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Everyday life now requires the constant use of energy for everything humans do; from powering the lights, to running the dishwasher, and communicating with others through devices such as cell phones. With all of this technology the energy to power them currently comes mainly from fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, and oil. But what would the impact be if solar energy was used to replace some of those fossil fuels? A look at how solar photovoltaic (PV) energy impacts purchased electrical energy costs, capital investment in energy generation and distribution, and pollution related to energy generation and distribution in the modern world will show that solar photovoltaic energy has a positive impact on human lives. First a look at energy costs. Energy costs are rising year after year due to the cost of labor, fuel, overhead, and maintenance required to keep up with the vast demand of energy. Power companies have found a way to recover their rising costs by increasing consumer rates and surcharges. The typical household today has an electrical rate that is over fifty percent energy charge in order to cover these fuel, labor, and administration costs (Xcel Energy). Up to five percent of this rate goes to government regulation costs. These costs are considered variable charges because they change over time. Xcel Energy CEO Ben Fowke states, “Renewable energy is an excellent way to protect customers from high fuel costs” (8). Point of use solar PV systems produce energy where it will be used and have only ongoing maintenance charges as a variable cost. This cost is usually minimal because the average warranty on most solar PV systems is twenty to twenty-five years (Xcel Energy). Once installed, point of use solar PV syst... ... middle of paper ... ...ork Cited Page Bratley, James. “Pros & Cons of Solar Energy.” Clean-energy-ideas.com. Clean Energy Ideas, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. Lutzenberger, Tom. “The Impact of Solar Energy.” ehow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. Nagel, Mariam C. “Solar Energy,” Climate Change: In Context 2 (@008): 804-806. Gale Cengage Learning. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Norris, Reginald. “Does Solar Energy Hurt the Grid?” renewableenergyworld.com. Renewable Energy World, 3 March. 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2014 Schlager, Neil. Weisblatt, Jayne. “Energy Conservation and Efficiency” Water Energy, Wind Energy, Energy Conservation and Efficiency, Possible Future Energy Sources 3 (2006): 337-378. Gale Cengage Learning. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Toothman, Jessika. Aldous, Scott. “How Solar Cells Work.” howstuffworks.com. How Stuff Works, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. Xcel Energy. Xcel Energy: Annual Report 2013. 2014. Print
University, J. K. (2013). Case 2 The Solar Feeder. In Business Policies and Strategies (pp. 331-341). McGraw Hill .
Everyone is looking for a better way to have power. Solar power has very dependable technology, with little to no maintenance. It can bring finical savings by making more power a home owner may need and you can resell back the power company. Lastly help the environment by having no waste so less pollution and takes up unused space by putting them on to the roofs of the houses. In the end Home owners should try looking pass the initial price of Solar panels and see that this is a great way to produce energy that does not produce any carbon foot print.
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
Zweibel, K.(2010, July 19). Should Solar Photovoltaics be Deployed Sooner Because of Long Operating Life at Low Predictable Costs? Energy Policy, Volume 38, Issue 11, November 2010, Pages 7519-7530. Retrieved August 12, 2011 from http://solar.gwu.edu/Research/EnergyPolicy_Zweibel2010.pdf
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.
The year 2011 is seen as the year of transition on the solar PV industry. Europe, the largest market for solar PV, is expected to lose its market share to newly emerging markets such as Canada, India and China. India and China have announced ambitious PV targets and are seen as the next hot beds for PV investments. It is expected t...
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.
Energy is what makes the world go around. All of our technologies are designed and developed based on readily available resources, most common of which are fossil fuels. What happens when we run out? The technologies we so heavily rely on for generating food, shelter, and transportation will cease to function. Throughout this article, I will elucidate the importance of developing and implementing alternative energy sources, specifically those that are renewable, into everyday technologies, and the resulting positive and negative consequences that could follow .
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.
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.
I am certain that all have heard of the terms green house gases, fossil fuels, and global warming. Have you ever questioned what will happen if nothing is done about the environmental problems facing the world today? What if I answer you that, we can merely use the power from the sun to power up our entire planet without the use of harmful energy sources, which affect our atmosphere? The power from the sun is what we call solar power. Solar power is the energy that comes from the sun as light and heat energy, and then it is later converted into electrical energy through solar panels (Nelson, 2008). 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 all together, 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.
The Earth captures around 342 W/m2 of energy from the sun. This energy is in the form of solar radiation, which the atmosphere reflects about 77 W/m2 and will absorb around 68 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. Therefore, the Earth’s surface is receiving, on average, about 197 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. This amount of energy received is roughly more than 10,000 times the amount of all energy humans consume per year. This energy can be used to produce electricity or heat. This energy source is not being used to it’s potential considering how much effort would come into effect to store and transport this energy.
Regarding solar power, Mistry claims that although the solar power does not generate pollution, it has a lot of costs. Building solar panels with photovoltaic equipment has high costs. For instance, a photovoltaic system for a home can cost around $35,000 (Kumar, 2012). However, if our goal for the future is to create a healthy environment, switching fossil fuels for solar power might be the best choice to achieve that goal. According to Kumar (2012), Solar power is a clean and renewable energy so, it decreases the dependency on fossil fuel and also reduces the air pollution.
The world has been quickly draining its own natural resources for the past few decades due to the rapid growth of the population and the development of formerly undeveloped countries. It is estimated that by the year 2005, that the energy demand will be increase another 50%. (Eco-Info) In 2009, it was estimated that within the next hundred years, all of the earth’s resources like coal, oil, and natural gas will be completely exhausted. (Eco-Info) Along with the depletion of these resources, many companies that harvest oil, natural gas, and coal are destroying the ecosystems and environments around them. People are slowly beginning to realize that there needs to be a change in the way we use and find energy. The solution: finding clean and efficient ways to give energy to the public. For the past thirty years, there has been a surge of people trying to find new ways to gain energy. One of the most popular new ways of energy is solar energy. Countries have been investing millions of dollars into providing solar energy to their people. According to GTM Research, a solar energy device is being installed every four minutes around the world. (Stephen Lacey) Many world powers are moing towards solar energy like China, Japan, the United States, and many more. Australia is just beginning its own movement in solar energy. Solar energy is Australia is beneficial to the country due to its optimal weather conditions throughout the year, and the rising popularity of using alternative energy sources. In order to keep the solar energy movement strong in Australia, they should model the United States efforts in solar energy.
... 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).