Benefits+of+Solar+Energy

=**Introduction **=

toc In recent years solar energy research has taken off. The reason behind this take off is the need for a sustainable energy source that isn’t fossil fuels. These are a finite source and are damaging to the environment, and solar energy can be a huge contributor to replace those and provide energy on a large grid. Solar energy works in two ways, the suns light being converted to energy, the more common way and is known as photovoltaics, and the sun's heat being converted to energy. Photovoltaics work by using a semiconductor, usually silicon but other materials as well, to convert light directly into electricity 10 .

We have come to understand the benefits of solar energy. I will be going over the economics of solar energy, go over the environmental studies, and finish off with some disadvantages.



Figure 1 = = =**Background **=

The first solar cell was first discovered by French physicist Alexandre Edmond Becquerellar in 1839. Einstein added knowledge into the solar cell technology field but the first modern photovoltaic cell (PV) was developed by bell labs in 1954 1 .

After that solar energy didn’t make much progress until the Arab oil embargo in 1977 1 . The American government soon issued out several bills that required new ways to research to provide energy. Now after time has passed and climate change is serious, more funding has occurred and several breakthroughs have been made.

=**Economics **=

Switching to solar energy is difficult in economic terms. That and technical reasons are why solar energy hasn’t been researched as in depth as it has had the potential to be. The main economic barrier is the initial system cost. The cost comparisons from suppliers and users are based on industry experience, economics of scale and externality costs. Solar energy technologies thus face an “uneven playing field,” even as its energy security, social, environmental and health benefits are not internalized in cost calculations 8 .

Cost Efficiency: Purchasing solar panels allows an individual to supply their own energy. Even though they stay connected to the energy grid, you don’t use on-grid energy unless you run out of energy supplied by the solar panels. The saving calculated in 2012 for certain homeowners lead to savings of approximately $100 a month 2 .

Homeowners are also able to sell excess energy back to the grid. There are leasing options and purchase power agreements to finance solar panels which counteract initial costs 3 . Homeowners can also purchase solar panels as a community to reduce the initial costs to save money 6 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The U.S. department of energy created an organization called Sunshot. Sunshot is an organization with a goal to become cost competitive with traditional forms of energy companies. The goal is to reduce the average cent per kilowatt hour to $0.045. What has been holding them and other organizations like them back is the lack of research for solar energy and funding since sustainable energy hasn’t been in the forefront of issues until recently. Things have changed with more incentive and money for funding for them to conduct research with an increase in interest.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Creating Jobs: Solar Energy growth produces jobs. In 2013 the U.S. solar industry employed over 140,000 Americans which is a 20% growth since 2012 4 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">.



Figure 2 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">More Americans working lead to more money being introduced to the economy here. More money spent in America leads to less money being spent on foreign electricity and power generation.

=**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Environmental Studies **=

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Processing solar energy does not produce carbon emissions, unlike fossil fuels used now 4 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Solar energy is one of the more sought out solutions to climate change because it doesn’t contribute. The machines used by mining materials used in solar panels do release carbon emissions, but out of all emissions released, they contribute less than 0.5% 9 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. The goal is to be able to recycle old solar panels to create new ones to be emission free.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">When solar panels reach the end of their use they are recycled. Current technologies can achieve a recycling rate of 96% with the goal of 100% 7 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. On top of creating jobs they can be recycled with no carbon emissions.

=**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Potential Disadvantages **=

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Potential disadvantages of solar energy include the initial price, the sun not shining at night or when it’s cloudy and solar panels needing space. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Initial price: The initial price for solar energy varies but is more expensive at first than the use of fossil fuels. The counter argument is not spending money on on-grid electricity talked about in the cost efficiency topic.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sunlight: Solar panels do not create energy when the sun isn’t shining on them, leading to low efficiency in some parts of the country and at night. Large batteries are expensive 3 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> but can store energy so when the sun isn’t on the panels directly there is still energy.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Space Issues: Solar Panels take up space, ranging in size as needed. Space can be an issue because some houses or buildings are not suited with space for panels. Solutions for this are community panel fields discussed previously.

=**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Conclusion **=

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Solar energy has benefits. Research has been increasing and will keep increasing with projections set from the U.S. department of Energy through 2030 and 2050 5 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. We need to keep learning how to efficiently create panels that provide to a large grid.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As time passes and more technological breakthroughs are made, the economics against solar energy will change. With the increased research and funding the cost efficiency will keep increasing and decrease the disadvantages of solar energy.

=**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">References **=

1 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> History of Solar Power – Institute for Energy Research. Date Published February 18, 2016. Date Accessed July 6, 2017. []

2 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Top 10 Benefits of Going Solar – Energy Informative. Date Published May 26, 2015. Date Accessed July 6, 2017. []

3 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Solar Energy Pros and Cons – Energy Informative. Date Published May 12, 2014. Date Accessed July 6, 2017. []

4 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> What Can Solar Do for You – Energy. Date Published October 28, 2014. Date Accessed July 6, 2017. []

5 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> About the Sunshot Initiative – Energy. Date Accessed July 6, 2017. []

6 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Distributed Generation: What Are the Benefits? – ALSCE. Date Published July 25, 2016. Date Accessed July 6, 2017. []

7 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Solar panel recycling will be a $15 billion business in 30 years, says new study - Electrek. Date Published June 21, 2016. Date Accessed June 30, 2017. []

8 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Timilsina, Govinda R., Lado Kurdgelashvili, and Patrick A. Narbel. "Editorial Board." //Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews//15.9 (2011): n. pag. Web. 9 July 2017.

9 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Sundaram, Senthilarasu, David Benson, and Tapas K. Mallick. "Solar Photovoltaic Technology Production." //Chapter 3 – Potential Environmental Impacts From Solar Energy Technologies//(2016): n. pag. Web. 9 July 2017.

10 <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Spellman, Frank R. //Environmental impacts of renewable energy//. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis, 2015. //Crcnetbase//. 2016. Web. 9 July 2017.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Figure 1: http://www.pitt.edu/~mal232/issues.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Figure 2: http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/12/news/economy/solar-energy-job-growth-us-economy/index.html