Solar Can Offset Fossil Fuels

Humans have a big responsibility.  As a contributing and differentiating species, if we seek a chance of keeping the planet’s average temperature within 2-3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the policy stages have traditionally articulated a two-pronged strategy: technology that can power civilization without emitting harmful emissions and technology that can remove the emissions that are already there. But this assessment might be mistaken.  Let's find out who thinks this.

That’s according to a new study from researchers at Michigan Technological University, which recommends that research efforts are best directed at figuring out more effective ways to harvest energy from the sun, and cleaner ways to manufacture solar panels for the mass market; not, as some plans have argued in the past, trying to make coal plants less environmentally damaging through carbon capturing.

The Understanding That Makes All The Difference

Here is some information. The understanding is that coal emissions might be too great to be captured in meaningful amounts. In fact, single gigawatt coal-fired plant requires a new forest the size of the state of Maryland for its carbon emissions to be offset, according to the new findings. To power the country using coal, and clean the air, we’d need to cover about 89 percent of the United States with average-sized forests.  That's very informative information.

Solar Power And How It Stacks Up Against Fossil Fuels.

Here is some information on fossil fuels that might make you think that they are the best way to power our planet.  Coal requires 13 times as much land devoted to carbon capturing and sequestration than the manufacturing of solar panels.  Taken together, that’s about 13 times the size of the new forest you’d need offset the similar emissions produced by the manufacturing of solar panels. That’s particularly notable because the process of making solar panels isn’t nearly as clear as it could be.

“It just makes no sense whatsoever to use coal when you have solar available,” stated Joshua Pearce, a professor of materials science and engineering Michigan Tech who worked on the study, in a statement. The team’s findings were published September 7 in Scientific Reports.

The plan is further testimony that efforts to mitigate climate change by re-capturing the emissions from coal plants is a little bit like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound, despite the fact that the vast preponderance of the paths considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for maintaining global temperature averages includes some form of adverse carbon technology. It's been pretty clear for a long time now that fossil fuel is not the way toward a sustainable future.  It is way past the time for our globe to make the transition to clean and renewable sources of energy.   

The conclusions of the Michigan State study, according to the authors, suggests that this strategy might be confused.

We should be looking for strategies to make sure we are taking steps toward a better tomorrow.  A triumphant renewable energy strategy will focus on making solar panels better, not making coal less harmful, a new study finds. Their assessment, which relied on more than 100 data sources, may have ultimately been too kind to coal plants for a couple of various reasons. Their analysis leaves aside non-carbon emissions that are still harmful, for example, sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide, which the authors note to give to an estimated 52,000 premature deaths each year. That surely is a lot of deaths.  

If you want to be part of the clean and green renewable energy future, we here at HahaSmart can get you into a new set of solar panels in less time that you can sing all the songs in My Greek Wedding.  Just jump aboard and give us a call today!

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