Is Solar Energy Good Or Bad For The Environment

However you also can t overlook the challenges that solar is facing as a new renewable energy source and the changes that need to be made before.

Is solar energy good or bad for the environment.

A 2011 report showed that solar s carbon footprint averaged at roughly 85 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent co 2 e per gigawatt hour gwh while natural gas and coal came in at 499 co 2 e gwh and 888 co 2 e gwh respectively. Although materials do vary between different types and brands of solar panels most contain toxic materials somewhere in their design. All energy sources have some impact on our environment. Everyone knows that solar energy is unreliable and expensive.

It s impossible to deny that solar energy has plenty of benefits ranging from saving money helping the environment or even on a national level promoting america s energy independence. Why solar energy is bad for the environment. Solar energy is renewable sustainable and abundant and it produces zero harmful emissions to the environment as it creates power. Solar energy comes with its own environmental challenges regarding land use water consumption emissions and the use of hazardous materials.

The overall greenhouse gas emissions involved in solar energy is still much lower than coal or natural gas. Batteries allow homeowners to store their solar power and draw energy from the battery when their solar panels aren t producing energy. The most popular residential solar battery is the tesla powerwall a 13 5 kwh lithium ion battery. Other manufacturers such as sonnen lg and byd offer great solar batteries for home energy storage as well.

Most people overlook the impact that the materials they are made from can have on the environment. Let s shine a light on those environmental impacts and determine if the good outweighs the bad when it comes to solar energy and the environment. Using solar energy can have a positive indirect effect on the environment when solar energy replaces or reduces the use of other energy sources that have larger effects on the environment. When we think of solar panels we often think of them as been very good for the environment.

Fossil fuels coal oil and natural gas do substantially more harm than renewable energy sources by most measures including air and water pollution damage to public health wildlife and habitat loss water use land use and global warming emissions. That big yellow sun is as green as they come. Solar energy systems power plants do not produce air pollution or greenhouse gases.