The greenhouse effect and solar energy

The popularity of solar energy is steadily increasing, with governments, people and businesses all over our planet recognizing the benefits of generating power with solar energy. Yet, in spite of its clear benefits, solar energy also has some negative impacts on the environment, especially with regards to greenhouse gas emissions. In this article, we will have a closer look at the environmental impact of solar energy.

What is the greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect describes the warming effect of heat trapped by a greenhouse gas (GHG) between itself and the earth’s surface. There are various greenhouse gases that can be found in the earth’s atmosphere in varying quantity. The major greenhouse gases the atmosphere of our “blue planet” deals with are:

1. water vapor (H2O)

2. carbon dioxide (CO2)

3. methane (CH4)

4. nitrous oxide (N2O)

5. ozone (O3)

6. chlorofluorocarbons (CFC)

The main contribution to warming on earth comes from water vapor and clouds (75%), followed by carbon dioxide (20%). Methane is another major greenhouse gas with around 5 – 10%, ahead of ozone which contributes to around 3 – 7% of the greenhouse gases, leaving the rest to some other gases and aerosols. The greenhouse effect of the greenhouse gases was originally a blessing of nature because without these the average atmospheric temperature would be much lower and make life on earth more difficult for many species. However, if the effect increases even slightly, the temperature will rise (global warming), and threaten human life. The industrial revolution followed by a steadily expanding industrialization and a vastly growing population on earth has triggered an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Environmental impact of solar power

The environmental impact of solar energy is not simple to define. One important measure, the most common and most convenient one, is the greenhouse gas emission caused by its production. What this means is that the mass of GHG produced by all processes involved in the production and use of solar PV modules and balance of the system, divided by the total PV energy in kWh produced by the system, is 46 gram/kWh averaged over the complete life cycle of the system.

There has never been a better time to go solar!

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