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Environmental Benefits of Solar Energy Solar energy is the most abundant and most efficient of all the potential power sources. It can be applied to many applications and, given its quantity, has the potential to substitute all other forms of energy production. Solar energy can be derived from photovoltaic panels or solar thermal collectors, which can be placed anywhere there is sunlight. Technologies are constantly being developed to make harvesting energy from the sun more practical.
1. Effects
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Using solar energy conserves natural resources, results in less pollution in the atmosphere caused by particulates, and reduces waste caused by coal burning from mining, transport and plant operations.
Size
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Solar energy is not only more efficient than other ways to create energy but is available anywhere in the world where the sun shines.
Geography
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Since solar energy is so efficient, solar plants don't have to be as large as wind farms, for example, and solar panels can even be placed on rooftops to power individual buildings.
Potential
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The amount of solar energy that hits Earth in a year is so huge that it is equal to twice the energy that all coal, oil, natural gas and other resources can ever generate.
Benefits
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Homes using solar technology for cooling, heating, and ventilation can save 50 percent of their energy use. In addition, solar systems can be developed for cooking, create process heat for factories and to distill water.
Visual Impacts
Because they are generally large facilities with numerous highly geometric and sometimes highly reflective surfaces, solar energy facilities may create visual impacts; however, being visible is
not necessarily the same as being intrusive. Aesthetic issues are by their nature highly subjective. Proper siting decisions can help to avoid aesthetic impacts to the landscape.
Hazardous Materials
Photovoltaic panels may contain hazardous materials, and although they are sealed under normal operating conditions, there is the potential for environmental contamination if they were damaged or improperly disposed upon decommissioning. Concentrating solar power systems may employ liquids such as oils or molten salts that may be hazardous, and present spill risks. In addition, various fluids are commonly used in most industrial facilities, such as hydraulic fluids, coolants, and lubricants. These fluids may in some cases be hazardous, and present a spill-related risk. Proper planning and good maintenance practices can be used to minimize impacts from hazardous materials.
Other Concerns
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems could potentially cause interference with aircraft operations if reflected light beams become misdirected into aircraft pathways. Operation of solar energy facilities, and especially concentrating solar power facilities involves high temperatures that may pose an environmental or safety risk. Like all electrical generating facilities, solar facilities produce electric and magnetic fields. Construction and decommissioning of utility-scale solar energy facilities would involve a variety of possible impacts normally encountered in construction/decommissioning of large-scale industrial facilities. If new electric transmission lines or related facilities were needed to service a new solar energy development, construction, operation, and decommissioning of the transmission facilities could also cause a variety of environmental impacts.