Reasons for promoting widespread use of solar energy?
Question:
Answer:
Advantages of solar
- Non-polluting 'renewable' resource, no CO2 output at all
- Highly scalable and adaptable with forms ranging from small cells on calculators, through house-sized units and thermal hot water systems to large plants supplying tens or hundreds of megawatts
- could possibly be installed on all building rooftops and linked to a grid
- More land-efficient and energy efficient than biofuel crops
- Relatively safe and in the right circumstances can have minimal impact on the landscape
- Resource itself is free, only cost is land (if applicable), low maintanance costs
- All other sources of energy except nuclear and geothermal are indirectly provided by our sun (nuclear energy comes from atoms formed in former suns ;) )
Disadvantages of solar
- Requires sunlight to operate, so you would either need storage mechanisms and enough cells to produce 24hrs of electricity in 10hrs of sunlight (or less) and/or an alternative source of power in that time
- May be unsuitable for areas that receive little sunlight for long periods (eg artic/antartic regions), although storage mechanisms such as hydrogen together with longer summer days could counter that.
- High initial installation costs (will change as solar becomes more widespread) although other types of power plant are also quite expensive.
reducing polution
promoting renewable forms of energy
limiting nuclear plant to the minimum
seems like some good reasons to me =)
it is a renewable energy, which means we can get unlimited amounts of energy through solar. As with most other forms of renewable energy, it does not pollute the air or catalyses greenhouse effect. It also keeps the greenies happy
It is a clean energy, very clean indeed.
It is also portable, as in you can take it with you. You can buy at hardware stores fold-able solar packs that can fit in your purse. For example, if you go for a walk with your friends into a wilderness area and your cell phone or other portable electronic device runs out of energy or you have a dead cell phone battery, you can take a portable solar cell recharger out of your purse or bag, sit at a table while your phone is recharging then use your phone again without plugging into any electrical outlet.
The 3rd poster made some great points. There are pros and cons to any change, but with the future in mind, and concern for human health and our environment, solar energy is a must.
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