We have all heard about climate change and how dangerous it has become. Our world is facing a lot of problems; massive overpopulation, pollution, famine, and war are just a few examples. Thankfully, there are a lot of people and companies working hard to solve these problems. One of the big contributors to solving climate change is something totally unexpected – solar energy. The following will discuss how solar energy is indirectly supporting our environment and directly supporting our energy needs. Let’s dive in.
How Is Solar Energy Changing Our Environment?
If you’ve been on the internet at all in the last few years, you’ll have seen a lot of articles regarding the environmental benefits of solar energy. These articles usually start the same way: by praising the benefits of clean energy, extolling the virtues of solar over traditional energy sources, and then they throw out some scary stat about how much energy the average person uses day to day. From saving the environment to reducing energy usage, these articles paint an optimistic picture of what solar energy can do for us. In 2019 alone, about 6% of the entire worlds energy came from solar.
Why Does Solar Energy Matter For Our Energy Needs?
While we can’t control how much energy other people use, we can control how much energy we use. When the news media talks about how much energy we use, they almost always mention how much of it comes from fossil fuels. That’s because we have turned to fossil fuels to try and solve our energy crisis. The good news is that solar energy is producing more and more energy each year, so it’s effectively solving our energy problem. The bad news is that because solar energy is so new, we don’t really know how much harm it’s doing to our planet. Scientists are debating whether or not concentrating solar power on homes and businesses is actually good for the environment. While it’s not likely, it’s still very possible that solar energy is causing damage. The main issue is that the technology is so new, we don’t know how much harm it’s doing. Thankfully, there are people working hard to find out.
What Does the Future of Solar Energy Look Like?
If you look at the history of technology, you’ll see that it always starts small and then it grows larger as generations of engineers and scientists work hard to perfect it. As we’ve already discussed, solar energy started small and then grew over the years. In 2019, we are already at a stage where it’s energy usage is comparable to that of traditional energy sources. In fact, many large solar farms are now powering entire cities – even small towns. The following are a few examples of how solar energy has improved our lives:
More Than 95% Of South Africa’s Power Comes From Solar Farms
In South Africa, almost 100% of the country’s power comes from solar farms. With plenty of sun and consistent power supplies, building more solar farms is a no-brainer.
As a result, millions of people no longer need to rely on traditional energy sources such as coal or oil, which cause serious harm to the environment. During the 2017/18 financial year, South Africa’s renewable power sources – notably solar – provided a surplus of 19.9 million megawatt hours, compared to the 18.8 million megawatt hours that were required. This was enough to supply the entire country for 14.4 million people.
Tiny Island Where All Energy Comes From Renewables
An island in the middle of nowhere, with no land masses around it, has decided to make energy production its number one priority. Nantucket Island in the Bahamas currently gets all of its power from solar and wind energy, and is thus completely off the grid. The island’s government has announced that it will not purchase any more oil or gas from other islands and will reduce the amount of plastic waste that was previously thrown away. The island’s leaders have stated that they want to be energy independent and eliminate the use of oil and gas to provide power to the entire island.
This island’s example shows that even a small community can effectively power itself with renewables. In fact, islanders used to getting power cuts now have a power supply that doesn’t depend on any oil or gas-powered stations. In 2021, they plan to generate enough power to supply all of their needs, as well as the needs of some of their residents who have special needs. This is fantastic news for the environment, as it means less pollution from power stations and less damage to wildlife.
More Than Half of the United Kingdom’s Power Comes From Renewables
Just a few years ago, it was unthinkable for so much of the United Kingdom to get their energy needs from renewable sources. That’s mainly because people didn’t believe that renewables could effectively power large cities. The good news is that the United Kingdom now gets more than half of its power from renewables. The majority of this power comes from solar farms and wind turbines, which are effectively supplying the country with clean energy.
This is probably one of the biggest changes that solar energy has made to our environment. Back in 2014, renewable energy sources only provided 12% of the United Kingdom’s total power demand. These days, that figure is closer to 55%, which is an incredible leap forward for clean energy.
Spain’s Power Supply Runs On 100% Renewables
While Germany and the UK have made the switch to mostly renewables powered cities, Spain has gone one step further. Its entire electricity supply is now run on clean energy. In 2021 alone, wind energy provided 1.78 million megawatt hours of power, followed by solar energy with 1.65 million megawatt hours. These were the two largest sources of renewable electricity, followed by hydroelectricity and geothermal energy. Traditional energy sources were only used for small communities and major industrial sites.
The fact that so much of Spain’s electricity comes from renewable sources means that its citizens no longer need to worry about energy supply as there is always enough. This in turn has reduced the country’s carbon footprint and limited the amount of pollution thrown into the atmosphere. Furthermore, renewables support hundreds of British and European jobs in the sector, which is still expanding.
Why Are We Obsessed With Oil And Gas?
There are numerous reasons why we are so obsessed with oil and gas. For one, it is a very easy and quick way to generate power. Hydroelectricity, which derives its power from rivers and streams, is one of the most popular renewable energy sources, but it can take a long time to generate enough power to truly satisfy our needs. Even then, it’s not a reliable source of energy.
Oil and gas are another great source of power, as they can be found near or at the surface of the earth. This means that they are easy to transport and store. They also form a significant part of our daily lives. We use oil in almost all of our daily activities, from cooking to cleaning to transportation (via car, boat, or flight).
The energy industry is a massive one, and there is a lot of money to be made from it. One of the companies that focuses on environmental sustainability is Plus Energy, which supplies and installs solar energy systems for homes and businesses. They are also committed to green energy and have installed solar panels on all of their buildings. This helps reduce their impact on the environment and ensures that they are generating as much power as possible from renewable sources.
The demand for oil and gas is increasing each year, which means that there will always be plenty available to supply our energy needs. The demand for oil, in particular, is expected to reach 29 million barrels per day by 2027. This will undoubtedly be good for the world’s oil companies, who will have plenty of work to do. As always, some enterprising individuals will try and make a quick buck from the desire for energy, so watch out for scams.