Solar Energy Every hour the sun beams onto Earth more than enough energy to satisfy global

energy needs for an entire year. Solar energy is the technology used to harness the sun's energy and make it useable. Today, the technology produces less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand. Many people are familiar with so-called photovoltaic cells, or solar panels, found on things like spacecraft, rooftops, and handheld calculators. The cells are made of semiconductor materials like those found in computer chips. When sunlight hits the cells, it knocks electrons loose from their atoms. As the electrons flow through the cell, they generate electricity. On a much larger scale, solar thermal power plants employ various techniques to concentrate the sun's energy as a heat source. The heat is then used to boil water to drive a steam turbine that generates electricity in much the same fashion as coal and nuclear power plants, supplying electricity for thousands of people. In one technique, long troughs of U-shaped mirrors focus sunlight on a pipe of oil that runs through the middle. The hot oil then boils water for electricity generation. Another technique uses moveable mirrors to focus the sun's rays on a collector tower, where a receiver sits. Molten salt flowing through the receiver is heated to run a generator. Other solar technologies are passive. For example, big windows placed on the sunny side of a building allow sunlight to heat-absorbent materials on the floor and walls. These surfaces then release the heat at night to keep the building warm. Similarly, absorbent plates on a roof can heat liquid in tubes that supply a house with hot water. Solar energy is lauded as an inexhaustible fuel source that is pollution and often noise free. The technology is also versatile. For example, solar cells generate energy for far-out places like satellites in Earth orbit and cabins deep in the Rocky Mountains as easily as they can power downtown buildings and futuristic cars. But solar energy doesn't work at night without a storage device such as a battery, and cloudy weather can make the technology unreliable during the day. Solar technologies are also very expensive and require a lot of land area to collect the sun's energy at rates useful to lots of people. Despite the drawbacks, solar energy use has surged at about 20 percent a year over the past 15 years, thanks to rapidly falling prices and gains in efficiency. Japan, Germany, and the United States are major markets for solar cells. With tax incentives, solar electricity can often pay for itself in five to ten years.

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/solar-power-profile/ Advantages

1. Solar energy is free although there is a cost in the building of collectors and other equipment required to convert solar energy into electricity or hot water. 2. Solar energy does not cause pollution. However, solar collectors and other associated equipment / machines are manufactured in factories that in turn cause some pollution. 3. Solar energy can be used in remote areas where it is too expensive to extend the electricity power grid. 4. Many everyday items such as calculators and other low power consuming devices can be powered by solar energy effectively. 5. It is estimated that the worlds oil reserves will last for 30 to 40 years. On the other hand, solar energy is infinite (forever).
Disadvantages

1. Solar energy can only be harnessed when it is daytime and sunny. 2. Solar collectors, panels and cells are relatively expensive to manufacture although prices are falling rapidly.

3. Solar power stations can be built but they do not match the power output of similar sized conventional power stations. They are also very expensive. 4. In countries such as the UK, the unreliable climate means that solar energy is also unreliable as a source of energy. Cloudy skies reduce its effectiveness. 5. Large areas of land are required to capture the suns energy. Collectors are usually arranged together especially when electricity is to be produced and used in the same location. 6. Solar power is used to charge batteries so that solar powered devices can be used at night. However, the batteries are large and heavy and need storage space. They also need replacing from time to time.
http://www.technologystudent.com/energy1/solar7.htm

Solar Power-Advantages and Disadvantages

There are many advantages worth considering when it comes to solar energy and everything that it offers. There are many advantages that solar energy has over oil energy. Not only does solar energy benefit your pocketbook, but it also benefits the environment as well. However, there are two sides to everything, and there is a list of solar power disadvantages to accompany the list of advantages. Advantage: Solar energy is a completely renewable resource. This means that even when we cannot make use of the suns power because of nighttime or cloudy and stormy days, we can always rely on the sun showing up the very next day as a constant and consistent power source. Disadvantage: The Solar Cells and Solar Panels that are needed to harness solar energy tend to be very expensive when you first purchase them. Advantage: Oil, which is what most people currently use to power their homes, is not a renewable resource. This means that as soon as the oil is gone, it is gone forever and we will no longer have power or energy. Disadvantage: Solar power cannot be harnessed during a storm, on a cloudy day or at night. This limits how much power can be saved for future days. Some days you may still need to rely on oil to power your home. Advantage: Solar cells make absolutely no noise at all. They do not make a single peep while extracting useful energy from the sun. On the other hand, the giant machines utilized for pumping oil are extremely noisy and therefore very impractical. Advantage: Solar energy creates absolutely no pollution. This is perhaps the most important advantage that makes solar energy so much more practical than oil. Oil burning releases harmful greenhouses gases, carcinogens and carbon dioxide into our precious air. Advantage: Very little maintenance is required to keep solar cells running. There are no moving parts in a solar cell, which makes it impossible to really hurt them. Solar cells tend to last a good long time with only an annual cleaning to worry about. Advantage: Solar panels and solar lighting may seem quite expensive when you first purchase it, but in the long run you will find yourself saving quite a great deal of money. After all, it does not cost anything to harness the power of the sun. Unfortunately, paying for oil is an expensive prospect and the cost is still rising consistently. Why pay for expensive energy when you can harness it freely? Advantage: Solar powered panels and products are typically extremely easy to install. Wires, cords and power sources are not needed at all, making this an easy prospect to employ. Advantage: Solar power technology is improving consistently over time, as people begin to understand all of the benefits offered by this incredible technology. As our oil reserves decline, it is important for us to turn to alternative sources for energy.

