Sam Devon Said What is Solar Energy Solar energy is the most basic energy there is. Solar radiation causes the photons of light to excite the electrons in solar panels or other solar devices, causing them to flow and create electricity. How Solar Energy Works Your Solar panels absorb the radiation from the suns rays, photons of light excite electrons in the solar panels that creates electricity which can be used, the using of solar energy can make your meter go backwards as you aren't using electricity generated from the electrical companies. Recent Popularity in Solar Energy " Solar energy is currently one of the fastest growing industries"(1), the recent increase in green house gases and global warming is making people want to use renewable energy sources with no emissions Finite sources like Fossil Fuels will soon be depleted as our rapid growth of population, becomes too great for what we can sustain. Description of a Renewable Energy Source A renewable energy is generally defined as energy that comes from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.(2) Renewable energy sources are becoming high- valued and in demand Advantages of Solar Energy The worlds oil reserves will last only for another estimated "30-40 years"(3), but the sun is young and is infinite for how long we need to use it. The location of solar energy is limitless, and can provide communities that are outside of urbanization with power. Bright Future (Not a Pun) The creation of solar energy is young in its development. The recent harnessing of solar energy, is pushing more people to develop efficient and new ways of harnessing the energy. Price is Right For the people who have spare roofing space, they are able to purchase a certain length of PV Solar Panels. This will not only be a good addition to your decor, but will save you some money in the process as opposed to being charged ridiculous rates. Free Dough After an installation of a PV solar panel set one year later you can receive a $1000 dollar cheque from Pure Energies for each year for 20 years(4). Now this is a true beauty of a money saver. Wise Investments The recent popularity of new solar technology is making a high demand, people are investing like crazy into this section of the market. The future of technology for solar energy is bright, and is growing. This is an all time money maker/ money saver. Location, Location, Location! Location is a crucial part of whether or not youll be generating much energy. Places such as the UK are mostly cloudy and will not benefit as much from solar panels as other places that are sunnier like California. Reliability Solar panels are rendered useless at night, having to depend on the local utility grid to draw power. Inefficiency Not all the light from the sun is absorbed into the solar panels. Only 40% is harnessed which means that 60% is being lost. New technology has increased this percent to 80% but have also increased the cost of the solar panels Deep Pockets Expenses for solar panels are a big issue, depending on the quality of the solar panel the price can vary. Depending on the dimensions the prices can be very high as it takes more resources, this may be a critical issue as to whether you buy solar panels or not. Basic Panel Degrading PV solar panels are made up of silicon and other toxic metals like mercury, lead and cadmium. Pollution in the environment can also degrade the quality and efficiency of photovoltaic cells(5). As pollution increases panels will degrade faster. Runnin Out of Batteries The battery for the solar panels can take up a lot of space. These batteries can hold a large amount of power but only for a certain amount of time Cloudy Vision Solar panels cannot harness any energy if there is no SUN or it is being obstructed by the clouds. This limits the amount of energy that can be received at any time. Savin Dollas Solar energy can be used at times where you aren't wanting to use your electricity that is being given by your local service. The moment the sun retreats from your battle of money saving, you can either used pre-stored up energy or continue to use your expensive hydro company. Mr. Old Compensation Anytime that any other renewable energy source is not working or not producing, there is always the sun which can be used to compensate for the lack of other renewable energy source. The Solar energy can be stored in generators or sent to your servicer' for use further on, which you can recieve a cheque that shows you sent energy to the company. That Much Better The reason that the solar panels are more used than the wind turbines is that they are better to use for a large area, as wind turbines take up lots of space but also give lots of sound/noise pollution. Conclusion Solar energy is an inexhaustible energy source as it a young star. The popularity of the newly explored energy source, is at the tip of the iceberg for harnessing it. The few and compensatable disadvantages are ideal for the average citizen. This is an ideal energy source for a long-lasting and increasing population.