Solar Energy and Fossil Fuel Energy as New Sources

“We live in a world bathed in five thousand times more energy than we consume as a species in the year, in the form of solar energy” claims Peter Diamandis, founder of the X Prize Foundation. Humans will have to change the energy sources they use if they want to attempt to save the Earth from the continuous rise of polluted water, carbon emissions, and global warming. For millions of years, solar energy has been a constant resource on earth. If harnessed properly, one hour’s worth of sunlight could power the entire world for a whole year. Still, countries are still starting wars to claim the next largest oil field. The global carbon emissions continue to rise each year and the only way to save our planet is through renewable energy sources. Is solar energy more sustainable than traditional fossil fuel energy sources?

New inventions have led to solar energy being used twenty-four hours a day--which is able to power thousands of homes while reducing carbon emissions. For example, a new billion-dollar solar plant called Crescent Dunes has recently been finished, containing three hundred and sixty thousand mirrors that capture heat and allow it to generate electricity at any time of day. The CEO of SolarReserve claims that solar power at night is a new world for the renewable energy industry. Journalist Michael Grunwald explains “this first-of-its-kind solar plant with built-in storage, designed to power 75,000 homes day or night, is just one promising corner of the new world of electricity.” One of the prior disadvantages of solar energy was the ability to produce energy only during daylight. However, this new technology opens the door for built-in solar storage that allows energy access at night or during overcast days. This is a step in the direction of a much healthier planet with the ability to eliminate the emissions from thousands of homes from the power of one solar plant. The Crescent Dunes plant is similar to any other power plant which uses heat to spin turbines, however, this heat is coming directly from the sun, unlike fossil fuels. Now the molten salt storage powered from ninety-three million miles away will make the power plant a perpetual-motion machine (Grunwald). HPAC Engineering writer Ian Spanswick states that “commercial buildings consume 35 percent of the electricity used in the United States.” A majority of that electricity is purely generated by coal burning power plants, which release CO2 into the atmosphere. The consumption of energy from commercial buildings plays a huge factor in total CO2 emissions across the globe, and solar energy could be the answer. Solar energy provides a much lower pollution rate and is extremely sustainable when looking at future decisions that could save the bleeding environment.

The constant burning of fossil fuels is responsible for millions of deaths each year and will continue to destroy our atmosphere if a change is not made. National Geographic Journalist Tim Appenzeller reports that the U.S. burns more than a billion tons of coal a year and emit an abundance of damaging substances into the atmosphere. They “produce as much climate-warming carbon dioxide as America's cars, trucks, buses, and planes combined.” The toxicity that is being released into the atmosphere is the reason for extreme climate change in areas across the globe, which provides a stronger argument for the solar industry that has the potential to save our planet. The United States specifically has an extremely large ecological footprint and currently, if everyone lived as Americans do, humans would need around four Earth’s to be able to sustain humanity. Not only are these emissions killing the environment but around the world, 3.61 million people die each year because of open air contamination brought about by non-renewable energy sources. These fossil fuels, like coal, oil and flammable gas, are responsible for around 78% of greenhouse gas emissions. An extra 1.94 million unexpected deaths occur due to air contamination from different sources (Appenzeller). Fossil fuels are not sustainable for the desired lifestyle anymore and are the cause of death for millions of people each year. A drastic change must be made to save the deteriorating atmosphere and a switch away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources must be made.

The popularity increase in solar energy is creating jobs for hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers. The recent advancements in the solar industry have allowed for its economic potential to increase in states like Illinois where the Future Energy Jobs Act of 2016 was passed. Senator David Koehler says that “the biggest opportunity that solar brings to Illinois is jobs. Our biggest goal for the Future Energy Jobs Act is to create good-paying jobs in every corner of Illinois.” Currently, there are around two hundred and sixty thousand solar jobs nationwide with over one hundred thousand of those in the state of California alone (Cleveland). Solar now utilizes a greater number of laborers than natural gas, twice the number of coal workers, more than three times that of wind, and five times the number in the nuclear energy industry and these numbers are expected to increase even more over the next ten years (Grunwald). Currently, the solar industry is booming as more companies and individuals are switching over to this alternative form of energy. This is to help cut down on pollution and energy bills while creating more jobs and improving the economy. There has been a fear of the absence of energy assets in Europe over the past ten years and if solar energy can be easily accessible there then the amount of water and air pollution would create new jobs for around two million more citizens. Not only is solar energy the cleanest and most reliable form of renewable energy, but it’s also improving the economy with the creation of reliable jobs as well.

The cost of solar energy is continuing to drop--saving individual investors and large companies millions of dollars. Companies are beginning to discover how much they can save in the long run by turning away from fossil fuels for their primary energy source and switching to solar. Nautilus Solar, a New Jersey-based company that installs and maintains solar panels, sells solar energy back to the college they are working on at a rate lower than nonrenewable energy. The University has saved around $1.5 million in energy costs over the past six years (Helmer). This is an asset that goes unrecognized by the public when it comes to the installation of solar panels. Many people fail to understand that solar is an investment that has a high initial cost but will help save money the longer it is in use. Journalist Michael Grunwald states that “a new solar power system is now installed on an American roof every three or four minutes, often through leasing deals that require no money down and lock in lower electric bills for years… its costs are plunging even faster than winds, with prices for photovoltaic panels dropping more than 80% in five years.” These increasing installation rates are also causing extremely successful companies like Google to invest in rooftop solar, making the topic more attractive. Grunwald also points out that panels are dropping in price dramatically. They are down from more than $75 per watt 40 years ago to less than 75¢ per watt today. This boom in rooftop installations is helping turn families and businesses into not only electricity consumers but producers as well. Despite popular belief, installing and owning solar panels will produce cost savings while remaining sustainable and providing the cleanest version of electricity.

Although some claim that the cost and usage of fossil fuel energy are more viable for their homes, its long term viability is limited. Solar energy as well as other clean, renewable energy sources will have to become the future of this Earth if the fossil fuel consumption rate does not drastically decrease soon. Fossil fuel energy is non-renewable with limited supply. In addition, for decades wars have started as countries fight for access or ownership to fossil fuels. Solar power is the most reliable source of renewable power because the sun will never stop producing energy and this system can be used around the entire globe. Not only is solar limiting greenhouse gas emissions, but it is also creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs across the nation, saving businesses millions in energy bills, and improving the economy.