Solar power's environmental impact

Solar energy is the wave of the future...and the present. There's a worldwide movement that is in direct opposition to the Trump administration's unscientific approach to the world's energy crisis. That movement understands that solar is the immediate solution to the urgent need to curtail the burning of fossil fuels. The damaging effects of climate change are motivating sensible policymakers to develop a strategy for energy use that is consistent with science. That science is relatively simple and it's important to remember that 97% of climate scientists agree that man is causing global warming and burning fossil fuels is the main culprit. Fossil fuel consumption has harmful effects on the planet and every living thing. Fortunately for mankind, fossil fuels are almost exhausted and we will have to adopt cleaner energy by necessity. The faster we embrace solar and wind technologies, the faster we will reverse the devastating consequences of burning dangerous fuels.

Here are some pollutants and their respective effects on health.

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) – Affect the lining deep within the lungs. These are linked to asthma and lung cancer.

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) – Affects the upper area of the lungs. Linked to respiratory issues, disease, and cancer. It is also a precursor to acid rain.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – combines with NOx to create ozone. Ozone also affects deep regions in the lungs causing various respiratory illnesses and is also believed to increase cancer risks.

The solar solution has been available, but now things are better

Solar power is the solution to many air pollution problems. The advantages of solar power generation completely overshadow any other source of energy in terms of its untapped potential, environmental improvements, and versatility. The environmental advantages of solar energy are noteworthy. Solar has not yet perfected its many technological challenges, but overall solar panel benefits are enormous and very long lasting.  Lifetime carbon emissions related to the construction and recycling of solar panels is tiny compared to fossil fuels. In fact, a solar panel’s energy payback time period is now much less than a year. This means that the energy it took to create the panel can be produced by the panel in that short period of time.

Some obvious solar advantages

Emission Free – Solar creates no emissions during use – completely avoiding additional CO2, NOx, SO2, CH4, and VOCs associated with fossil fuels.

Abundant Energy – Every year, the amount of solar energy that strikes the earth is more than a 1,000 times the amount that the world consumes. If we could gather the total solar energy that hits the planet’s surface over the period of one hour, that would be enough energy to power the world for one year.

Minimal Land Use – It would take less than one percent of the total available land mass in the United States for solar to produce all of the energy the country requires.

Easily Scalable – Solar energy can be utilized at all scales – from pocket calculators to very large utility-scale installations.

No Water Use – After manufacturing, there is no water required for solar panels, unlike all other forms of energy production.

Fossil fuels still a favorite of some politicians

Despite the extreme warming of the planet, many politicians continue to expand fossil fuel drilling in sensitive areas. Fossil fuel use is integrated into the daily lives of American society. Natural gas, petroleum, and coal together accounted for more than 80 percent of energy use in the United States in 2012. In addition, more than five gigawatts of solar power capacity was scheduled to come online in 2013 -- about as much capacity as was added for coal plants over a 20-year span. The characteristics of solar power and fossil fuels motivate the desire to choose a particular energy source for a specific application, and they also limit the possible applications of a specific energy source.

Availability of various power sources

Coal, natural gas and petroleum are all examples of fossil fuels whose energy density is much bigger than that of solar energy. Unfortunately, all three forms of fossil fuels must be mined or extracted from under the ground -- an expensive, and sometimes risky task. Then there's the problem of pollution once fossil fuels are ignited. But once the fossil fuel is extracted and delivered, it can be used anytime. For example, you can drive your car any time of the day or night, or bake a cake at noon or midnight. Solar energy has the limitation of only being available when the sun is shining. Short winter days, cloudy weather and the rising and setting of the sun all limit the availability of solar power. To make solar power available at other times, there needs to be some way of storing the energy -- which are currently available but at a notable price. Storage batteries are becoming more available and technological advances are expected to make these devices more efficient over time.

Climate change is real

Man’s activities have polluted the planet and we have an apparent need for renewable energy sources that don’t add to the pollution of the planet. The sun provides a great resource for generating clean and sustainable electricity without deadly pollution or global warming emissions. The possible environmental impacts associated with solar power — land use and habitat loss, water use, and the use of hazardous materials in manufacturing — can change greatly depending on the technology, which includes two broad categories: photovoltaic (PV) solar cells or concentrating solar thermal plants (CSP).

Solar power and land use

Environmental circumstances can greatly affect where solar energy systems are deployed. Depending on their location, larger utility-scale solar facilities can raise anxieties about land degradation and habitat depletion. Total land area requirements vary depending on the technology, the topography of the site, and the intensity of the solar resource. Estimates for utility-scale PV systems range from 3.5 to 10 acres per megawatt, while estimates for CSP facilities are between 4 and 16.5 acres per megawatt. Unlike wind facilities, there is less opportunity for solar projects to share land with agricultural uses. Land impacts from utility-scale solar systems can be reduced by locating them at lower-quality locations such as brownfields, abandoned mining land, or existing transportation and transmission areas.

