Tag Archives: Solar

Solar Saves Hard Earned Money

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One innovative idea that has been growing in popularity all over the world is the use of solar panels. Solar panels offer a variety of ways to help people’s lives financially and protect the environment, a key of sustainability. Solar is a natural resource and the human population should take advantage of renewable energy sources. The use of solar panels creates zero pollution and zero greenhouse gasses to be emitted into the atmosphere. With solar energy, there is an increase in moving away from importing and exporting oil and fossil fuels that harm the environment. Then in regards to financially, solar panels are a future return on one’s investment. Although they can be expensive to install, eventually there will be a return on investment to the point where some households even create a surplus of energy. This will minimize electricity bills in the future for many people. With the use of solar panels, people can receive the electricity to power their homes and more importantly shift toward electric vehicles. If the sun is paying for the electric vehicle batteries, people will save money on their homes and cars. How can anyone be against saving money while also saving the environment? In the future there will be minimized costs of installing solar panels which will benefit all classes of people.

References:

https://news.energysage.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-solar-energy/

Solar Energy Increases

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One source of non fossil-fuel based energy that has been increasing in popularity is solar energy. We can use this type of energy to power homes and the electricity in buildings through the use of solar panels. This is a renewable type of energy source that is not harmful to the environment and is sustainable because it can be regenerated on a daily basis. Solar panels have been increasing in popularity due to the decrease in cost. This makes this type of energy more accessible to access in many populations and socioeconomic groups. There are 92.7 billion solar panels globally and 1.47 million solar panels across the United States. The feasibility of using solar energy is increasing more as time goes on and the cost for solar panels decreases. Hopefully the usage of solar energy only continues to increase because it is an easy, renewable source of energy to use that does not put fossil fuels or other harmful substances into the atmosphere.

sources: https://blog.solstice.us/solstice-blog/solar-energy-statistics/#:~:text=There%20are%20over%201.47%20million,planting%20almost%201.2%20billion%20trees.

https://sunbadger.com/solar-energy-statistics/#:~:text=At%20least92.7%20billion%20solar,average%20U.S.%20residential%20solar%20installation.

 

Solar is Coming in Hot

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In recent years, the US has increased its investments in solar energy. In fact, in 2016 47.06% of global energy investments went towards solar whereas in 2006 it was only 19.43%. This makes me feel that we are getting closer to commercial-level solar. In 2020 the US consumed 999 Kw hours of solar energy per capita. This is amongst the highest consumptions in the world. However, it is important to note that America has the lowest investment in renewable energy when looking at countries’ GDP. As we have learned the price for solar installation is decreasing, thus, I think more homes will begin to add solar arrays. If this is the case then families can provide their own electricity and even sell it back to the National Grid. My family is part of a Vermont State Program where any excess solar power our array generates is directly sent to the grid. Many electrical companies are pushing this and even offering a stipend to households who make this change. It is a win-win situation after the solar pays itself back after a few years.

Solar Worldwide

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One method to the world becoming more sustainable is the use of solar energy. Solar power is a process of taking renewable energy from the sun and turning it into electricity or power run sources. A method of this is the use of solar panels on houses or buildings. These panels take in the sunlight and are able to turn the natural resource of the sun into electricity, which is cost saving and way more environmentally friendly. The amount of greenhouse gasses such as CO2 getting released into the atmosphere is substantially brought down from the use of solar energy. A way to explain how much improvement that solar panels are doing is to say that each car emits 4.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. It is proven that a solar panel system can offset the emissions of one car per year. The amount of CO2 emissions by a single vehicle may not sound impactful, but just think if everyone was aware of the benefits of having solar panels, then thousands to millions equivalent of one car can be impactful through reducing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. This is basically saying that through solar energy, one car per year can be taken off the road theoretically, benefiting the environment hugely.
Through looking at the current exponential growth of solar energy and wind energy, both renewable sources, the market share grew, “at a compound average annual growth rate of 15% from 2015-2020. If exponential growth continued at this rate, solar and wind would reach 45% of electricity generation by 2030 and 100% by 2033.” If by 2030 there is 100% use of renewable sources of energy, then the environment and atmosphere would benefit through the lack of greenhouse gasses being emitted. With the rising awareness of how the atmosphere is effected through CO2, if more people can implement using solar or wind energy, not only would families have a ton of money on their electricity bills, but also will benefit the environment. How can anyone be against these two huge benefits?

References:

https://news.energysage.com/much-solar-panels-save/

https://www.wri.org/insights/growth-renewable-energy-sector-explained

Moving to Solar

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When pondering solutions to be more sustainable, switching to solar energy pops up as a solution. Solar seems like an excellent addition to one’s home; however, there are a lot of apprehensions. This stems from the cost. Solar has been known for being an expensive investment that turns people away. However, since 1998 the price of a solar array has decreased by 70% for an average home (Solar Nation). In other words, the price of solar has a decay factor of 0.30. When considering the cost, some factors change depending on the area, such as your electricity grid and how much your household consumes. Although, it is clear that the initial cost of solar is decreasing every year while the savings are consistent. This being said, solar is an excellent switch to a more sustainable and renewable lifestyle.

 

https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/homeowners-guide-going-solar

https://www.solar-nation.org/can-switching-to-solar-panels-save-me-money