Energy Sources of the Future - Essay Example

Three of these include solar power, wind power and biomass. Solar Power Solar power, or solar energy, is a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Solar power comes from the sun through the use of solar panels that contain solar or photovoltaic cells. In fact, one square meter of solar panel can generate as much as 100 watts of electricity (“Solar Power”). Once used only to power satellites, the solar panel is now used to generate power for houses and companies. Aside from the use of solar panels, solar power can also be used to heat water using glass panels on the roof.

This powers up the home’s central heating system (“Solar Power”). Moreover, a third type of machine that utilizes solar power is a solar furnace. The huge array of mirrors in a solar furnace is used to concentrate all the sunlight into a small space in order to produce an extremely high temperature of heat. Solar furnaces may be used for scientific experiments. There are also solar-powered electric boats and solar towers. (“Solar Power”) On the subject of availability and renewability, solar power may be advantageous as it basically “needs no fuel” and is renewable as long as the sun shines (“Solar Power”). . Even if only 2.

5% of this radiation is converted into electricity, it would be enough for the total energy consumption of the whole nation in a year (Zweibel et al., University of Colorado). Another related development in the utilization of solar energy is the very recent invention of the nanocone-based solar cell. This particular type of solar cell, which boosts the light conversion efficiency of traditional solar cells by a whopping 80%, is in fact a result of the “minimization of defects and voids in semiconductors” (“New Solar Cell,” ScienceDaily).

This property alone enhances electric and optical properties of the solar cell in order to convert sunlight to electric power more efficiently, thus increasing its availability while maximizing its utilization. Perhaps the only disadvantage of solar power is that, unless stored, it does not work at night and may be very expensive to build. (“Solar Power”) When it comes to environmental impact, solar power does not produce any pollution or waste (“Solar Power”). According to the Union of Concerned Scientists in the United States, primary environmental issues associated with solar power concerns only “how [solar power systems] are manufactured, installed, and ultimately disposed of” (“Environmental Impacts,” UCSUSA.org). Arsenic, silicon and cadmium are the major elements used in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells and are therefore hazardous to workers and anyone else who comes in contact with the solar panels.

Safety regulations should therefore be strictly kept. Moreover, solar-thermal plants require cooling water, which may be costly or scarce in the southwest United States where the area is more