Mojave Desert: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

The Mojave Desert a place of wildfires, non native plants, and native plants, a natural habitat for many living organisms, that feed and protect. The Mojave Desert is located in parts of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Recurring wildfires are damaging the native plants which are then replaced with dangerous, non-native plant species that become uncontrolled. Air pollution and invasive species in the desert makes it hard for organisms found in the surrounding area to survive, with increasing numbers of wildfires and non native plants killing them.

A region is an area that has common features. Las Vegas is in the State of Nevada and the North America continent. Nevada can be divided into 4 land regions: the Columbia Plateau, the Sierra Nevada, The Mojave desert, and the Basin and Range region. It is situated in a mountainous region that has massive semiarid grasslands and alkali deserts. It is in the Western, Mountain West, and Southwestern districts of the U.S. The large cities located in the basins are Reno and Carson. However, Elko, Elko, Fallon, and some other cities are located there. The Mojave Desert’s region includes Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City. Its region type is a state.

Our number one goal is to combat climate change by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that are being emitted into the atmosphere. Therefore, industrialized countries such as the United States, are trying to make energy systems to be less carbon intensive (Hunold 2011). One method to address the issue presented is by harvesting solar power. California has developed a large scale solar farm plan to install solar in the Mojave Desert; this plan is known as the Solar Grand Plan (Hunold 2011). Based on this plan, solar farms are to be built in scarcely populated areas in the desert. Obstacles arise when these panels are being mounted in areas that have species that under the National Wildlife Federation are considered endangered.

California is leading the way in reducing emissions from greenhouse gases such as methane. Making the community aware is a step in changing local impact for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly Los Angeles. The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan is to protect and conserve the desert ecosystems, while also being a major component in renewable energy. There are many events taking place, programs, and organizations that are to helping to safeguard the people, the economy, and the resources of California.

The increase in oil prices, the depletion of fossil fuel, and increase in consumption of energy has led to finding an alternate source of electricity generation through sustainable energy resources. The sun was humankind's first source of power, and with a little effort to make it more efficient, it may be the only source of energy we may need for the future. Among various sustainable sources, solar energy is the fastest growing,

The potential of solar power in environmental impacts are land use and habitat loss, water use and

The major problem with solar energy is that it is very costly to buy the equipment although the price has plummeted since 1970 (Corcoran, 2003). At that time solar energy cells cost about $200 per watt, today, it is about $5.00 per watt (Corcoran, 2003). There are a number of innovations intended to change this disadvantage. For instance, SunPower of Sunnyvale in California has devised a way to make the solar energy cells cheaper (Business Wire. 2004). The new cells have a 20 percent efficiency which means they will generate about 33 percent more energy (Hogan, 2003). Part of the savings is in a new way to extract silicon. The company SunPower estimates that average American families need 2000 to 3000 watts and the new solar cells can be met by using about 15 square meters of solar panels (Hogan, 2003). This is far less space than the regular

Currently, the US solar industry is in a phase of rapid growth. There are a number of firms competeing for market share. This market structure combined with governemtn subsities are allowing the price of solar to drop significantly. As a result the solar industry is very healthy. The solar industry has seen an exponential increase in production capacity. This capacity saw an increase of 41% in 2012 alone to an overall capacity to 4,751 MW. **CITE NEEDED In the overall energy industry, soler has seen an increase in total market share from 10% in 2010 to 29% in 2013, second only to natural gas. There is no doubt that the overall drop in the costs of solar has played a role in this expantion.

