How is global warming affected by solar?

Global warming is perhaps the most critical problem the world faces today. The alarmingly fast pace of climate change events makes the adoption of renewable energy of greatest importance. Solar energy generation is easily the greatest long-term solution to greenhouse gas emissions and the dangerous warming of the planet. Other renewable energy sources are less promising, but technological advancements promise better environmental balance in the future.

Solar and wind energy making fossil fuels obsolete
 
Rooftop solar panels are a huge aid to our clean energy future. But larger solar installations are going to become gradually more important in the future. Manufacturing solar, wind or nuclear plants create insignificant emissions compared to fossil fuels, a new study suggests. This remained true after accounting for emissions during manufacture and construction.
“There was a concern that it is a lot harder than suggested by energy scenario models to achieve climate targets, because of the energy required to produce wind turbines and solar panels and associated emissions,” explains project leader Dr Gunnar Luderer, who is an energy system analyst at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research (PIK).
Luderer tells Carbon Brief: “The most important finding [of our research] was that the expansion of wind and solar power…comes with life-cycle emissions that are much smaller than the remaining emissions from existing fossil power plants before they can finally be decommissioned.”
 

Carbon and the solar energy revolution

Some people believe that nuclear, wind or solar power have a hidden carbon footprint, due to their manufacture and construction. This large “carbon debt”, and the related debt of energy, must be paid off if they are to cut emissions over their lifetime. Nuclear plants have extremely toxic waste to dispose of and there are no safe ways to handle this toxic waste. Ask the Japanese how they feel about nuclear energy after the disasters at Fukushima. Yes, many Japanese politicians are facing pressure from nuclear and fossil fuel lobbyists. Wind turbines and nuclear plants require large amounts of steel and concrete. In addition, the centrifuges that separate nuclear fuel also tend to create a large electricity bill. Still, zero-carbon sources of electricity are not the only ones to have an indirect carbon and energy footprint. For gas and coal, emissions come from extraction machines and fuel transport. They also originate from methane leaks at pipelines, wellheads or coal mines. These emissions continue, even if coal or gas plants add CCS, which also may not capture 100% of emissions at the power plant.

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system!

Solar power is here to stay, and the sooner you explore how much you can save, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits of residential solar power. Go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. It tells you how much solar power you need, and how much you can save.

Please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.