Quirky Solar Energy Facts

The renewables industry is changing quickly as it continues to grow globally. Renewables energy is electromagnetic energy (solar radiation) transferred by the sun that is the basis of all life. The sun produces 420 trillion kilowatt-hours throughout its life span and is several thousand times greater than all the energy used by all the people. Solar energy is used by capturing the heat or light from the sun’s UV rays and transferring them to cells in solar panels. It’s a renewable energy source that can’t run out, unlike fossil fuels which are being used up quickly. We’ll have access to clean energy for as long as the sun is alive, which also includes as long as we’re alive. Experts believe the sun will live on for another 6.5 billion years, and when it does die, so will the earth, so energy will be the least of our problems.

Quirky facts about solar power you may not have known.

1. Solar energy is the greatest source of energy on earth and is totally renewable. It produces 173,000 terawatts of solar energy hitting our planet every second of every day.

2. The first silicon solar cell was built by Bell Laboratories in 1954. On the April 26, 1954 issue of The New York Times, right on the cover page, they proclaimed the milestone, “the beginning of a new era, leading eventually to the realization of one of mankind’s most cherished dreams, the harnessing of the almost limitless energy of the sun for the uses of civilization.”

3. The space industry was an early riser of applying solar technology. In the 1950s, the industry used solar technology to give power to spacecraft. The Vanguard 1, the artificial earth satellite powered by solar cells, is still the oldest manmade satellite in orbit. It logs more than 6 billion miles and continues to add onto its miles every single day.

4. Demand for solar energy in the U.S. is at an all-time high. The amount installed has jumped more than 23 times over the past eight years. The U.S. is the third-largest solar market globally and positioned to become second, as long as people keep focusing on the renewable energy goal of going totally solar.

5. As prices decrease, solar energy is an economical energy choice for the U.S. The obstacle to affordable solar energy remains in soft costs (permitting, zoning and hooking a solar system up to the power grid). Local permitting and inspection processes add more than $2,500 to the total cost and can take up to six months to complete.

6. California’s Mojave Desert is home to the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility. This is the world’s biggest solar thermal energy plant. It uses solar power (CSP) technology to focus 173,500 heliostats, each containing two mirrors, onto boilers located in three power towers. The plant has a total capacity of 392 megawatts (MW). CSP technology allows for clean energy to be stored after the sun sets.

7. Feed-in-tariffs (FITs) are subsidy schemes to encourage installations of solar energy panels to produce solar energy (electricity). FITs give an incentive for promotion and adoption of solar energy systems by offsetting the cost of extra investment for installing the solar panels. A feed-in tariff is a rate in $/kW that the government or other authority pays for the production of electricity produced from solar energy.

Want to learn even more information about bringing solar energy into your life and all the useful benefits it can bring? Check out the HahaSmart blog, which is updated daily!

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