Water's relationship with solar energy

One of the great advantages of solar PV cells is that they do not use water for generating electricity. However, as in all manufacturing processes, some water is used to make solar PV components. Solar thermal plants (CSP), like all thermal electric plants, need water for cooling. Water use depends on the plant design, plant location, and the type of cooling system. CSP plants that use wet-recirculating technology with cooling towers withdraw between 575 and 650 gallons of water per megawatt-hour of electricity produced. CSP plants with once-through cooling technology have greater levels of water withdrawal, but lower total water consumption (because water is not lost as steam). Dry-cooling technology can lessen water use at CSP plants by about 90 percent. Moreover, the tradeoffs to these water preservations are higher costs and lower efficiencies. Dry-cooling technology is much less productive at temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The geographical zones in the United States that have the highest potential for solar energy also tend to be those with the driest climates, so careful deliberation concerning these water tradeoffs is essential. It is important to remember that solar still works even when the sun is not shining!

We are currently experiencing the warmest summer on record. Fatalities are occurring at an alarming rate due to excessive heat. For example, Japan is experiencing the hottest summer since the Japanese have compiled climate records. Climate change is endangering the health and safety of the entire world. An evident need exists to make dramatic changes to thwart the advent of global warming. Currently, every nation of the world depends on fossil fuels for their energy requirements. However, the obligation to reduce CO2 and other gaseous emissions in order to be in conformity with the Kyoto agreement is the reason why countries turn to non-polluting renewable energy. In this paper, the pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels is initially presented followed by a study on the environmental protection offered by the two most widely used renewable energy systems, i.e. solar water heating and solar space heating. The results presented in this paper show that by using solar energy, considerable amounts of greenhouse polluting gasses are avoided.

Water heating

When examining a domestic water heating system, the saving, compared to a conventional system, is about 80% with electricity or diesel backup and is about 75% with both electricity and diesel backup. In the case of space heating and the hot water system, the profit is about 40%. However, in the latter case, much greater quantities of pollutant gases are avoided. In addition, all systems investigated give positive and promising financial indications.

Life cycle assessment

In terms of life cycle assessment of the systems, the energy spent for production and installation of the solar systems is recouped in about 1.2 years, whereas the payback time for emissions produced from the embodied energy required for the manufacture and installation of the systems varies from a few months to 9.5 years according to the fuel and the particular pollutant studied. Moreover, due to the higher solar contribution, solar water heating systems have much shorter payback times than solar space heating systems. Therefore, it can be assumed that solar energy systems offer significant protection to the environment and should be employed whenever possible in order to achieve a sustainable future.

Climate scientists have long warned humanity about the perils of greenhouse emissions. Global warming is becoming more apparent every day. All energy sources have some impact on our environment. Fossil fuels do considerably more harm than renewable energy sources. Air and water pollution, damage to public health, wildlife and habitat loss, water use, land use, and global warming emissions are only some of the repercussions associated with fossil fuels.

However, renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower also have environmental impacts, some of which are notable. The intensity of environmental impacts varies depending on the specific technology used, the geographic location, and other circumstances. By understanding the current and possible environmental concerns associated with each renewable energy source, we can take steps to effectively bypass or minimize these impacts as they become a larger portion of our electric supply.

Wind and solar power

Harvesting energy from the wind is one of the cleanest and most sustainable ways to produce electricity as it generates no deadly pollution or global warming emissions. Wind is also abundant, inexhaustible, and affordable, which makes it a large-scale alternative to fossil fuels.

Despite its noteworthy potential, there are environmental impacts associated with wind power generation that needs to be discussed. Like wind power, the sun provides a tremendous resource for generating clean and sustainable electricity. The environmental impacts associated with solar power are not considered significant. These can include land use and habitat loss, water use, and the use of hazardous materials in construction.

Geothermal energy

One of the most widely developed types of geothermal power plants (known as hydrothermal plants) are located near geologic “hot spots” where hot molten rock is near the earth’s crust and produces hot water. In other regions enhanced geothermal systems which involve drilling into the earth’s surface to reach deeper geothermal resources, can allow broader access to geothermal energy. Geothermal plants also differ in terms of the technology they use to convert the resource to electricity. Environmental impacts of geothermal differ depending on the conversion and cooling technology employed.

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system! With today's efficient and cost-effective solar panels, investing in solar power means you will be making a sound financial choice and at the same time reducing your carbon footprint.

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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