With the emphasis on saving our planet, it’s important to look at solar energy and the environment. From the recent past and continuing now, solar energy (one of the renewable energy sources) has become more and more popular with the general public. This type of energy has been investigated by the federal government for quite a few years.
In general, solar energy appears to be a viable alternative to the more frequently used conventional sources of energy. Its impact on the environment is much less than that of the coal and gas fired sources used today.
How practical is solar energy? Overall, the amount of radiation energy received from the sun is about 174 quadrillion watts over a relatively small period of time. About 30% of this energy is reflected back into space. Earth’s total power consumption is about 15 trillion watts. Thus, the energy from the sun easily provides enough power for us to use.
And solar energy and the environment are exceptionally compatible.
The Environmental Protection Agency reports one million homes using solar energy would decrease greenhouse gases by 4.3 million tons per year. This is equivalent to taking 850,000 cars off the road. Just one way solar energy and the environment do well together.
Some renewable energy sources, such as wind farms, can be built on farmland with no loss of the use of the farmland. Larger scale solar farms could replace farmland. However, solar farms can be built on less desirable lands with no loss of effectiveness. Thus, solar energy and the environment can work together to preserve arable lands.
Probably the most obvious benefit of solar energy and the environment is in the substantially less toxic pollutants emitted. The solar products themselves, such as photovoltaic cells emit no pollutants. In the manufacturing process, there are toxic pollutants used, but manufacturers have very strong financial incentives to handle and dispose of these pollutants adequately. So, even in the manufacture of solar products, solar energy and the environment are highly compatible.
While the use of solar energy is a bit more expensive than conventional sources of energy currently, the improvements taking place in technology and the more widespread use of solar energy will bring the cost down. This renewable energy source appears to be gaining in effectiveness and efficiency daily.
Keep Alternate Energy of Plymouth, MA, in mind for giving you direction in using your solar system. They can help you see how to maximize your savings with solar energy. Contact them today at 800-327-6527.