The inventor of solar technology such as solar panels has been identified as American inventor Charles Fritts who created solar panels in 1883 when "he coated a thin layer of selenium with an extremely thin layer of gold. The resulting cells had a conversion electrical efficiency of only about 1%. This invention led to the launching of a movement for producing solar energy." (AESOLAR)
Solar panels have gained popularity because sunlight provides an opportunity to explore clean and renewable energy sources that do not evoke pollution when converting into electricity.
👍 The benefits of solar panels are outlined:
A home reliant entirely on solar power features the capacity to function entirely off-grid, especially when supplemented with a solar battery system to maintain power during non-daylight hours. These battery systems can also turn solar systems into emergency backups during power outages. (Forbes)
Solar is the most abundant energy source on the planet and throughout the years, we managed to develop innovative technologies that could allow us to depend entirely on solar for the rest of our existence. Another huge advantage is that just a tiny fraction of the sunlight we get every day can provide a huge amount of energy. Indeed, the US Department of Energy argues that an hour and a half of sunlight that reaches the planet’s surface generates enough power to meet all of humanity’s energy consumption for an entire year. (Earth ORG)
Solar Panels are sustainable: The sun will be there for billions more years, and so will all its heat and light. It’s a source of energy that will never run out...at least for many generations to come! We will never ‘use up’ the sun’s power, so we can use the sun as a renewable, eco-friendly source of fuel all our lives and that of our descendants. When you install solar panels it will last you last more than 25 years. (World Solar)
👎 The cons of solar panels:
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)’s official projections assert that “large amounts of annual waste are anticipated by the early 2030s” and could total 78 million tonnes by the year 2050. That’s a staggering amount, undoubtedly. But with so many years to prepare, it describes a billion-dollar opportunity for the recapture of valuable materials rather than a dire threat. The threat is hidden by the fact that IRENA’s predictions are premised upon customers keeping their panels in place for the entirety of their 30-year life cycle. They do not account for the possibility of widespread early replacement. (Harvard Business Review)
Photovoltaic panels shade the land while blocking some areas from rainfall and dousing others with heavy runoff. This changes the growing conditions for plants, with implications for other connected species. The other prominent form of solar, concentrating solar — in which mirrors focus the sun’s rays — generates so much heat that it “can incinerate insects and burn the feathers of birds that fly through,” Jeffrey Lovich, a research ecologist with the US Geological Survey who studies the environmental impacts of these installations, wrote to Vox. In areas like the US Southwest, solar installations appear to contribute to bird mortality. Scientists aren’t entirely sure why this is, but one prevailing idea, known as the “lake-effect” hypothesis, is that migrating waterfowl making their way through the arid landscape mistake the installations for bodies of water and crash into them. (Vox)
The problem is the scale of land involved, and the change of land use. The energy density - the amount of land required to produce wattage - of PV is relatively low. But, according to the US Department of Energy, to hit the 2035 target of 690 GW capacity of PV, we would need 6,900 to 34,500 sq km. (The Guardian) Hence, farmers would be required to sacrifice part of their land they used to grow their produce for solar panels that will inevitably generate a substantial amount of waste, possibly harm nearby animals, and alter the climate of the crops, potentially creating long-term damage on the farmer's inventory and revenue.
My opinion on Solar Panels 🌦 :
The shortcomings of solar panels outweigh the benefits.
Solar technology is also incredibly overpriced. Not only does the installation of solar panels amount to $18,000 as the average amount a consumer is expected to pay on a complete solar setup for a home according to (Forbes); Solar panels are not subsidized fully, and the only notable instances in which such subsidies take place are in the USA (The Federal Solar Tax Credit for 2023 is 30% this is an increase from 26% in recent years and extends through to 2032. - Forbes) and China (Economies of scale and government subsidies, especially in China, have helped to drive down solar energy prices by 85 percent since 2010 - New York Times)
Furthermore, the maintenance cost is also expensive, seeing as the cost of an annual inspection "can vary, and ranges from $150 to $300 per visit." Hiring someone to clean your panels twice a year (however, this differs depending on where you live) can add a cost of around $300 to your annual expenses. (CNET)
Solar panels defeat the purpose of improving our carbon footprint because they cannot be recycled. "Used solar panels cannot go into landfill, but recycling them is difficult and the profit margins are slim. To be reused, solar panels need to be broken down so each component — including glass, aluminum, copper, plastic, and silicon — can be separated. And that takes a lot of heavy machinery to achieve." (Australian Broadcasting Center)
Moreover, the environmental impacts of production are consequential, seeing as "The process of mining for those metals creates greenhouse gas emissions and can lead to soil, water and air pollution." (Eco Watch)
I hope you enjoyed this article, and please let me know your thoughts on it in the comments down below!
Sending virtual hugs and lots of happiness your way! 🧸 🌻 🤪
Such a compelling article! Great sources, and I like the critical analysis! Keep it up!