How does solar impact the planet?

Pollution is causing climate change and the world is starting to wake up to the reality of the planet’s rapid demise. The sun is an enormous ball of energy that has only recently been tapped into. The sun provides immense resources which can generate clean, non-polluting and sustainable power, resulting in no toxic emissions. Recently, it was discovered that the energy of the sun can be collected and stored, to be used on a global scale with the purpose of replacing the traditional sources of energy. As the world turns its focus to cleaner power, solar energy has been the leader in providing solutions that are more cost-effective than ever before.

Many alarming signs the climate scientists were too optimistic

Climate scientists are realizing that their initial projections concerning climate change were wildly optimistic. Recent discoveries of alarming ice melting in the northern hemisphere are causing scientists to offer a more frightening view of the planet's future. There is no more time to waste in transitioning to clean energy technologies. Once again, solar is leading the way. Solar energy systems offer significant and obvious environmental benefits in comparison to conventional energy sources, thus they contribute to the sustainable development of human activities. However, at times, the wide-scale deployment of such systems has potential negative environmental implications. These theoretical problems may be a strong barrier for further advancement of these systems in some consumers.

Environmental impacts

The potential environmental impacts associated with solar energy generation can be classified according to numerous categories. Some of these include land use impacts, ecological impacts, impacts to water, air, and soil, and other harmful effects such as socioeconomic ones, and these can vary greatly depending on the technology, which includes two broad categories:

Photovoltaic (PV) solar cells or

Concentrating solar thermal plants (CSP).

Land use and ecological impacts

Utility-scale solar operations require large areas for collection of energy. Therefore, the facilities may interfere with existing land uses and can affect areas such as wilderness or recreational management areas. Some energy systems may impact land through materials exploration, extraction, manufacturing, and disposal. Consequently, energy footprints can become higher and some of the lands may be utilized for energy.

Impacts to the soil, water, and air resources

Solar facility construction on vast areas of land requires clearing and grading, resulting in soil compaction, alteration of drainage channels and often increased erosion. Central tower systems require utilizing water for cooling, which is a concern in arid settings, as an increase in water demand may strain available water resources. There is the added possibility of chemical spills from the facilities which may result in the contamination of groundwater. As with the development of any large-scale industrial facility, the construction of solar energy power plants contribute to hazardous air quality. Such threats include the release of soil-carried pathogens and results in more air particulate matter which has the effect of contaminating water reservoirs.

So the bottom line is very simple. The citizens of the planet are still burning too many fossil fuels which is causing the unstable weather that is dominating the news this summer. This is a trend that is slated to get progressively worse since the adoption of clean energy is happening too slowly to make the needed changes to our planet. Solar power is the best way humans have yet discovered to generate power without damaging the planet.

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system!

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool.

For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.

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