The Importance of Clean, Renewable Energy
Planet Earth is our home, which means we need to take care of it. Everything in this world is finite, no matter how renewable it is. That is why we should focus on expending what we can reasonably afford to use from sources that run little risk of depletion.
Windmills, hydropower, even plant-based gasoline, all of these are solutions to the problem… but not solutions that have any long-term viability. Energy costs for production and maintenance are only climbing, and the amount of electricity produced by the above mechanisms is lacking.
Without renewable energy sources, and with the continued prevalence of fossil fuels that slowly eat away at our atmosphere, it is no exaggeration to say humanity may find itself facing troubles in the near future. And while many scientists with accredited records have made the same observations, lobbyists in the oil industry have prevented any significant progress from being made.
Nuclear power plants would help a lot, but they’re beyond risky with human error as a factor to consider. Nuclear power is green, yes, but it is also highly volatile and produces waste that is arguably more harmful than the carbons produced by fossil fuels. Systems could fail and wipe cities from the map… which is a bit counter-productive when we’re attempting to increase the world’s longevity.
The Power of the Sun
Solar power, on the other hand, is more efficient than almost anything humanity can produce. Not surprising when the sun is a giant ball of constant nuclear fission that produces more than 380 septillion watts of electricity per second. For the record, “septillion” indicates you should add twenty-four zeroes to the end of that “380”. The average household in the United States uses about 30,000 watts a day, for reference.
The sun is powerful, and we have the technology to harness it. Photovoltaic systems, as described here, work by converting sunlight into energy. This occurs because light can knock electrons loose from atoms of specific elemental compounds. The movement of electrons is what constitutes electricity, meaning capturing those loose electrons is how solar panels operate.
This sounds rather unimpressive, but do not underestimate the amount of power produced in this manner. A single field of solar panels can power more than a hundred households with some consistency, and that’s an old statistic using less modern technology.
Yes, the field of photovoltaic systems is growing steadily with our understanding of how such technology works. We are coming upon an era of great scientific advancement thanks to progress in research and development. In 2020, the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar power plant was developed in India, producing a whopping 750 megawatts of energy. That’s enough power to support more than 100,000 United States households.
That sounds impressive, right? It is, just not as much as you might think. The amount of space for the number of solar panels needed to power the entire world would be larger than New Mexico, which is a sobering thought. No, solar power is not the only solution to all of our problems, but it is a good start, and can be used to supplement what waning fossil fuels we have left.
It should come as no surprise that there are many companies that provide solar power, for less cost than any gas. Solar power is simply cheaper to produce thanks to its near-infinite primary resource. One such company is Germany’s very own Energieversum, a photovoltaic systems company that provides you with your very own solar power.
Browse through sites like energieversum.de, and learn how they install solar panels at your home, allowing you to gather energy so long as the sun shines. Check inclusion packages like if they offer a storage package, so that any excess production may be kept for a rainy day. Also factor in on warranty so you never have to worry about damage.
One of the greatest benefits companies like these offer is that their solar panels are an investment. As fossil fuels dry out, power companies are losing their favorite money-maker. This racks prices up and up as supply starts losing out to demand. But if you have your own solar panels installed, your household is immune from this problem, able to produce its own energy for as long as you need.
This is a boon that cannot be understated. The average monthly electricity bill in Germany is more than 1000 Euros a year, or 93 a month. After the (admittedly hefty) initial cost, however, solar power will cost you nothing, and can even earn you more if you sell it to others.
As the commercial market expands, this kind of service could become available to many more, and for a lesser initial cost. While those in apartments would unfortunately not be able to reap these benefits, homeowners could have their very own green energy without having to worry about exploitative practices from power companies. This development would finally crack the energy monopoly in the United States, saving millions of Americans a lot of money.
Praise the Sun!
Your energy needs can be met for a much more reasonable cost. No longer will your house’s TV burn spots through the ozone layer. No longer will carbon emissions cause damaging acid rain. You can finally keep the lights on without worrying about the cost.
These are the ideals of solar power, and while we’re not quite there yet, we’re making gradual strides toward this future with every advancement. Someday, hopefully in the very near future, solar power will become a commodity for everyone. The greatest ideal is that it will be something close to free for all, given how the only real costs are installation and maintenance.
The world is facing a great revival of energy, and we’re next in line to see it happen. In less than four hundred years of this planet’s history, we’ve gone from incandescent light bulbs to LEDs, from coal furnaces to solar power. This is human advancement, the very driving force behind our evolution.
