Solar Energy – The best option or..?

Hello Fellow Readers,

The Sun. Sometimes a foreign concept to us Newfoundlanders who are continuously doused by fog, snow and rain, but a valuable tool for alternative energy use.

Even though we’re not accustomed to see large photovoltaic cells (large solar panels) around these parts, the solar energy industry is becoming larger and larger as renewable energy sources are picked up, and non-renewable energy decreases. The energy industry is very important in that it can produce as much as 30 times of energy that is inputted and aside from the land use, has virtually zero impact on the environment.

As we look at solar energy as a whole, I must note that it comes in a variety of forms. Ranging from solar ponds, photovoltaic cells and generating parabolic troughs (Pimentel 2008), solar energy can be harvested in many ways to produce energy for small homes and even large scale industrial buildings. As current technology stands, 22% f the suns radiation can be generated for electricity with the cell capacity increasing by about 211% from 2008 to 2009 (Sharan 2008). When looking at the output of energy specifically, it has been calculated that with a 1 million killowatt per hour per year (kWh/yr) input, we would receive an output of 1 billion kWh/yr and supply energy for 100,000 people over a 30 year period!! The problem with this is that it requires a substantial amount of land to place these solar panels and that in itself can be quite costly. The alternative to this is that, with the help of public support and the allowance of panels to be placed on top of homes and building, could reduce the land requirements/usage for solar energy up to 20% (hence why we need more people to hop on board!

Converting to any-new energy source can be a daunting task, but especially when is can be very costly. Even though the returns from solar energy and the money you save in the long run can be huge, the initial cost of the equipment is a setback in itself. It is one of the primary reasons of the slow progression into solar energy.

How is Canada doing?

Some people question if solar energy is economically viable for Canadians. However, a recent article published on CBC news suggests that the future for solar energy is bright. It is stated that even though the cost of solar energy is high right now, newly developed technologies will decrease the price and make it more viable for the nation. As we are not the number one supporters of the solar energy industry, we will become one in the future. "It took decades to get to where they are at [non renewable industries]. Solar will chip away at that, and before you know it, it will be a significant piece of the market share." (Mahajan 2011).

Here are some pros and Cons to solar energy over non-renewable energy sources

Solar Energy

              Environmentally friendly (almost zero impact on the environment)

·         No output of emissions

·         VERY costly to implement,

·         Require large amounts of land,

·         Lack of trained personnel,

·         Lack of public knowledge,

·         Few incentives (ie. Tax breaks)

Non-renewable energy sources

·         Readily available

·         Inexpensive (short term)

·         Very harmful to the environment.

·         Requires destruction of land and ocean ecosystems for extraction

·         Can result in catastrophes (oil spills) that can be very harmful to marine and land species

References

Lin, J., Cao, B., Cui, S., Wang, W., & Bai, X. (2010). Evaluating the effectiveness of urban energy conservation and GHG mitigation measures: The case of xiamen city, china. Energy Policy, 38(9), 5123-5132. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2010.04.042

Myhrvold, N. (2012). Greenhouse gases, climate change and the transition from coal to low-carbon electricity. Environmental Research Letters, 7(1), 014019; 014019.

Sharan, A. M. (2009). Efficiency enhancement of stationary solar energy based power conversion

systems in canada. Applied Energy, 86(9), 1405-1409. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2008.11.032

Sinha, S. (1994). Energy conservation of conventional fuels by use of solar energy. Energy Conversion and Management, 35(7), 589-595.

Quazi, K. (2011). Solar Energy Modeling over a Residential Community in the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. International Journal of Photoenergy, 11, pages 1-10, doi:10.1155/2011/216519

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Cents_Per_Kilowatt-Hour

http://www.solar-wind-nature-energy.com/