Solar Energy Since the beginning of humanity, people have relied on the sun for their daily needs. Whether it is to grow the crops that they eat, dry clothes or warm their family, people have relied on the resource of the sun for sustainability. It was not until people started to get the idea of managing this energy source, that people were able to fully take advantage of the sun.
In 1767, a Swiss scientist discovered a practical way to harness the energy of the sun. Horace de Saussure invented the “solar hot box,” the first devise to attract and capture the energy capabilities of the sun. The main uses of this primitive solar box consisted of cooking food, distilling water and pumping water for irrigation. It was not until the
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Among soaring prices and shortages in petroleum, the President encouraged citizens to take advantage of solar opportunities. He had solar panels installed in the White House, and offered numerous incentives to the American People who used solar heating. His encouragement was so successful that by the early 1980’s, over one-hundred national solar-heating manufacturers and suppliers were in business.
An additional boost for solar energy was the creation of the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Solar Energy Research Institute, soon to be known as National Renewable Energy Laboratory. These organizations increased knowledge and practicality of solar power usage, and kept it in the minds of the U.S. government. Because of them, the first solar power plant, Luz International, was built in 1985. This plant was responsible for huge cuts in the expense of solar power. However, after less than a decade, the plant substantially lost its practicality. Critics site a stabilization of natural gas and electricity costs, high operating and maintenance costs for the solar plant, and expiring tax incentives as main reasons for Luz International’s downfall.
While solar power is one of the cleanest, environmentally friendly ways of producing energy, its popularity has rapidly declined, especially in the United States. Currently, solar power is an excellent supplement to other sources of energy, and has been rumored to eventually
The Sun’s energy out powers all of the energy sources made on Earth. Even though only a fraction of the Sun’s energy makes it to Earth, it is still ten-thousand more times powerful than the energy sources on Earth. However, we are unable to harness such energy because of the many breaches we have to past through to achieve solar energy. As well, solar energy lacks certain aspects causing fossil fuels to be valued more. Although, by creating engineering advancements to improve the efficiency, expenditure, and availability of solar energy, the problem of solar energy usage will be resolved.
Solar energy is the most ancient kind of energy found on earth, for it is as old as the sun. "Solar" means from the sun. The earth is only one of the many planets which is bathed in the sun's overflowing energy. Every second the world receives 95.8 trillion watts of power…just think about that for a minute. Think about how much power the earth just received in the time it took you to read this sentence? It is well beyond the amount of power used in one day. It has the potential to satisfy all our energy needs forever without ever having to use the pollutive fossil fuels ever again. "The problem however, does not lie in the limited source, as do fossil fuels, but in harnessing
In this modern fast paced world that we live in, there are many issues that are looked over, energy is one of these. As a world, we are dependant on dwindling fossil fuel supplies and take for granted electricity, oil, and gas. There are four completely renewable sources of energy around us that should be used and developed, they are: wind, growing plants, flowing water, and the sun. These sources of energy are the ones we should be tapping, because they are reliable and renewable. Harnessing the suns energy is the most certain and ultimate energy source. Looking at a brief history and some facts about solar energy, a glimpse of the future can be seen, a future not dependant on
However, very few realize the urgency in dramatically improving our living conditions in order to preserve the resources that are diminishing in front of our eyes. In the early 1990s, scientific researchers began recognizing the shifting experienced in global climate change. Upon acknowledging the fact that global warming did exist, scientists sought after ways to alleviate this developing social problem. In order to use sources already existing in our environment, alternative energy resources, such as solar energy, have come to the forefront in solutions. The implementation of technologies that use solar energy, that is any form of energy radiated by the sun, date back to A.D. 100 when Northern Italian summer homes with windowed rooms were constructed using thin sheets of mica or selenite (Skylar and Sheinkopf 7). From that time forward, inventors have created ways in which solar energy can be used to fuel our daily lives. Innovations in solar water heating, solar pool heating, solar electricity, and even solar cooking are currently offered as an alternate means of energy. The question remains, however, as to why more Americans are not taking advantage of these accessible energy-saving resources. In comparison to other energies used to fuel the nation, “solar energy is the cleanest, safest, most environmentally gentle energy option” the United States has
Solar energy is rising throughout the United States. This source is mainly used in remote locations, but is becoming popular in urban areas. In 18 days of sunlight the earth receives an equal amount of energy stored in all of the earths reserves of oil, coal, and natural gas. Solar energy is produced by collecting sunlight with large, flat panels, made up of individual solar cells, and converting the sunlight into electricity. Solar energy is an alternative to fossil fuel and it is important to know the advantages, disadvantages, and the overall price.
