Interesting Facts About Solar Energy

As most of us know, solar energy comes from the sun, which is located about 93 million miles from the earth.

What Can Solar Power Be Used For?

The suns energy can be used to heat our homes, heat water, generate electricity, power solar cars and operate communications equipment just to name a few of the endless potential uses for solar energy.

Without solar energy we would not exist. There would be no plants, no heat, no food and no people. Since everything relies on the suns energy it only makes sense that we utilize its potentially endless supply of energy to reduce, and maybe someday stop the decline of our natural resources.

Solar energy in England may have different limitations that solar power in Oklahoma because of the amount of sunshine. As research continues solar cell efficiency will also improve.

What Impact Does Solar Energy Have On The Environment?

Are there any environmental impacts related to the use of solar energy? Sure there are, but let's put things into perspective:

• The process of manufacturing solar components requires the use of fossil fuels but the end product emits no pollution. The alternative is to use fossil fuel day after day and never stop adding pollution to the environment.



• The manufacturing processes and materials used for manufacturing some photovoltaic cells can be harmful to the people working with them. At first this may seem like a reason not to look to solar energy but what about the people who mine coal, or the people who handle spent fuel from nuclear power plants, or what about the harmful emissions from power plants generating electricity. These emissions are destroying our planet.



• To generate 20 - 50 megawatts of solar electricity requires about 1 square kilometre of land. This land usage affects wildlife and is another negative aspect of solar energy. But currently we are cutting our forests down at an alarming rate. Many millions of people burn wood to heat their homes. What if we could eliminate just that? That alone would have a positive effect on the environment.

There is a lot of discussion about solar energy and the debate will continue. Lets not let the debate go on until we have used all of our natural resources and destroyed our planet.

Decide for yourself if solar energy is the best alternative for your future energy needs. Don't rely on information supplied by corporations who have a vested interest in our current energy supplies. If their business relies on selling us their product then they are perhaps not the best source for accurate information.

Many utility companies are researching solar energy and are finding ways to use it today. As consumers we have the power to apply pressure on utility companies because they want our money.