Tapping the energy of the sun is an idea that has always appealed to man. Since the earliest of times, man has aspired to harness the enormous energy producing capacity of our solar system’s sun. Now the dream is a reality in many places, and solar energy production is likely to grow enormously in the next several years. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of solar energy.
Cons of solar energy
- Cost. The single biggest barrier to deploying solar energy throughout the USA is the cost. That’s likely to change due to stimulus from the Obama Energy Plan. As more solar panels are produced and installed, the cost of deployment will fall. As the price falls, adoption of the technology increases. Since solar energy is such a big part of the new “green jobs” push, we will most likely see price drops. But for now, the price of solar installations can be prohibitive.
- Certain geographic areas don’t get enough sunlight to effective produce solar energy.
- Bad weather hurts solar energy production efficiency. Areas with poor weather that changes frequently might experience difficulty producing enough solar energy.
- Solar energy production is affected by pollution. In areas with high levels of pollution this could quickly turn into a major headache. If this dimming gets bad enough, it could be “lights out” for solar energy production in the worst areas. “But airborne particles also scatter light that does get through, and that diffuse light cannot be used by solar energy concentrating systems that produce electricity, Daniel Murphy, a scientist at NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., reported in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.”
Pros of solar energy
- Solar energy is renewable and sustainable. The production of solar energy does not contribute to greenhouse gas emissions or contribute to climate change.
- Solar energy production is quiet. There is not a lot of attendant noise caused by producing solar energy.
- Solar energy is very effective in areas with high degrees of sunlight. In areas that aren’t blessed with strong natural sun, solar energy technology is rapidly improving. With improvements to storage capacity, the weather will become less of a factor.
- The solar energy industry can produce jobs. The jobs are not necessarily demanding of great training, so people who are out of work can be re-trained relatively quickly into the “green jobs” offered by the solar energy industry.
- The cost of electrical production through solar energy is low. The initial startup cost can be expensive, but once you’re up and running the savings on electricity tend to be enormous.
President Barack Obama is sold on the capability of solar energy production. He’s made increasing the solar energy industry into one of the mainstays of his energy policy. For that reason alone the technology is guaranteed to proliferate massively in the next few years.
Solar energy is clean, proven, and can create badly needed jobs right now as the United States re-tools for a “green future.”
Obama has stated that he wants the USA to double the amount of alternative energy production in the next three years. SEIA President Rhone Resch says that the recession is taking a big bite out of solar energy installations, but that could change quickly with a big enough push by the federal government.
“That is going require a substantial ramp up in the use of solar and that doesn’t just happen organically,” he said. If the ramp up occurs, the future is very bright indeed for solar energy.
Recent Comments