What Are the Advantages of Latest News About Solar Energy？

Financial benefits, such as saving on utility payments and avoiding electricity rate hikes, are a key driver of U.S. adults’ willingness to consider installing rooftop solar panels or subscribing to community solar power, a new study suggests. 

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Researchers at The Ohio State University conducted a national survey to gauge consumer perceptions about adopting solar power. Though previous work has examined views about rooftop solar, this study is the first assessment of public opinion about accessing community solar energy for household use. 

The findings led researchers to recommend that policymakers and industry leaders increase marketing campaign references to the practical reasons for embracing solar power – including saving money and improving property values without taking big risks – to encourage broader residential use. 

“Emphasizing the practical benefits of adopting solar, whether it’s rooftop or community, might be the most effective avenue to achieve increased adoption in the real world,” said first author Naseem Dillman-Hasso, a doctoral candidate in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State. 

The study also revealed that most participants didn’t understand what community solar is and few had looked into it, suggesting more public awareness is needed to expand consumer access to this more equitably distributed renewable energy source, said senior author Nicole Sintov, associate professor of behavior, decision making and sustainability at Ohio State. 

“Community solar is a great option for people who are unable to access rooftop solar,” she said. “We show that there are still some significant barriers to entry, and we’ve got to start with letting people know what it is.” 

The research was published recently in the journal Energy Research & Social Science. 

As of , 8% of U.S homeowners had installed rooftop solar panels at an average cost of between $17,000 and $23,000 after applying a federal tax credit, according to the Pew Research Center. Under community solar programs, energy generated at an off-site solar array is supplied to multiple customers within a defined geographical area who receive credit on their electricity bills for energy produced by their share of the project.

With residential solar use still relatively low, Sintov and Dillman-Hasso sought to understand what could motivate households to consider solar as an energy option. 

They based the study on a consumer behavior theory suggesting that three common factors, or attributes, contribute to adoption of sustainable innovations – practical purposes (instrumental attributes), conveying one’s social consciousness to others (symbolic) and protecting the planet (environmental). 

A sample of 1,433 adults living in the United States was recruited for the online survey. Participants were asked about their willingness to adopt rooftop or community solar and whether they had taken action toward adoption, such as researching the options, talking with friends or family, or contacting an industry expert. 

They also were asked to agree or disagree with a series of statements representing the instrumental, symbolic and environmental attributes related to adopting solar. For example, the statements said purchasing or leasing solar “means that I’m a good community member,” “would save me money” and “would be a good way to reduce my environmental impact.” 

Statistical analysis showed that positive feelings about all three attributes increased the likelihood respondents would be willing to pursue rooftop or community solar as a household power source. But the factors linked to practical benefits (including finances) were “by far the strongest predictor above and beyond anything else,” Dillman-Hasso said. 

The magnitude of the effect of practical factors was a surprise, but it wasn’t the only surprising finding in the study. 

Participants were less willing to consider subscribing to community solar than to take on rooftop solar installation – even though rooftop solar generally isn’t available to people who don’t own their home or can’t afford the installation. 

“You don’t want to adopt something that you don’t know about,” Dillman-Hasso said. “Given the realities of community solar having much lower barriers to adoption – you don’t need financing and you don’t have to physically put panels on your roof – it was interesting to see that the willingness to adopt community solar was lower than rooftop. 

“That potentially points to a lack of knowledge or more apprehension around a newer distribution method of electricity.” 

As a behavioral scientist, Sintov said she doesn’t typically issue a generic call for “raising awareness,” given humans’ complexity – but in the context of community solar, the phrase applies.

“In this case, lack of awareness is a barrier, and I think both policymakers and entities that are trying to sell community solar plans could be working toward raising awareness,” she said. 

This study focused on willingness to adopt rather than actually installing panels or subscribing to community solar power. In separate projects, Sintov and Dillman-Hasso are studying different groups of solar power customers to look for factors that lead to signing up for and sticking with solar.

This work was supported by Interstate Gas Supply – Energy, an independent supplier of energy, including solar.

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In the race to reach net-zero emissions, countries around the world are looking to scale up and eventually depend on renewable energy to substitute polluting fossil fuels. Solar is the most abundant, fastest, and cheapest energy source on Earth, and it generates minimal greenhouse gas emissions. Although this renewable energy is rapidly growing across the globe, with an increasing number of countries investing in it, there are some factors that could hinder its growth. What are the main advantages and disadvantages of solar energy and how does this valuable renewable resource work and w?

