Solar energy is a clean, sustainable and low-impact alternative to fossil fuels. Solar panels reduce pollution, increase energy independence and facilitate an optimal electric grid.
Contrary to popular belief, solar has more benefits than just for homeowners. This misconception hinders the growth of solar and ignores its many widespread advantages.
Energy Costs
Solar panels are a renewable energy source that helps reduce our country’s dependence on fossil fuels and enhances national energy security. However, the cost of installing solar panels depends on several factors like the size of your home and how much electricity you use each day.
On average, solar panel systems cost between $12,000 and $30,000. In certain areas, you may even qualify for federal tax incentives that could lower installation expenses even further.
Wind and solar power are increasingly being touted for their carbon-free ability to generate electricity. Unfortunately, due to their variable nature, they cannot meet demand perfectly, necessitating backup generating capacity in order to meet peak usage.
Despite these challenges, the International Energy Agency (IEA) anticipates global renewables will continue their meteoric rise and supply most of the world’s power needs by 2040. This rise is being fuelled by reduced use of coal and oil as well as policy support for renewables.
Carbon Emissions
Solar panels are one of the fastest-growing renewable energy technologies, and their widespread adoption is helping the world meet its carbon reduction targets. However, their impact on national energy security is far more complex.
Solar panels produce zero emissions during their operation; however, other processes in the manufacturing of solar power plants that emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide. This includes mirrors, heat exchange fluid, receivers, engines, turbines and generators as well as transmission lines, transformers and substations used to deliver electricity.
Solar power generation has a far lower life cycle carbon footprint than other energy sources, yet still produces vast amounts of clean electricity. Thus, solar farms can prevent thousands of tonnes of carbon from being released into the atmosphere and help combat climate change at the same time.
Global Warming
Global warming is the gradual, long-term rise in Earth’s average temperature caused by greenhouse effect gases produced by human activities, including burning fossil fuels. These gasses trap heat from solar radiation as it passes through them.
These gases include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane and nitrous oxide.
Scientists estimate that greenhouse gases account for about one-third of the observed long-term warming (see chart below). This total is nearly perfectly correlated with all natural and human climate forcings (blue and red lines in the graph).
Global warming can have devastating effects on people and ecosystems around the world, from heatwaves and droughts to sea level rise and other weather-related events. Furthermore, it leads to the loss of species and habitats – making it harder for humans to survive in many parts of the world.
Climate Change
Solar power plays a critical role in meeting our national security energy requirements, providing resilience during grid outages and protecting military installations from heat signatures that could expose forces to attack. Furthermore, clean energy technologies reduce reliance on diesel generators which put demands on vulnerable resupply systems while improving our armed forces’ capacity to conduct missions more effectively.
Global warming is caused by an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide due to human activities, such as burning fossil fuels for energy, transportation and heating and cooling buildings. It may also be caused by natural changes to the climate system like El Nino or volcanic eruptions.
Thus, the Earth’s climate is shifting in ways that impact everything from weather patterns to sea level and ice sheets. Not only is this altering people and animal health, but it poses threats to ecosystems as well as human communities.