Claim: Solar power has the potential to become the United States main supply of energy and replace are needs for more conventional and harmful forms of power generation.
The first modern solar panel that was efficiently effective was accidentally built by Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin who were able to construct a one that could take in six percent of direct sunlight. In todays world we already use solar power for a items as small as a calculator to extremely large power plants that can power large cities. Some watches, calculators, and certain radios are run by solar cells that will never run out of bateries making them very effective. Almost all of the worlds satelittes are run on solar power, if they werent otherwise, they would run out of power. There are large desalinization plants that use solar power in places where there is very little amounts of water. Solar powered cars should be ivestigated into more by scientists because transferring gas to solar powered cars would be extremely benificial to the environment. However, the drawback of these cars would be that they cant run on cloudy days and only can go at high speeds for a short amount of time. Therefore, solar powred cars are only used for experiments and racing now.
In contrast, some believe that renewable energy is a key factor involved in helping the economy to grow. Many jobs are created in the manufacturing and running of renewable energy plants. The renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies created 8.5 million new jobs and $970 billion in revenue in the year 2006 (Langwith, “Renewable Energy is Economically”). The American Solar Energy Society says by 2030 it could generate up to $4.5 trillion in revenue for the U.S and create 40 million new jobs. This would represent one in every four jobs (Langwith, “Renewable Energy is Economically”). This shows how vital it is to get renewable energy companies in the U.S. It is important to build a stable economy again and do it all while helping the environment.
If citizens of U.S use solar energy, we can help stop and/or slow down global warming. Solar energy is a popular way of getting clean energy. It can power anything that runs on energy such as your house, stores, streetlamps, and even the new Tesla cars. Solar energy is the use of sunlight to create heat and energy(Bryan). In order to do this you need solar panels. These are panels of any size that collect sunlight and convert it into heat and energy. There are many advantages and disadvantages to solar energy, but because of the amazing advantages to it, most people think it is worth it.
As one may know in order to use solar energy, one has to have access to sunlight. Even though one see the light of day, the sun will not always be out when you need it. In Source B it states, “solar power is not a constant source of energy.” Eventually when six o’clock comes around in the afternoon, the sun will set and later on the moon will appear in the night sky. This means that once the sun sets one won’t people able to do their daily chores because their solar panels on the roof isn't providing any electricity in the house.
In order for one to further understand the importance of solar energy, the problem of global warming must be explained. As defined by Webster’s Dictionary, “Global Warming” is an increase in the earth’s average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. With an average increase in atmospheric temperatures, our planet is slowly deteriorating. In order to stall or halt this global destruction, countries must turn to solar energy as a cleaner alternative to the depletion of fossil fuels. Solar energy creates a homeostasis for the climate. Due to its ability to decrease global climate changes, solar power can address global warming in several ways.
Solar energy is the most plentiful and purist renewable energy source available. Because it is completely natural, it is considered to be a clean energy source. It does not disrupt the environment or threaten the Eco-systems the way oil and some other energy sources tend to. Nor does it cause greenhouse gases, air or water pollution. Solar energy is an immensely important aspect of life and has been since the beginning of time. Increasingly, we are learning how to harness this important resource and use it to replace traditional energy sources. Modern technology can utilize this energy in a variety of ways, such as; generating electricity, providing light or a comfortable interior environment, and heating water for domestic, industrial, or commercial use. One day solar energy may well become our primary form of energy. This would lead to a clean environment, less money spent on utilities, and a healthier world. It is highly important because it has the potential to allow technology and nature to co-exist peacefully.
Solar energy and its use isn’t new to the world. It has been used by various societies beginning from 7thCentury B.C, when the sun’s heat was concentrated by glass and mirrors to light fires. Today, we have everything from solar-powered buildings to solar-powered vehicles. By and large solar technology has some environmental, economic, psychological and ethical implications for our society. Actions taken by companies and individuals to increase the use of solar technology will create good local jobs, improve our environment and reduce our dependence on foreign oil while doing what’s ethical and moral for our society.
Solar power harness the sun 's energy to create electricity. Solar energy assets are enormous and boundless, and they can be tackled anyplace that gets sunlight. The measure of solar radiation, otherwise called insolation, coming to the earth 's surface consistently is more than all the energy at present devoured by every single human activity yearly [1]. Various variables, including geographic area, time of day, and current climate conditions, all influence the measure of energy that can engage in for electricity creation or heating purposes.
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.