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What Is Solar Energy and How Does It Work?

The vital role in which the sun plays in life on Earth has been celebrated since ancient times. Egyptians in Africa were the first people known to use solar energy on a large scale to heat their homes, designating them in a way that could store up the sun’s heat during the day and release it at night. Fast forward to today, societies around the world have developed innovative technologies that allow us to turn the sun’s energy into electricity that powers heating and cooling systems, transportation, lighting, and ventilation, just to name a few. 

This energy source is growing fast: between and , solar rose from 0.06% to 1.11% of the global energy mix. In , it recorded a record growth of 22% as installations experienced a boom. Among the countries that have poured the most money into solar energy are China – by far the largest investor, the United States, Japan, Australia, and India. The latter aims to be a global leader in solar energy, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi committing to increase energy from renewable sources up to 50% by the end of . In Europe, Spain is one of the first countries to deploy large-scale solar photovoltaics and the largest producer of solar-powered electricity on the continent. 

Before we move on to some of the advantages and disadvantages of solar, it is worth answering a question: how does solar energy work? 

When sunlight strikes the Earth’s surface, human-made innovative technologies capture their light and heat and convert these into electrical energy. This conversion happens through photovoltaic (PV) panels, which contain cells that can capture the sunlight’s energy. This energy generates electrical charges that move around the cell, causing electricity to flow. An alternative to PV is solar thermal panels: as opposed to PV generating electricity, thermal panels create heat. When installed on a roof facing the sun, they capture the hot sun rays which are used to heat water stored in a cylinder.  

While many nations are starting to recognise the vast potential of solar energy – a powerful and extremely beneficial renewable source – there are still some downsides to it. We explore the main advantages and disadvantages of solar energy. 

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5 Advantages of Solar Energy

1. Solar Is a Renewable Energy Source

As the name suggests, solar power is a resource that never runs out. Unlike fossil fuels, the production of which requires huge efforts, time, and expensive heavy machinery, renewables convert a natural resource – in the case of solar power, sunlight – directly into electricity. Another big factor that makes renewable energy much more attractive than coal, oil, and natural gas is the significant difference in emissions, namely fossi fuels being one of the world’s largest contributors to the generation of greenhouse gases. Renewable energy sources are not only cleaner but also cheaper and easier to produce than any fossil fuel. But what makes solar energy particularly advantageous over other sources of renewable energy?

2. Solar Energy is Immensely Abundant

In fact, solar is the most abundant energy source on the planet and throughout the years, we managed to develop innovative technologies that could allow us to depend entirely on solar for the rest of our existence. Another huge advantage is that just a tiny fraction of the sunlight we get every day can provide a huge amount of energy. Indeed, the US Department of Energy argues that an hour and a half of sunlight that reaches the planet’s surface generates enough power to meet all of humanity’s energy consumption for an entire year.

3. Solar Technologies Are Getting More Efficient

Over the years, scientists have made some important advances in the development of solar technologies, notably improving the efficiency of solar panels and battery storage systems as well as their overall durability over time. According to Rhone Resch, President of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the global PV sector has been growing at an average of over 40% in the last eight years and major advances in automation, manufacturing, and throughput have considerably improved this technology. Most panels today are between 15% and 20% efficient, meaning that they are able to convert 15% to 20% of the amount of sunlight they absorb into electricity. Panels’ efficiency has improved consistently over the past decade, a promising factor and one that contributes to continued cost reduction. Furthermore, their resistance to extreme weather has been drastically improved, bringing their average durability to about three decades with little to no loss in efficiency. 

Improvements have also been made in battery storage systems, which are emerging as a key solution to effectively integrate solar renewables in global power systems on a large scale. Most of the world’s utility-scale storage systems are being deployed in Australia, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Small islands and off-grid communities have invested in large-scale battery storage systems to store excess energy. However, an increasing number of small-scale batteries are also being produced and they are expected to complement utility-scale applications by .   

