited Solar Energy Guide, Alternative Energy Guide
Two people who believe this are reporters at the Breit Bart News Network. Julian Morris and Victor Nava believe that, “‘Green’ energy subsidies benefit the politically connected while harming future generations as hundreds of millions of dollars are added to the country’s debt burden with each green failure.” In a way Morris and Nava are correct. According to Mathias Aarre Maehlum, “Residential solar systems are typically sized from 3 to 8kW and end up costing between $15,000 and $40,000.” This can add up to become very expensive when implementing solar energy throughout the country. However, with the advancements in technology growing every year the cost will decrease over time. The cost of implementation can in fact go down as well through the use of community solar gardens. This helps the homes that are shaded and cannot absorbs the Sun’s energy. The energy from the community solar gardens are shared through out those homes. Switching to solar energy can also save money over time. Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association confirms this. Resch says, “Today, the solar industry employs nearly 175,000 Americans and pumps more than $15 billion a year into the U.S. economy – and we’re just scratching the surface of our enormous potential” (qtd. in
Consequently, this move will cut down the potential costs that the company would have to incur in order to do solar installations in its home battery pack solutions hence making it easier for it to implement its goals as now, only a solar installer partner will be needed to affect this move. On the other hand, solar city is at the verge of launching new solar panels that are focused on increasing the value of a house (Lambert, 2016). Wow! What a lofty
Palmieri, Nancy. “Off the Grid or on, Solar and Wind Power Gain.” USA Today 12 April 2006. Print.
The future of the United States solar energy industry will be shaped not only by economic growth, but also by the rate of declining oil resources and the global realization of the consequences of human induced climate change. Political responses to this realization in the United States include; new policies, legislature, and tax incentives to both businesses and private households to promote growth and investment in the solar power industry.
The year is 2200. The world is going through a fossil fuel shortage. Oil reserves are almost completely consumed and it is becoming impossible to find new fossil fuel sources. Not prepared for this event to occur, The United States, has no alternative options. As a result of the oil shortage, the standard of living deteriorates. Heat in homes, supermarkets full of food, and transportation, all basic necessities taken for granted, will be depleted because fossil fuels are used to power almost everything. The key to the prevention of this future is renewable energy. Unfortunately the support for the use of renewable energy is weak and ineffective. Unless the US puts forth effort to research and promote the use of renewable energy to consumers, conversion from fossil fuels to renewable energy will no longer be an option.
With the growing cost of fuel for cars and the rolling blackouts of last summer, the need for an alternative, cost-effective, environment friendly energy source is escalating. Many possible solutions have been presented, such as nuclear power, wind power, and hydrogen fuel cells; prevalent among these is solar power.
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.
Solar thermal energy is dead! A solar thermal heating system can cost upwards of $7,000 to install and it most likely won't even save you too much money. This is why many people debate over whether they should use a solar thermal water heating system, because they think they are saving money, or an inexpensive traditional water heating system. A traditional heating system is a system that is powered off of electricity, gas, oil or some other fuel. A solar thermal heating system uses the energy from the sun, hence “solar”, and it turns that energy into hot water to either heat a home or to provide domestic hot water. The energy from the sun is captured by energy collectors, also known as solar panels. The water is heated inside the panels and then distributed throughout the home for use or stored in a tank for later use. The ideas behind this sound great, but in reality that is not the case.Solar thermal energy is not the best choice for home heating a home or hot water heating.
When picking an energy resource for the topic of this paper, I bounced around a lot of ideas. Then it occurred to me that I should write about what I will be living with in about a month. My mom just finished designing and building our earthbag, solar, off-grid house, a four-year endeavor. I will soon live in a place powered by one of the most common alternative energy resources, solar energy, so I should learn more about it. At our new house, we have two stand alone pedestals with six 170W panels on each pedestal, making for a 2040W or 2kW solar system.
This kind of power is completely free, right? Why should we put a lot of expense on other sources of energy, when there is a complete free and healthy power? It is evident that solar energy is a healthy source of energy, which will help stop global warming altogether, but it is economically efficient to switch everything to solar energy. Solar energy is capable of becoming the world's future power supply because, it is renewable, eco-friendly, and extremely efficient when strategically placed. Solar energy is clean energy that does not affect our environment.
Energy can be put into two broad categories Renewable energy and none renewable energy. Renewable energy sources can be reused continually as they are abundantly found in nature. All of them are non-polluting but devices used to collect the energy may impact the environment adversely. They are free but producing storage equipment or converting them into another form of energy may be costly.
When the sun heats the panel, it generates clean energy, which does not pollute the environment. All in all, the costs of solar power might not be applicable when it is certainly the best way to have a clean environment.
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.
Global warming is an extremely important and troubling aspect of the world’s current situation. This is due to the fact that the majority of the world’s energy production is from non-renewable energy sources, which are energy sources that either can not be naturally replenished or require thousands of years to be restored. Based on our current energy usage growth rates, there are an estimated 100 years left before our natural resource reserves are exhausted. (Non Renewable Natural Resources: How Much Is Left, Environmental Thinker) China alone consumes nearly as much coal as the combined usage of coal from the rest of the world. (US Energy Information Administration, China Consumes Nearly as Much Coal as the Rest of the World Combined) There is visible evidence of this happening with the increasing pollution levels. Carbon Dioxide and Methane pollution levels in the world reached a record high in 2012 and are 260% higher than the pre-industrial levels. (UN: CO2 Pollution Levels at a Record High, John Heilprin) Converting our world into a more renewable energy dependent society is the most advantageous and likely method for preserving our dwindling fossil fuel supply while also protecting the world that we call home.
... and gas because it is a traditional and time-tested solution (ibid). Moreover, no less important factor is the expensive price of devices needed for providing solar energy and the fact that it pays off in 30-40 years. To be more precise, almost 80% of CSP system’s cost is related to its construction, in contrast, this number for fuel plant is 20% of total cost (Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) Factsheet 2009). On the other side, unlike oil or coal, solar energy is free, and thus CSP operations cost 30% less than fossil fuel electro stations (ibid).