Impact on the Environment – What does it do for the planet?
Solar is a clean, renewable source of energy that can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and lower our impact on the natural environment. Unlike traditional fossil fuels like coal and oil, solar energy does not lead directly to pollutants (like carbon dioxide) being released into the atmosphere and water supply. Even compared to nuclear energy, solar comes out on top in terms of being a more environmentally friendly solution.
Solar energy has the least negative impact on the environment compared to any other energy source. It does not produce greenhouse gases and does not pollute the water.
Using solar energy reduces CO2 emissions and greenhouse gas. A modestly sized solar panel system can reduce a home’s energy use by 80 percent. Larger units may come close to 100 percent. At these levels, the environmental impact is notable. Over two decades, a home that consumes 13,000 kWh of electricity a year and that has a solar system that produces 80 percent of the home’s energy requirements will lower CO2 emissions to the equivalent of 150,000 pounds of coal burned.
Solar Energy Is Applicable Everywhere
Among all the benefits of solar panels, the most important thing is that solar energy is a truly renewable energy source. It can be harnessed in all areas of the world and is available every day. We cannot run out of solar energy, unlike some of the other sources of energy.
As long as there is sunshine, solar energy can be deployed anywhere. This is particularly useful for remote regions with no access to any other source of electricity.
Moreover, solar energy is also used to power up spacecrafts and boats.
Improves Grid Security
The grid is less vulnerable to blackouts if there are many power plants which are spread out. A grid with high penetration of solar energy has thousands of energy production centres which are widely spread out. This improves the security of the grid in case of overload, natural or human-caused disasters.
Solar can drastically reduce or eliminate your electric bills
This top benefit of solar panels is pretty straightforward – when you install solar power for your home, you generate your own electricity, become less reliant on your electric utility and reduce your monthly electric bill. A solar panel system typically has a 25-35 year lifespan, which means that you can cut your electricity costs for decades to come by going solar.
Solar energy is a growing segment of our power generation mix, and it will play an important role in the future of energy production. Producing power with solar panels has two big advantages over fossil fuels: it is both renewable and cost-effective.
Is solar energy renewable?
Solar energy is one of the cleanest and most abundant renewable resources, meaning it won’t ever run out or be in short supply. In just one hour, enough sunlight shines on the earth’s atmosphere to hypothetically provide electricity for every person on earth for a year. We simply need to build enough solar panels to capture even just a small portion of this energy.
A renewable energy source is any source of energy that replenishes naturally on a human timescale. Non-renewable energy sources like coal and oil aren’t considered renewable because they form over hundreds of thousands of years, which makes them unable to replenish at the rate humans use them today.
Solar energy reaches us via the sun’s rays, while fossil fuels come from ancient carbon-rich remains on earth. So, as long as the sun is shining, solar energy will be around. (For reference, NASA scientists say the sun is about halfway through its lifetime, which means that we have about 4.5 billion years to take advantage of solar energy.) Solar energy is a remarkably dependable energy resource, and will always be available for us to use.
How green is solar power?
In addition to being renewable, solar energy is typically labelled a “green” source of energy due to the lack of harmful environmental side effects associated with its use. While fossil fuels release greenhouse gases and other particles into our atmosphere, generating energy from solar panels is a zero-emissions process that can take place anywhere the sun shines.
Many people are concerned with the environmental effects of manufacturing solar panels. Like any manufactured product, making quality solar modules takes resources and energy, which means that solar energy production has at least some environmental impact. The good news is that this impact is minimal in comparison to the benefits of the zero-emissions energy produced with solar panels. Studies have shown that it only takes a few months for a solar panel producing energy to “cancel out” the impact of manufacturing it.
The environmental effect of producing solar panels is decreasing year after year with the introduction of better panel technologies and designs. For example, solar panel efficiency is increasing dramatically every year. This means that solar panels are becoming much better at converting sunlight into emissions-free energy, and the relative environmental cost of producing panels compared to the clean energy they generate is shrinking rapidly.
Solar panels can also be recycled and the components within them repurposed, further lowering the overall environmental footprint of solar energy. Similar to panel efficiency improvements, panel recycling processes are continually getting better, further reducing the lifetime impact of solar energy.
