According to the U.S. Energy Administration Information, 65% of the country’s electricity is generated from burning non-renewable sources. For example, natural gas accounts for 34%, which is burned to create hot combustion gases that spins a turbine’s blades to generate electricity. Similarly, coal burning accounts for another 30%, and petroleum for 1%. These three sources of electricity are not only just non-renewable, but they damage our environment and health every day. However, with the use of renewable solar energy, these damages can be limited, or even eliminated.
1. Global Warming
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, “electricity production accounts for more than one-third of U.S. global warming emissions” (UCS,2013). Global warming emissions consist mostly of carbon dioxide, which traps heat in the atmosphere when present in air at unnaturally high quantities. For instance, natural gas emits about 2 pounds of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour (CO2E/kWh), and similarly coal emits about 3 (CO2E/kWh) (UCS,2013). On the other hand, solar energy emits only 0.07 (CO2E/kWh) (UCS,2013), that is about 95% less emission than coal.
Credit to SolarCity
Thus, being part of the solution to global warming is now something within reach, and especially for home owners. According to a recent study by Solar City, solar roof installations reduces household electric carbon dioxide footprint by more than 80% in just one year (Solar City, 2017).
2. Land Use
Credit to U.S. Energy Information Administration
Electrical coal plants, hydroelectric dams and even solar power facilities take up a large amount of land to produce electricity. This land is being reserved from farmers and wild animals just to produce electricity for households hundreds of miles away. “Estimates for utility-scale PV (photovoltaic, process behind solar power) systems range from 3.5 to 10 acres per megawatt, while estimates for CSP (concentrated solar power) facilities are between 4 and 16.5 acres per megawatt.” (UCS, 2013).
However, with the installation of solar roofing, households will take advantage of urban roofs, which would have absorbed unnecessary heat otherwise.
3. Social Health & Economy
Like seen in the figure below, solar roofs provide a healthier solution for electricity generation. Fossil fuel and coal burning causes issues ranging from breathing problems to cancer. These issues are not only affecting current generations, but future generations also.
Another health issue that could be limited by the use of solar roofs, is water consumption. Water is the source of life on earth, and the use of solar roofs limits the amount of water needed to produce power. For instance, large solar power facilities “withdraw between 600 and 650 gallons of water per megawatt-hour of electricity produced.”(UCS,2013). Thus, even though solar power plants are an improvement to the current fossil fuel burning, it still could be improved by the use of solar roofs. Instead of water consumption, solar roofs use a water recycling system which only uses fraction of the amount of water needed for a plant.
Credit to Berkeley Lab
By Charles El helou