4. Solar Panels Are Getting Cheaper

In the list of the advantages of solar energy, price is an important point. In its World Energy Outlook report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) confirmed that solar power schemes now offer the cheapest electricity in history. In its report, the Agency predicted that by , renewable energy generation will keep growing, with solar power production skyrocketing and becoming the world’s primary source of electricity. Solar energy is indeed praised for the relatively marginal operation and maintenance costs of panels. While the cost of panels itself is the most critical part of the overall equation, solar is definitely a cheap source of power that can considerably lower the electricity bill in the long run. 

5. Solar Life Cycle Generates Minimal Greenhouse Gas Emissions 

Lastly, solar energy generation’s minimal contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is one of the main benefits of this renewable energy source. Indeed, solar power produces no emissions during generation itself and studies demonstrate that it has a considerably smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuels over its life cycle. Even though PV modules and other components are made of materials that are mined and processed and thus generate some levels of emissions, solar is still undoubtedly a carbon-smart energy source whose lifetime emissions are insignificant when compared to coal and natural gas. In fact, a coal power plant releases on average 25 times more emissions than the ones produced by a solar power system. Similarly, a natural gas power plant, despite being less polluting than coal, still generates 10 times the amount of emissions generated by a solar array. 

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3 Disadvantages of Solar Energy

1. Solar Energy is Still Expensive for Households

Did we not just say that solar energy is getting cheaper? Well, it is true. However, there are some aspects of solar technology that are still quite expensive. Indeed, purchasing a solar system requires a significant initial investment to cover the costs of panels, inverter, batteries, wiring, and the installation of the system itself. One of the most expensive parts of the system is the batteries used for solar power storage, which can cost upwards of USD$5,000. When solar energy started being commercialised 40 years ago, the price of panels was also incredibly high. Nevertheless, solar technologies are constantly developing and this is contributing to a significant decrease in prices. Statistics show that the average global cost of solar PV modules has gone down drastically in the first two decades of commercial solar power production and it has been slowly but consistently decreasing ever since. Just a decade ago, an average 6-kilowatt hour residential solar system could cost USD$50,000 or more. However, the price has gone down by an annual average of 62% and nowadays, a typical home installation rarely exceeds UDS$20,000. 

2. Solar Energy is Weather Dependent

An undoubted disadvantage of solar energy is that this technology is not equally efficient around the world. While solar power can be generated on a cloudy day, some level of daylight is still required in order to harness the sun’s energy, and the amount of energy that can be produced varies greatly depending on many factors, such as the amount and quality of direct sunlight that the panels receive as well as the size, number, and locations of the panels themselves. Thus, in countries that receive limited sunlight throughout the year, alternative renewable resources like geothermal energy and hydropower might work better. In Iceland, an area with little sunlight and wind, for example, these two energy sources make up 27% and 73% respectively, allowing the country to generate 100% of its energy from renewables. 

3. Solar Power Plants Are Not the Most Environmentally Friendly Option

As we said before, the carbon footprint of solar energy is minimal. However, this renewable still has some aspects, mainly related to land use and waste generation, that can still harm the environment. First and foremost, solar power plants require space. For example, a solar power plant to provide electricity for 1,000 homes would require 32 acres of land. This means that, in order to meet the US energy consumption needs, nearly 19 million acres, equivalent to 0.8% of the entire country, would be necessary. 

Another factor to consider is the management and disposal of hazardous materials such as metals and glass needed to build some components of solar infrastructure that are energy-intensive to produce and thus responsible for the generation of carbon emissions. Building PV cells and panels also requires some hazardous chemicals and heavy metals. To avoid harming the environment, such materials necessitate careful management and disposal procedures once the solar plant’s life comes to an end. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) projects that by , solar energy systems could be responsible for up to 78 million tonnes of waste. 

Should We Still Invest in Solar Energy? 

The short answer is yes. There is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ energy source. From nuclear and fossil fuels to renewable resources, all of them have many advantages but also some disadvantages, solar energy included. However, as we are quickly running out of time in the race to reach zero emissions, it is crucial that all countries begin to seriously evaluate which sources of energy can bring the most benefits. While solar energy might not be the best solution for northern countries for the lack of sunlight they receive throughout the year, and some of its disadvantages such as the extensive land use that the installation of solar panels requires might not make it the best candidate for everyone, this renewable resource, along with all others, certainly has undeniable potential and it still a better alternative to environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels, beyond being the best chance we have at stopping global warming. 

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