http://alternate-power.org/solar-power-advantages-and-disadvantages/

13 Fundamental Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy

By Greg Whitburn Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular as the world begins to take notice of the burgeoning carbon emission problems that come with burning fossil fuels. But why all the fuss? Nay-sayers have become less and less vocal as solar energys popularity h as grown increasingly unhindered. Below I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy.

Advantages of Solar Energy

No green house gases

Advantages and disadvantages of solar energy: The major benefit of solar is avoiding green house gases that fossil fuels produce. The first and foremost advantage of solar energy is that it does not emit any green house gases. Solar energy is produced by conducting the suns radiation a process void of any smoke, gas, or other chemical by-product. This is the main driving force behind all green energy technology, as nations attempt to meet climate change obligations in curbing emissions. Italys Montalto di Castro solar park is a good example of solars contribution to curbing emissions. It avoids 20,000 tonnes per year of carbon emissions compared to fossil fuel energy production. Infinite Free Energy

Another advantage of using solar energy is that beyond initial installation and maintenance, solar energy is one hundred percent free. Solar doesnt require expensive and ongoing raw materials like oil or coal, and requires significantly lower operational labor than conventional power production. Lower costs are direct as well as indirect less staff working at the power plant as the sun and the solar semi conductors do all the work, as well as no raw materials that have to be extracted, refined, and transported to the power plant. Decentralization of power Solar energy offers decentralization in most (sunny) locations, meaning self-reliant societies. Oil, coal, and gas used to produce conventional electricity is often transported cross-country or internationally. This transportation has a myriad of additional costs, including monetary costs, pollution costs of transport, and roading wear and tear costs, all of which is avoided with solar. Of course, decentralization has its limits as some locations get more sunlight than others. Going off the grid with solar

Solar Barn: Going off grid is a huge advantage of solar power for people in isolated locations. Solar energy can be produced on or off the grid. On grid means a house remains connected to the state electricity grid. Off grid has no connection to the electricity grid, so the house, business or whatever being powered is relying solely on the solar or solar-hybrid. The ability to produce electricity off the grid is a major advantage of solar energy for people who live in isolated and rural areas. Power prices and the cost of installing power lines are often exorbitantly high in these places and many have frequent power-cuts. Many city-dwellers are also choosing to go off the grid with their alternate energy as part of a self-reliant lifestyle.

Solar jobs A particularly relevant and advantageous feature of solar energy production is that it creates jobs. The EIAA states that Europes solar industry has created 100,000 jobs so far. Solar jobs come in many forms, from manufacturing, installing, monitoring and maintaining solar panels, to research and design, development, cultural integration, and policy jobs. The book Natural Capitalism has a very appropriate view of the employment benefits of green design and a prudent approach to using resources. The book proposes that while green technology and increased employment cost alot of money, much greater money can be saved through simple but drastically improved resource efficiency. With solar energy currently contributing only an estimated 4% of the worlds electricity, and an economic-model where raw materials dont have to be indefinitely purchased and transported, its reasonable so assume solar jobs are sustainable if the solar industry can survive the recession. Solars avoidance of politics and price volatility One of the biggest advantages of solar energy is the ability to avoid the politics and price volatility that is increasingly characterizing fossil fuel markets. The sun is an unlimited commodity that can be adequately sourced from many locations, meaning solar avoids the price manipulations and politics that have more than doubled the price of many fossil fuels in the past decade. While the price of fossil fuels have increased, the per watt price of solar energy production has more than halved in the past decade and is set to become even cheaper in the near future as better technology and economies of scale take effect. Furthermore, the ever-abundant nature of the suns energy would hint at a democratic and competitive energy market where wars arent fought over oil fields and high-demand raw materials arent controlled by monopolies. Of course, a new form of politics has emerged with regard to government incentives and the adoption of solar, however these politics are arguably incomparable to the fossil fuel status quo. Saving eco-systems and livelihoods Because solar doesnt rely on constantly mining raw materials, it doesnt result in the destruction of forests and eco-systems that occurs with most fossil fuel operations.

