Turchi
Solar Power
Alison Turchi
Mr. Martinez
Honors Civics
21 November 2010
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Intro:
Humanity is incredibly dependant on electricity and, in particular, the world tends to favor using
fossil fuels such as coal and oil to get the energy. However, these resources are not unlimited.
Coal and oil will run out eventually, and that means civilization needs to find a new source of
energy, a source that won’t eventually run out. Solar power is the way to go because, even if it
is expensive now, it could potentially satisfy the world’s electricity demands.
A. Pro Solar Energy:
¶2. solar energy is renewable and a very powerful source of energy
¶3. doesn't impact the environment as harshly as non-renewable
¶1. as technology advances the price will decrease and the efficiency will increase
B. Con Solar Energy:
¶1. cost of solar energy is more expensive than it’s coal counterpart
¶2. solar energy is can not be stored in its primary form
¶3. the effect of weather is often unpredictable
C. Statistics:
¶1. covering only 4% of the world's deserts with solar panels would be enough to supply all
of the world's electricity.
¶2. Solar energy at the start of the 2010 had the average price of 18 cents per kilowatt-hour,
approximately three times more expensive than the price of coal and natural gas.
¶3. By 2014, solar thermal plants located in the Southwest could crank out nearly 3
gigawatts of power, estimated Travis Bradford of the Prometheus Institute for
Sustainable Development, a nonprofit based in Cambridge, Mass. That's enough for
about 1 million homes.
Conclusion:
In fact, NREL, the National Renewable Energy Lab, says that more energy from the sun falls on
the earth in one hour than is used by everyone in the world in one year (¶ 1). People need to
realize that coal and oil will not last forever and that we need to switch to solar power. Solar is
more than powerful enough to satisfy this modern eras electricity need. Now is the time to
change, now is the time for solar.
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Turchi
Alison Turchi
Mr. Martinez
Honors Civics
21 November 2010
Solar Power
Humanity is incredibly dependant on electricity and, in particular, the world tends to favor
using fossil fuels such as coal and oil to get the energy. However, these resources are not
unlimited. Coal and oil will run out eventually, and that means civilization needs to find a new
source of energy, a source that won’t eventually run out. The world’s nations should switch to
solar power because, even if it is expensive now, it could potentially satisfy the world’s electricity
demands at less cost to the environment.
Cost is, of course, a major issue that is keeping solar power from expanding. World
energy statistics state that solar energy cost an average price of 18 cents per kilowatt-hour at
the start of the 2010, which is approximately three times more expensive than the price of coal
and natural gas (World Energy Statistics, ¶ 7). It is plain to see why solar has not progressed in
the energy world, but it is on the rise. As technology progresses, solar systems and panels will
become more efficient and more widely used. Costs will decrease as new data is found on how
to create and store solar power.
Another positive aspect of solar power is that is a very powerful source of energy. An
issue, however, is storing that power. Many methods have been considered, from a simple
battery, to storing the solar heat in vats of molten salt (Storing Solar Power Efficiently ¶ 1). Also,
even if solar power can be found anywhere, the locations with the highest and most consistent
energy are far from most of civilization. This distance also creates an issue with transmission of
the produced electricity. Many people use the cost of transporting the energy as an argument
against solar power, but fail to realize that, if only 4% of the worlds deserts were covered with
solar panels, they would be able to supply the whole worlds electricity needs, as reported by the
World Energy Statistics site (¶ 2). But if covering deserts with panels will solve the world’s
energy problems, it will also create issues with the environment.
Solar energy, however, would also have less of an impact on the environment than fossil
fuels. Coal and oil create carbon dioxide (CO2) when they burn, and CO2 is the main cause of
global warming. Solar plants would not effect the environment in such a negative way. The
weather would affect the amount of energy a plant could produce. Clouds, for example, render a
concentrated solar power system useless. Travis Bradford of the Prometheus Institute for
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Sustainable Development estimates that by 2014, solar thermal plants in the Southwest could
produce enough power for around 1 million homes (cnet.com, ¶ 11). Photovoltaic cells can
convert solar power into electricity directly on the roof of a home, which could eliminate many
transmission lines. Solar energy is a very powerful and potent source of energy.
The National Renewable Energy Lab says that more energy from the sun falls on the
earth in one hour than is used by everyone in the world in one year (¶ 1). People need to realize
that coal and oil will not last forever and that the nations of the world need to switch to solar
power. Solar energy is more than powerful enough to satisfy this modern era’s electricity need.
Now is the time to change, now is the time for solar.
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Works Cited
Haluzan, Ned. "Global Solar Energy Statistics." World Energy Statistics. 9 Sep. 2010. Web.
12 Nov. 2010. <http://energy-statistics.blogspot.com/2010/09/global-solar-energystatistics.html>.
Kanellos, Michael. "Shrinking the Cost of Solar Power." cnet news. 11 May 2009. Web. 12
Nov. 2010. <http://news.cnet.com/Shrinking-the-cost-for-solar-power/2100-11392_36182947.html>.
not available. "Solar." ProCon.org. 1 Jan. 1988. Web. 12 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.nuclearpowerprocon.org/pop/solar.htm>.
NREL. "Solar Energy Basics." National Renewable Energy Lab. NREL, 7 Oct. 2009. Web.
12 Nov. 2010. <http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_solar.html>.
Fairley, Peter. "Storing Solar Power Efficiently." Technology Review. MIT, 27 Sept. 2007.
Web. 16 Nov. 2010. <http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/19440/page2/>.
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