Solar energy and the climate

The relationship between the earth's climate and our energy choices has never been more important. The news from climate scientists is so bleak it makes us want to bury our heads in the sand. The projections for the Arctic ice melt were much too optimistic. Ice is melting much faster than believed and this is causing sea level rise in many coastal cities. But this is just one indication of the magnitude of the global warming problem. If we continue to ignite fossil fuels at the rate we have been, even more, dangerous impacts are certain. Solar power now has a momentum that has become globally meaningful. In 2011, solar power reached a tipping point. For the first time, the solar industry had saved more greenhouse gases than it released. This is the fundamental estimate of a  paper published in the journal Nature Communications, which addressed questions regarding the sustainability of solar panels by comparing the amount of CO2 emitted during production to the amount saved once in use.

The capacity of solar power has grown steadily

Solar power capacity has grown rapidly globally over the past four decades. Cumulative capacity grew from less than one megawatt (MW) in 1975 to around 180 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2014, the study says. That is an increase of around nearly half year-on-year.

This growth rate is seen as a sign of a thriving industry and as a great advantage in the fight against climate change. This is because solar panels generate carbon-free, renewable power.

However, producing the panels requires energy. Since this energy largely comes from fossil fuels, greenhouse gases are emitted during panel production.

Solar gradually replacing fossil fuels

Solar panels displace more polluting energy over their lifetime than was consumed during their production. But for the solar industry as a whole, rapid growth means production emissions have exceeded the savings from using solar instead of coal or gas.

It is only when these savings start to outweigh carbon released during production, that solar power generation contributes to defeating climate change. The study examined some portions of the solar industry over a period of 40 years, from 1975 to 2015, including its growth, improvements in efficiency, and cumulative energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. Measuring cumulative installed power capacity meant creating a dataset that is an “aggregate of more and less accurate data” from various suppliers, the study says.

 Countries that derive a greater proportion of their power from coal will have a more carbon-intensive grid. Accordingly, the researchers used the average carbon intensity of the grid in producing countries to measure emissions, and the average of all grids to measure the discharges displaced. Solar capacity is more likely to replace older, fossil fuel plants as they are decommissioned, which would mostly use coal or natural gas. The bottom line remains: there's only one really sensible and efficient energy solution today and that's solar. When fossil fuels are totally depleted in a few decades, we need to have several alternative energy sources in place. Solar is likely to be a major part of any future energy plan and the technological advances trailing solar are encouraging. This does not mean it's safe to burn all the remaining fossil fuels because greenhouse emissions are already at extremely dangerous levels. A solar revolution is necessary if we are to avert even further dangerous climate-related disasters. Now is the time.

Solar power is here to stay, and the sooner you explore how much you can save, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits of residential solar power.

Please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.

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