Solar leads the battle against climate change

It is no surprise we are seeing increasing indications of change in terms of energy generation. Solar panels and wind turbines are becoming very common. But why? What are the benefits of renewable energies—and how do they improve our health, environment, and economy?

This article explores the many positive consequences of clean energy, including the benefits of wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass.  

Less global warming

Our atmosphere is overloaded with carbon dioxide and other global warming emissions resulting from human activity. These gases act like a blanket, trapping heat. The result is a menagerie of harmful impacts, from stronger, more frequent storms, to drought, sea level rise, and extinction of various species of animals. Approximately 29 percent of global warming emissions originate from the electricity sector in the U.S. Most of those dangerous emissions come from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.

Improved public health from renewables

There is no doubt that fossil fuel use contributes significantly to human health problems. Pollution emitted by fossil fuel plants is linked with breathing problems, neurological damage, heart attacks, cancer, premature death, and a host of other serious health problems. The pollution affects everyone: one Harvard University study projected the life-cycle costs and public health effects of coal to be an estimated $74.6 billion every year. That’s equivalent to 4.36 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced—about 33 percent of the average electricity rate for a typical US home.

Several negative health impacts arise from air and water pollution that clean energy technologies simply don’t produce. Wind, solar, and hydroelectric systems generate electricity with no associated air pollution discharges. Geothermal and biomass systems emit some air pollutants, though total air emissions are usually much lower than those of coal and natural gas-fired power plants.

Solar and wind energy require basically no water to operate and thus do not pollute water resources or strain supplies by competing with agriculture, drinking water, or other important water requirements. By contrast, fossil fuels can have a serious impact on water resources: both coal mining and natural gas drilling pollute sources of drinking water, and all thermal power plants, including those powered by coal, gas, and oil.

Inexhaustible energy of solar

Renewable sources of power like sunny skies, strong winds, abundant plant matter, heat from the earth, and fast-moving water can each provide a vast and constantly replenished supply of energy. A comparatively small fraction of US electricity currently comes from these sources, but that could change and soon. Studies have repeatedly shown that renewable energy can provide a notable share of future electricity needs, even after accounting for potential restrictions. Using more renewable energy can lower the prices of and demand for natural gas and coal by increasing competition and diversifying our energy supplies. An increased reliance on renewable energy will help protect consumers when fossil fuel prices spike.

Reliability and resilience of solar power

Wind and solar energy sources are less prone to large-scale failure because they are distributed and modular and sometimes not connected to the energy grid. Distributed systems are spread out over a large geographical area so a severe weather episode in one location will not cut off power to an entire region. Modular systems are composed of numerous individual wind turbines or solar arrays. In situations where some of the equipment in the system is disabled, the rest can typically continue to operate. But the good news is that technological breakthroughs are coming soon which will increase efficiency and reduce costs. The financial advantages of solar energy are making the transition to renewable energy more sensible than ever before.

For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.

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