Solar power has the potential to save homeowners thousands
over the life of a residential solar power system. But far greater than the
financial benefits of solar power are the environmental benefits. With solar
power, you are using renewable energy that is clean and has little to no
impact on the environment. While many people make the switch to solar for its
substantial financial benefits—such as lower utility bills and increased home
value—the significant environmental benefits are equally important.
The emissions, water, and land use saved by just a single
home using solar power are greater than you might think. For some homes, using
solar power as a source of electricity is on the same scale as planting nearly
2,500 trees.
Solar Power is a Renewable Energy Source
Renewable energy comes from sources that are practically
inexhaustible. Sources of renewable energy include solar, wind, geothermal, bio-energy,
and water. With renewable energy sources, we don’t have to worry about someday
running out of wind, or losing the sun. These sources of energy aren’t going
away — and if we lose the sun, we’ll have bigger problems to worry about than
electricity. As you
generate solar power for your home, you’re not just creating sustainable
energy. Using solar power, you’re reducing your electricity demand on the grid.
That means the grid doesn’t have to work as hard to meet electricity needs,
reducing brownouts or blackouts, not to mention reducing your community’s
dependence on fossil fuels for electricity.
Environmental Benefits
When we talk about the major environmental benefits of solarpower, we’re often considering the large scale. There’s no question that a 20
MW solar farm replacing a coal burning power plant will make a difference. But
even on the smaller residential scale, your solar power can have a serious
impact.
Using renewable energy such as solar power, your electricity
generation takes nothing away from the environment. This is in direct contrast
to fossil fuels, which are limited and cause damage to the environment when
consumed. The sun will continue to shine whether you use it for solar power or
not — and that makes this renewable energy source completely different from
fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy sources.
Solar reduces air pollution:
Harmful carbon dioxide and methane emissions from fossil fuels, our
traditional energy source, are leading contributors to global warming and
decreased air quality. But generating electricity with solar panels produces no
greenhouse gasses whatsoever.
Solar reduces water pollution: While all manufacturing processes require
some water, solar photovoltaic cells don't need water to generate electricity.
This is one of the biggest, yet least talked about environmental benefits of
solar. Traditional biomass and geothermal power plants, such as natural gas and
coal-fired facilities, require massive amounts of water to facilitate their
vital cooling requirements. With solar energy there is no pollution of local
water resources, nor does their operation (which again requires NO water)
strain local supplies through the competition with agriculture, drinking
systems, and other vital water needs.
Solar reduces the need for finite resources: Solar energy is renewable. The sun is the
world's most abundant energy source, producing an amazing 173,000 terawatts of
solar energy every second. That's more than 10,000 times the world's total
combined energy use, and it can be used over and over again. In contrast,
fossil fuels are non-renewable and while they may seem in abundance today,
there will come a time when the world will run out. Or, the cost of finding and
extracting these sources will become too expensive. By that time, the resulting
damage to our financial infrastructure and environment may be un-repairable.
Switching to solar today is the best way to hedge against the reality of finite
fuel resources.
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