Destruction can come in many forms, from destruction through accepted extraction methods, to more irresponsible practices in vulnerable areas, to accidents. Major examples include Canadas tar sands mining which involves the systematic destruct ion of the Boreal Forest (which accounts for 25% of the worlds intact forest land), and creates toxic by-product ponds large enough to see from space [1]. The Niger Delta is an example where excessive and irresponsible oil extraction practices have poisoned fishing deltas previously used by villagers as the main source of food and employment, creating extremely desperate poverty and essentially decimating villages [2]. A more widely known, but arguably lower human-cost incident is the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It killed 11 people and spilled 780 thousand cubic meters of crude oil into the sea.

An interesting glance at the situation caused by destructive fossil fuel company practices in the Niger Delta. Sweet Crudeis a good documentary if you want to learn more. The best is yet to come Solar technology is currently improving in leaps and bounds. Across the world, and particularly in Europe, savvy clean technology researchers are making enormous developments in solar technology. What was expensive, bulky, and inefficient yesterday, is becoming cheaper, more accessible, and vastly more efficient each week.

Disadvantages of Solar Energy

Solar doesnt work at night Obviously the biggest disadvantages of solar energy production revolve around the fact that its not constant. To produce solar electricity there must be sunlight. So energy must be stored or sourced elsewhere at night. Beyond daily fluctuations, solar production decreases over winter months when there are less sunlight hours and sun radiation is less intense. Solar Inefficiency

A very common criticism is that solar energy production is relatively inefficient.

Currently, widespread solar panel efficiency how much of the suns energy a solar panel can convert into electrical energy is at around 22%. This means that a fairly vast amount of surface area is required to produce a lot of electricity. However, efficiency has developed dramatically over the last five years, and solar panel efficiency should continue to rise steadily over the next five years. For the moment though, low efficiency is a relevant disadvantage of solar. Solar inefficiency is an interesting argument, as efficiency is relative. One could ask inefficient compared to what? And What determines efficiency? Solar panels currently only have a radiation efficiency of up to 22%, however they dont create the carbon by-product that coal produces and doesnt require constant extraction, refinement, and transportation all of which surely carry weight on efficiency scales. Storing Solar Solar electricity storage technology has not reached its potential yet. While there are many solar drip feed batteries available, these are currently costly and bulky, and more appropriate to small scale home solar panels than large solar farms. Solar panels are bulky Solar panels are bulky. This is particularly true of the higher-efficiency, traditional silicon crystalline wafer solar modules. These are the large solar panels that are covered in glass. New technology thin-film solar modules are much less bulky, and have recently been developed as applications such as solar roof tiles and amorphous flexible solar modules. The downfall is that thin-film is currently less efficient than crystalline wafer solar. One of the biggest disadvantages of solar energy COST The main hindrance to solar energy going widespread is the cost of installing solar panels. Capital costs for installing a home solar system or building a solar farm are high. Particularly obstructive is the fact that installing solar panels has large upfront costs after which the energy trickles in for free. Imagine having to pay upfront today for your next 30 years worth of power. Thats an incredibly disadvantageous feature of solar energy production, particularly during a time of recession. Currently a mega watt hour of solar energy costs well over double a mega watt hour of conventional electricity (exact costs vary dramatically depending on location). All is not lost though nuclear is a good example (economically) of energy production that was initially incredibly expensive, but became more feasible when appropriate energy subsidies were put in place.

Solar Energy Gets People Talking

One of the accompanying advantages and disadvantages of solar energy and other green tech is that theyre making us re-assess how things are valued in society, and how things like economics, environment, and investment are handled. There is debate and polarization of perspectives and interests. While not everybody is in favor of solar (some more aggressively than others), the fact that there is discussion about the validity of the status quo the monopolistic nature of many industries, the problems with solely focusing on economics, and environmental disregard is a fascinating development, a development that some may term an ideological revolution. At a practical level, many governments and state authorities are encouraging solar use through incentives such as subsidies, rebates and tariffs. California is a good example of how such measures can work. Spain highlights the importance of long-term consideration with such incentives, and how they can fail if not handled correctly or if circumstances change, such as the global financial crisis. Factors such as cheaper materials and installation as demand grows will make solar more affordable in the future, but for the moment, the fact is that producing solar electricity is financially expensive compared to conventional methods.

http://exploringgreentechnology.com/solar-energy/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-solar-energy/