Is Solar Power Energy Better Than Other Energy Sources?
It is highly unlikely
that we can find any energy source to be cheaper
in the long run than solar power energy (or
simply solar energy, if you like) because
solar energy is far easier to tap into than
other energy sources. Now, as to which is
better, that depends on what we mean by better.
At present, more people have expertise in
using fossil fuels simply because we have
been using fossil fuels longer than solar
energy – but that does not necessarily
make use of fossil fuels better than solar
energy usage. This is because fossil fuels
are notoriously dependent on the sway of the
market to influence the price of acquiring
it from the fossil fuel extractors; fossil
fuels are equally notorious at producing noxious
emissions that harm our lungs, and our habitats
by inducing the greenhouse effect (which in
turn leads to global warming); and there are
some experts who caution that we may be seeing
the end of our capacities to extract fossil
fuels from beneath the ground. In simple terms,
there may not be enough fossil fuels left
to sustain human life as we know it now. And
that is very bad news for all of us.
This is why many pioneering minds have opted
to pursue the development of alternative energy
sources. Some – like solar energy –
have been around for longer than others and
others are still in their infancy. There are
two issues in renewable energy that visionaries
in solar energy have managed to address to
a certain extent: cost and clean technologies.
Cost of initial investments into solar energy
and solar energy systems have gone down lately
due to more people opting to buy into this
form of renewable energy. And how much cleaner
can solar energy get when it does not result
in emissions of any sort (aside from a limited
amount of heat and radiation emitted when
you use any solar energy systems?)
Solar energy is definitely cleaner than coal
which used to be a main ingredient in the
industrial systems used during the Industrial
Revolution, but which is notorious at producing
noxious greenhouse gases. One reason more
people can and do use coal is that it is relatively
cheap, so it is unlikely developing countries
will adopt solar energy systems when coal
is still available and much more affordable.
In this case, cost takes precedence over the
need to use clean technologies like solar
energy. And it is more reasonable to expect
that people will prioritize cost, because
how many people in developing countries have
the $200,000 needed to transform their home
into a solar-energy-dependent structure? This
is why coal is still responsible for meeting
up to 40% of the power needs of the world.
One company that is trying to help make alternative
energy sources like solar energy become as
cheap as coal is Google, the major search
engine which is investing big bucks into research
and development about renewable energy sources.
Google leaders are hoping that their civic
action will help make alternative energy like
solar energy more affordable so that asking
people to switch to these energy sources becomes
easier and more feasible in the long run.
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