With the world's natural resources depleting rapidly, humans must find a way to compensate. This society has milked oil, coal, gasoline, lead, uranium, and many other of these reservoirs in our Earth for hundreds of years and much has been done. Asphalt was used for our roads and highways, coal was originally used for heat before there was oil, and even water was used as a form of electricity on many rural farms. Luckily, more companies around the world are waking up to the fact that these resources will not be around forever, and that in the near future, other forms of energy will take heed. Solar energy, or energy powered by the sun, is one of the most promising. Since the sun's rays create so much

Although solar energy is provided for an environmental friendly option however there are studies that reveal that it has health effect on humans as they produce toxins furthermore it has implications on our ecosystems and the provision of goods, for example crops, and services, such as soil carbon storage. As with any type of power plant, large solar power plants can affect the environment where they are located. Clearing land for construction and the placement of the power plant may have long-term impacts on plant and animal life by reducing habitat areas for native plants and animals. Power plants may require water for cleaning solar collectors or concentrators and may require water for cooling turbine-generators. Using ground water or surface water in some waterless locations with major solar potential may affect the ecosystem. In addition, birds and insects can be killed if they fly into a concentrated beam of sunlight created by a solar power tower. Another disadvantage is solar panels' dependence on the weather. The more direct sunlight a solar panel receives the more power it can generate. When the weather becomes cloudy, the output of the panels is dramatically

With the dawn of the energy crisis upon us, photovoltaic technology has become a crucial component of discussions centering around sustainability, clean energy, and renewable recourses. This is because there are a number of significant advantages associated with photovoltaic technology. First and foremost, this technology channels our Earth 's largest renewable energy source- the sun. In itself, the sun 's net solar power input to the Earth is more than 10,000 times humanity 's current rate of use of fossil and nuclear fuels. Thus, the energy source harnessed by PV technology is virtually inexhaustible,

Renewable energy sources have changed communities, consumers and businesses worldwide. By reducing or eliminating altogether the use of fossil fuel and replacing it with renewable energy sources, can promote a cleaner future for America. Solar power and solar energy are helping to assist many families in reducing their energy bills and more so with commercial businesses. Ultimately solar energy has the potential to become United States main source of energy, along with replacing the demanding effects of fossil fuel currently being utilized. In a world driven on convenience, economy, and self-sufficiency, society is not always open to revolutionize, for the simple fact that people get set in a specific way of living or have no notion that alternatives are available.

19 Executive Summary This publication builds upon past analyses of solar energy deployment contained in the Word Energy Outlook, Energy Technology Perspectives and several IEA Technology Roadmaps. It aims at offering an updated picture of current technology trends and markets, as well as new analyses on how solar energy technologies for electricity, heat and fuels can be used in the various energy consuming sectors, now and in the future. If effective support policies are put in place in a wide number of countries during this decade, solar energy in its various forms – solar heat, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal electricity, solar fuels – can make considerable contributions to solving some of the most urgent problems the world now faces: climate change, energy security, and universal access to modern energy services. Solar energy offers a clean, climate-friendly, very abundant and inexhaustible energy resource to mankind, relatively well-spread over the globe. Its availability is greater in warm and sunny countries – those countries that will experience most of the world’s population and economic growth over the next decades. They will likely contain about 7 billion inhabitants by 2050 versus 2 billion in cold and temperate countries (including most of Europe, Russia, and parts of China and the United States of America). The costs of solar energy have been falling rapidly and are entering new areas of competitiveness. Solar thermal electricity (STE) and solar photovoltaic

In summary, the article tries to give justifications as to why solar energy is the best alternative to energy problems encountered in the United States today (Krugman, 2011). However, solar energy not been tapped effectively due to the fossil energy cartels that have ganged up with politicians to thwart all efforts to embrace alternative sources of energy (Ahmed, 2014). The propaganda created by this group has made large scale production of solar energy a nightmare.

According to National Climatic Data Center, the sunniest state is Arizona in United Sates, which is 193 clear days pre year.(1) Yuma City where in Arizona State has 313 days of sunshine. This climatic condition is good for solar power generation. In order to reduce the environment impact, a desert region is a proper choice. There are two more benefits. The cost of land is much cheaper then urban area. In addition, there is no any shelter nearby. Nevertheless, solar farms have to be maintained regularly. If install a solar farm at an isolated location, it will be hard to maintenance. A location of photovoltaic farm has been chosen as Figure 2. It is situated in a desert region for decreasing the environment impact and next to a road for maintenance easily.