Solar Energy Is The Way of the Future - Research Paper Example

Section/# Solar Energy: The Way of the Future? What are the most talked about forms of renewable energy overthe past several years has been solar. Due to the decreasing natural resources that the planet exhibits, coal and nuclear sources of electrical generation are in diminished supply and represent their own unique risks. As a function of discussing this alongside presenting an alternative approach, the following analysis will promote an understanding of some of the pros and cons of the utilization of solar energy. It is the hope of this author that the reader will be able to gain a more informed understanding with respect to the way in which solar energy represents a potential to serve as a more renewable form of energy in the coming years and decades. Firstly, it should be noted that a large majority of energy (electricity) is generated by coal plants. These coal plants are inherently a dirty way of creating electricity; due to the fact that they burn the fossil fuel coal as a means of generating that in turn drives turbines which produce electricity. Beyond the inefficiency of this process, coal is a limited and finite natural resource that once it is exhausted will be gone forever. Furthermore, the inherent damage to the environment that coal fumes and ash create has been proven by a litany of different medical researchers to be especially toxic. By means of comparison and contrast, many individuals argue for the more widespread use of nuclear energy; due to the fact that it is inherently “cleaner” than coal and less environmentally toxic to individuals that live in and around the nuclear stations that produce such energy (Frishberg, 2013). By means of comparison and contrast, solar energy has come to be a very attractive alternative. For instance, proponents of solar energy point to the fact that it is sustainable, widely available, reduces electricity costs, silent, abundant, renewable, and relatively low maintenance. All of these advantages encourage individuals throughout society to promote solar energy as the most effective way in which the dependent upon limited and finite resources can be reduced within the near future. However, the fact of the matter is that solar energy also exhibits a litany of drawbacks. First and most importantly, it is prohibitively expensive at the current juncture. This disadvantage in and of itself is not sufficient to discourage further development of solar resources and solar energy development. The underlying reason behind this has to do with the fact that any technology ultimately comes down in price as it is studied further and researchers/scientists are able to understand more effective and economical means of developing such a technology. For instance, only a decade ago, solar panels with the only way through which solar energy can be harvested. However, certain companies are now experimenting, to a great deal of success, with particular types of pain that can be utilized to collect solar energy and directed to electrodes that been in turn collected within battery banks or other capacitive storage devices (Brown, 2013). Although this might not be the ultimate direction in which solar energy develops, it does show the way in which promising new developments have a powerful impact with respect to changing the way in which society understands and integrates with this technology. A further issue that exists with respect to solar energy has to do with the fact that it is by its very nature and intermittent source of power. Whereas a coal or nuclear plant can operate 24 hours a day seven days a week and 365 days a year, solar generation can only occur during peak hours of solar activity. Moreover, in higher latitudes, solar energy is not sufficient due to the fact that the sun only remains in the sky a very brief period of time during the winter months. By means of comparison and contrast, the way in which solar energy is stored is invariably in the form of banks of batteries. As might be expected, this is a rather low-tech an extraordinarily expensive way in which energy can be retained. Furthermore, batteries eventually wear out and are highly toxic to recycle and/or dispose of/create. For this reason, many environmentalists have fundamentally shifted against solar power as a renewable form of energy altogether. Final drawback that exists with respect to solar energy has to do with the fact that require such a great deal of space as a means of power and even a single whole. For instance, a standard residential house that intends on power and all of its electronic devices based upon solar energy would necessarily need the entire roof, as well as portions of the yard covered in solar panels as a means of achieving this goal. For this very reason, many individuals have not fully integrated with solar energy generation as a means of replacing the traditional energy that powers their homes. From the information that is thus far been described, it is clear and apparent that even though solar energy represents a noted benefit with respect to the traditional forms of electoral generation that currently exist within the system, it also references core drawbacks. For these very reasons, solar energy has not caught on to a higher degree. Whereas many individuals might point to a potential conspiracy by energy companies or government controls that she individuals addicted to the power grid, the fact of the matter is that solar energy is neither economically viable nor widely available. For this very reason, individuals are necessarily discouraged from using it and the level of research that takes place is limited with respect to the means by which this energy is stored after it is collected. However, with all that being said, it must also be understood that this is still a relatively new technology. Within these lines, it can further be expected that developments in solar energy could necessarily lead to a breakthrough in which it could reduce or entirely negate many of the negative drawbacks that have thus far been evidenced. References Brown, A. S. (2013). By the Numbers: America Tops China in Clean Energy. Mechanical Engineering, 135(7), 30-31. Frishberg, M. (2013). Incentives Spark Solar Energy Boom for Japan. Research Technology Management, 56(3), 5-6. doi:10.5437/08956308X5603001 Read More