The 2003 the
Northeast blackout affected 45 million people in eight US states. Those using
alternative sources of energy such as solar panels were able to benefit from
their independence from the grid.
No food
going bad in refrigerators, no sitting in the dark for them. The Council on
Foreign Relations, a think tank, has reported that electricity consumption and
production have consistently expanded, resulting in an increased burden on a
system not designed for such a large load, meaning that many people are turning
to solar panels for security as well as financial and environmental reasons.
Solar power
is a "green" and renewable power and doesn't emit harmful carbon
dioxide, which means it's a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Close to
3000 pounds of CO2 per year can be saved by a typical home solar energy system,
which works out to about 30 tons over its lifetime. These clean, green technologies
will be the core of the next industrial revolution, according to Tony Juniper,
Friends of the Earth director.
The use of
solar power drastically reduces electricity costs, and this is one of the most
common reasons for choosing it. Federal and state governments offer solar
incentives, which help to offset the initial expenses of a solar energy system.
The 2005 Energy Policy Act provides two ways to be given a solar energy tax
credit from the federal government. Solar energy rebates are also offered by
more than 50% of US states.
An average
of 164 watts of solar power per square meter is delivered to the Earth's crust
by the sun. If we placed enough solar panels in the Sahara desert to cover just
one percent of it, we could generate enough electricity to power the entire
planet. This abundance of solar power means there's more than we'll ever need.
But because the power sent out by the sun arrives as a mixture of light and
heat, we can't use it as it is to directly power a car or a computer. This is why
solar panels were invented - to convert the sun's power into a form we can use,
like electricity.
Solar panels
generate job opportunities. This is of great importance since there is a very
high rate of unemployment in the world today. These jobs are come about in the
form of, manufacturing of the solar panels, research about further
improvements, maintenance, development and cultural integration. With the
continued presence of the sun, these jobs are guaranteed since there is ongoing
improvements and modification of this device. Jobs like maintenance and
installation do not require a long-term training and are therefore more
advantageous for those who do not have many skills and are unemployed.
Use of solar
energy is safe from price manipulations and politics. The fact that there are
no raw materials that are solely controlled by monopolies ensures that there is
no manipulation of prices as is the case with fossil fuels. With fossil fuels,
the prices can rise as high as the monopolizing powers controlling them want.
There is also less competitiveness with use of solar panels since there is no
fight over such things as oil fields and other raw materials. Although the
government has started addressing the issue of solar panels, there is little
influence they can have in price manipulation. This is because no one controls
the main raw material.
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