Solar Energy

Today a new emphasis has been place on alternative energy sources as a source of power due to the rising cost of fossil fuels combined with decreasing supplies. A wide range of alternative sources of energy exist each with their individual advantages and disadvantages, these technologies range from solar, wind, and hydrogen power to nuclear and chemical power. The world’s consumption of energy continues to increase as new developing nations are consuming large amounts of energy to become on par with its neighbors such as the United States, from 2004 to 2005 it was estimated the OPEC would need to double its production to keep up. Solar energy is one form of alternative form of energy lets examine this further in depth.

What is solar energy? Solar energy is energy generated from the sun, and supports all life forms on earth. Solar energy is used in a variety of forms ranging from heat and electricity to lighting. Solar has many advantages including that it is a clean source, renewable, and it’s safe. While disadvantages to solar exist in that additional research and development is needed and remains unfinanced by the federal government, the excess energy needs to be stored for use in cloudy weather and at night in batteries, the electricity produced tends to be more expensive due to the upfront cost of the systems to capture and store the energy. While at the same time climate and location also affect the overall effectiveness of the systems and in many cases can not be the sole source of power. In any case solar power is still the second fastest growing energy source.

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