Solar energy is a very popular source of alternative energy. It’s made leaps and bounds in technology in recent years, and it is frequently discussed in the media. When someone brings up green/alternative energy, solar power is most likely one of the first powers to come to mind. Today, I am hoping to examine the details of solar power, and break down whether or not it deserves its status as the face of renewable energy, or should we look elsewhere?

Currently, solar technology is a pretty expensive. To produce the panels and set them up properly costs a large sum of money, and the returns on solar energy can be a little lacking, as seen by the solar energy generated by a  10 x 10 m. solar panel over the course of one day.

This energy cannot compete with the energy necessary to run a car, much less a flight. However, a 10x10m. solar panel is the size of  an average roof, and this would just be the amount of energy generated for one house for one day. When combining this energy with that of a solar panel farm, these are the energy returns.

More than enough energy. I think that it’s important that we use solar in conjunction with other types of renewable energy, as the advantages of solar power isn’t it’s ability to generate a lot of power all at once, but a large amount of stored power over a long time. Using solar farms in conjunction with wind and personal solar panels can generate more than enough energy for just one day, and putting time and effort into storing that energy to use over a long time could be very advantageous, and create more than enough energy to be used in a green and renewable way.

SOURCES:

http://www.withouthotair.com/c6/page_38.shtml