Pros and Cons of Solar Energy

The energy from the sun reaching the earth per day ranges from about 600 Btu (British Thermal Unit) / square feet for Northern Europe to about 2000 Btu/square feet for arid regions near the equator. More energy from sun strikes the earth in one hour than all energy consumed on the planet in a year! A summer day’s sun at noon provides a square, meter of land with a power input almost a kilowatt. One might wonder why solar energy has not replaced the conventional energy sources, not even a significant fraction. So there are definitely some pros and cons of solar energy. In this article I will discuss about the pros as well as cons of this vast energy source.

Pros of Solar energy

No pollution

There is no pollution while producing energy from the solar panels. Only pollution we can talk about is the pollution that can happen while making the solar panels.

Great for household use 

Theoretically the sunlight falling on a typical single house can easily provide from one third to one half of the heating needs of that house anywhere in hot countries even in the cooler climates and even when there is persistent cloudiness.

Zero dependence on the fossil fuels 

The dependence on the fossil fuels can be reduced a great deal. In one day the solar energy falling on India alone is greater than the energy in their present annual coal consumption. 

Reasonable Cost 

One installed the cost of electricity production is very low though the cost of producing solar cells are high. And in the remote areas the installation cost will be comparatively very low.

Solar panels can be set up in the house roof tops. So there is no requirement of finding spaces for installing the solar panels.

Availability 

Most of the areas of the world are exposed to the sun’s rays and capable of using this energy very easily.

No transportation cost of fuels 

No need of transportation of fuels from one place to another. The fuel is everywhere!

The harnessing of electricity is very much easy in the remote areas when these areas are not connected to the national grid. 

Cons of Solar energy

Cost

The solar energy has not been the prevailing one because of its cost. The primary reason is clearly the cost of solar energy based technology, especially in comparison to the lower priced commercial fuels.

Some adverse environmental effects of solar energy

Large scale utilization of solar energy is associated with adverse environmental effect. To produce an electrical equivalent of 10 terra watt of solar electricity a land area as big as 220000 square kilometer will be required. An area of this size cannot be covered with solar energy collecting devices without making any adverse environmental effect.

Storage of captured energy

The devices for storing solar energy are of low efficiency and high costs. This can cost thousands of dollars for a buyer to set up a solar panel in houses as well as in factories. 

Though there are some cons of solar energy in the near future we must find a way to properly utilize solar energy because the fossil fuel storage are at the verge of getting finished. And the harm occurred due to the use of these solar energy is irreparable. So Solar energy pros and cons should be properly studied.

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