The sun shines on us all providing life to Earth. Yet much of the energy that comes from the sun is not used. Solar energy is an upcoming technology that can provide energy for everyone, even those people in developing countries who do not currently have electricity. Solar energy is one of several renewable energy sources that can replace fossil fuels. Yet solar energy is superior because the sun can provide enough energy to suffice the world's needs many times over. And solar energy is much better than fossil fuels for people and the environment. Not only is solar energy better socially and environmentally, but also economically superior.
Building is an expensive enterprise for the creation of energy. According to Matthew Wald of the New York Times, the cost of an 800-megawatt coal power plant is around $1.83 billion. This means that coal energy costs around U.S. $2.29 per watt. On the other hand, solar energy costs about U.S. $3 per watt ("Cost of Solar Panels"). This is the initial cost of building but there is another factor to be considered: emissions. Solar energy does not emit anything while coal emits sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide. To reduce these emissions CCS has recently begun to be implemented at major coal-fired power plants. CCS stands for carbon capture and storage. In this system carbon is captured from smokestacks and buried in the ground. CCS is very expensive and according to the "Department of Energy ... the cost of capture with current technology [is] around $150 per ton of carbon" (Robertson). This means that, since "a mid-sized power plant can emit 7 million tons of CO2 a year" putting in a CCS system can be an addition billion dollars added to the cost. Nuclear power plants are even more expensive, costing around U.S. $3.5 per watt not including the operating cost and the cost of waste disposal ("Cost of Nuclear"). Overall solar energy is more cost efficient than coal and nuclear power plants.
Solar energy is also economically superior because of the reliability of the power source. Unlike fossil fuels and some other types of renewable energy, solar power is constant. While the sun does not always shine, solar panel "technology can deliver power for hours after the sun sets using thermal storage" ("United States"). In addition, because solar energy is constant, once the technology is developed. Money will no longer have to be spent finding other sources of energy, similar to the crisis we are facing now, where fossil fuels are beginning to run out. The UCS states that, "Since most renewables do not depend on fuel markets, they are not subject to price fluctuations resulting from increased demand, decreased supply, or manipulation of the market." Since solar energy does not depend on a finite resource, in the long run it will cost less than fossil fuel energy, unless one producer gains a monopoly on the industry and artificially raises the price. Also, solar energy is a local affair and thus not influenced by foreign relations ("Benefits of Renewable"). Solar energy provides a constant, reliable source of energy that will last as long as people do.
Solar energy is also better economically because using solar energy decreases health risks to people working in the factories and people in the area. First, solar energy will create more jobs that do not put the worker's health at risk. Renewable energy sources can create jobs to replace the jobs that are currently held by fossil fuel energy. The UCS, Union of Concerned Scientists, claim that "over a 30-year period, an 800-megawatt mix of new renewables would create about 22,000 more job-years than new natural gas and coal plants would" ("Benefits of Renewable"). Another large effect of solar energy is an indirect reduction of medical costs. Solar energy has does not emit gases and thus will reduce air pollution, a large cause of health problems and deaths (Curtis Moore).
Source: Curtis Moore, "Dying Needlessly: Sickness and Death Due to Energy-Related Air Pollution," Renewable Energy Policy Project Issue Sheet #6, February, 1997.
Nicholas De Filippis
Works Cited
"Benefits of Renewable Energy Use." Clean Energy. Union of Concerned Scientists. Web. 24 December 2009.
"Cost of Nuclear Power." Nuclear Power Education. Web. 28 December 2009.
"Cost of Solar Panels." Solar Panels. Solar Panel Information: Renewable Solutions. Web. 24 Dec 2009.
Robertson, Henry. "The Price of "Clean Coal"." Missouri Sierran Online. The Missouri Sierra Club. October 2007. Web. 24 December 2009.
Wald, Matthew. "Price of New Power Plants Rises Sharply." The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr., 10 July 2007. Web. 24 December 2009.
"United States: Trapping sunlight; Solar power." (2007, September). The Economist, 384(8546), 64. Retrieved December 28, 2009, from Platinum Periodicals. (Document ID: 1335840471).
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