Solar Energy Industry Association: This business that was established innovated how people use energy.
Solar Panels: A panel placed commonly on top of the roofs of houses and is designed to absorb the sun’s rays as a source of energy for generating heat or electricity.
Solar Investment Tax Credit: One of the most important federal policy mechanisms to support the deployment of solar energy in the United States.
Fossil Fuel: A natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living.
PV Modules: Another term for “solar panels” which are used to absorb the sun’s rays and converted to energy.
SolarCity: Leader in full-service solar power systems for homes.
The reason being is that solar panels are more affordable to countries all around the world that are impoverished and don’t have easy access to electricity, as well as the scarcity of fossil fuels continues to grow and the need for an alternate energy source is starting to rapidly increase. Developing countries are starting to promote the usage of solar panels to conserve their limited fossil fuels and kickoff a fast-growing industry. For example, the whole country of India had a cumulative capacity of 9,012.66 megawatts (MW), according to the article "2016 was the year solar panels finally became cheaper than fossil fuels.” It’s important to understand that India is still considered a developing country and statistically shown that the majority of their country runs on solar energy, which means that energy produced by the sun is far more cheaper than burning fossil fuels for energy and as a result, many countries will alternate to solar. While fossil fuels still make up the majority of the world’s electricity source, it’s becoming scarce and many countries need to consider another energy source. According to a study by the SEIA (Solar Energy Industry Association), they found that 80 percent of the coal reserves are located in only 6 of the world’s countries, Europe being only 4 percent of the global total, founded in the article “The state of solar power looks bright in 2017.” This presents the idea that many other countries in the world will move to an alternate energy source being solar energy. As years go by, the amount of fossil fuels left to use for energy will start to become extinct. Industries like the SEIA will continue to innovate how people use energy, but in addition to their useful technology, it contributes to the climate change crisis and keeping the environment clean.
Solar energy is incredibly eco friendly because it reduces the amount of toxic pollutants that are released into the air whether it’s from factories, vehicles, steamboats, also, solar panels that harness the sun’s energy generally do not fluctuate the earth’s temperature which contributes to the climate crisis. Conflicts involving air pollution are starting to be resolved as countries start to alternate to solar energy. For example, a statistic that was proposed by SolarCity in the article, “Solar Power Trends Of 2017,” shows that the amount of Carbon emitted from solar energy productions is 95 percent less than that of fossil fuel power plants making solar energy the least leading factor to air pollution. This statistic proves that solar energy is contributing to making the air in the environment more clean thus leading to a bigger advantage over fossil fuels because they harm the atmosphere and the people within it. While it is important to understand the threats of air pollution and how solar energy solves that, the climate aspect is also an issue that can be resolved by the result of using solar energy. According to James Mathus, worker of the SEIA (Solar Energy Industry Association), he says that solar energy is nowhere near the leading factor to climate change, yet fossil fuels are the world’s leading cause of climate change also found in the article of “Solar Panels Of The Future.” Malthus's opinion matters because if he’s a part of an association that deals with solar power, he’d know what he’s talking about. Therefore, when he says that solar energy is not a factor to climate change, he’s right because he develops the technology. Solar energy brings benefits and keeps the climate and temperature, as a result, the chances of global warming decrease by a great deal. In reality, solar technologies are a solution to the climate change and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions that greatly impact the environment, yet people are opposed of investing money into the solar industry.
The reason being is that the promoters of electricity such as SolarCity and the SEIA (Solar Energy Industry Association) aren’t delivering all they can for how much the public invests into them, as well as the process of developing new and efficient solar technology for the lasting future is inevitably long. The SITC (Solar Investment Tax Credit) is a federal policy that gathers the money from the public to support the deployment of solar energy in the United States. The SITC have collected on average over $ 39 billion a year and counting of the Obama Administration yet they haven’t produced enough electricity to cover the amount of money that was invested according to the article, “No Rival For The Lightning Bug.” A majority of the people in the United States believe that this is another Obama initiative to put the economy further into debt if they invest more into solar energy when they aren’t operating to their full potential, as a result, they oppose the idea of having Solar Investment Tax Credit collect their money for these unnecessary innovations and feel as if the nation is becoming less prosperous. Although solar energy could be the future’s hope to replacing fossil fuels, it would still take decades to develop the technology that is necessary to produce enough electricity for the whole United States. According to Michael J. Coren, a writer that records technology and sciences and experienced worker for the SEIA (Solar Energy Industry Association), he says that the technology they’re creating is going to take approximately until 2060 or 2070 until its reached its maximum potential and enough electricity will be produced, founded in the article, “Is Solar Energy Our Best Option?” Since America already owns a majority of the fossil fuel resources that are needed to become sustainable, they see it as a waste of time and money to create technology that comes to no use for them if they already own most of the world’s resources needed for electricity. Since
Solar panels and other solar technologies generally last over 30 years which is very sufficient for the world’s needs, as well as when fossil fuel is no longer an option, there is a secondary source of electricity to keep the future continuous. Researchers such as the NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) suggest that solar energy is sustainable enough for the future. In a statistic proposed by the NREL, they show that the average solar panel loses only 0.5 percent of its efficiency per year meaning that by the course if 25 years, the solar panel would still be operating at about 88 percent of its original capacity according to the article, “How Long Do Solar Panels Last?” It’s important to understand that solar panels harness energy from the sun’s rays meaning there’d be no cost to taking in energy that won’t go away, and unlike fossil fuels, the energy that is taken in from the sun is unlimited. In addition to solar energy known to be long lasting, fossil fuels are starting to run out and an alternate source of energy will need to start to be considered. It’s been estimated that fossil fuels such as coal and gas will take us far as 2088 according to the article, “The End Of Fossil Fuels Will Lead To The Birth Of Solar.” Since fossil fuels are starting to become more and more limited as time goes by, the desperate need for solar energy will come into play. SolarCity and the SEIA are starting to create sustainable technology for the future, but unfortunately, they were never meant to be put on top of the roof of residential homes.
The reason being is that solar panels are more expensive on rooftops than solar farms and solar farms are far more effective and cost efficient, as well as the size of the roof won’t fit enough solar panels to supply enough energy for the house. Many residents that live in small, rural areas prefer to have solar panels on top of their roofs to have a more sustainable source of energy, but they don’t consider another factor that greatly impacts how the results will turn it. In an article called, “Why the best place for solar panels may not be your roof.” Francis O’ Sullivan, director of research and analysis at the MIT energy Initiative says that residential solar has a higher investment cost per peak watt, residential solar receives higher subsidies per watt. Since Francis is an expert on MIT energy, his opinion matters. The government has to invest more money into people that want to put there solar panels on the roof of their houses and as a result, economy will be unstable because people that live in residential homes will desire more solar panels on top of their roofs and people will likely need to pay the government subsidies so they can invest their money into solar panel installation on roofs. While the cost matters very much, the size of the roof is likely to fall short to the requirements. According to the SEIA (Solar Energy Industry Association), the smallest system is a 2kW system with 8 panels which would cover 8 meters by 1.7 meters by 4 meters which takes up more space than the average residential roof. If the roof can’t be up to par with the size requirements of a small solar panel system which won’t provide all the energy, then the chance of fitting a larger system is almost impossible. Overall, solar panels on roofs shouldn’t be considered because they cost more than just having solar farms and they would be too large to fit on top of roofs.