What are the disadvantages of solar power on the enviroment? if any?
Answer:
I take your question to mean that you are referring to solar photovoltaic cells.
Other than the pollution that is created in the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic cells there is no disadvantage to the environment.
The big problem with solar photovoltaic cells is that the cost is very high for the very small amount of electricity that you get out of them.
Accurate cost data for solar photovoltaics is very hard to come by. Probably because the salesmen do not want the companies to give out that information because it is very unfavorable.
One of my colleagues installed a solar photovoltaic system on his house several years ago so I do have his cost data from his experience.
The sustem cost a little over $30,000 installed.
My colleague financed the system with a loan at 6% interest. That is an interest cost of $1,800 per year.
The annual production of electricity has been approximately 4,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.
That is a cost of 45 cents per kilowatt hour just based on the interest cost alone.
That does not even include the costs for maintenance and depreciation which are substantial additional costs.
A cost of 45 cents per kilowatt hour is very expensive. If the utilities raised their electric rates that high there would be nationwide protests.
Essentially solar photovoltaic systems are very expensive status symbols for the wealthy.
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l. Manufacturing products...involves the use of very potent and poisonous chemicals, and a lot of energy. Can cause soil pollution, atmospheric pollution, and heat pollution...plus more CO2 for the heat for the furnaces.
2. Takes up a LOT of room. Solar energy is mostly wasted as heat, and not turned into electricity at the present state of technology. And you cannot grow things below large solar panels efficiently due to the shading of the ground.
3. Requires backup for night, and cloudy days. Either a generator, probably burning refined fossil fuels, or a very very large battery supply, involving problems of toxic waste and spills and occasional explosions.
4. The amount of cost and energy and materials used to make and install the necessary controls for power switching, ventilation, and emergency backup.
5. Even applies if the solar power units are moved to deserts, where they impact the native species by the shading and the necessary disturbance of the soils to run the wiring and piping.
it can only generate while the sun shines.
@ night you cant do anything
Solar is very inefficient. You need the sun and lots of solar paneling to power up one room. And, if your talking powering a city. It will take the whole island of Manhattan to power 1 small town. And, you would have mainly brownouts and blackouts like any large metroplitian city. You need an efficient source of energy. And,. safest and environmental friendly is nuclear power. It is why Iran is building nuclear plants.
There is really none if you compaire solar to other ways of produceing power. Once the solar module is built it is over. You no longer have to coal or any other type of fuel into them to make them work.
Nukes are out of the question as far as safety. If you get in to their waste 10,000 years from now it will still kill out a whole city. It cost more to build the plant and then store under armed gaurd then it could ever be worth. It cost billions to build a nuke plant and it is paid for with our tax money.
And yes it does cos at the startup but you can always sell your home later and get all your money back as long as you sell it in the 30 year life time of the system. Some of the solar electric system put in use in the 1960's are still in use and that is over 40 years ago.
Add in energy inflation to your cost and all the tax money you you pay when you rent electric from the power co. You could spend $30K or $40K and own the power plant or you can rent power for thirty years and end up paying over $200K and get nothing back for all your investments.
Solar and wind power is the way to go. Nukes and renting electric should only be use as backup power and not the main supply.
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