The Cost And Benefits Of Solar Power Explained As Renewable Energy Becomes A Viable Alternative (alternative energy)
No commentsBy Jon Kelly
As fuel costs continue to rise, alternative sources of energy become more attractive to individuals and businesses. For those who are concerned about pollution or about the depletion of natural resources, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power have presented themselves as possible alternatives to oil and coal.
Yet as increasing demand for clean, renewable energy drives a growing market for solar energy products, many people are left wondering what such systems cost and where those costs come from. Sunlight itself is free to everyone, yet the types of technology used to harness the power of sunlight can be costly. If you are interested in purchasing solar power products for your home or business, knowing what you will be paying for can help you make the best investment.
Two of the main types of products that take advantage of solar energy are passive and active solar products. These two types of systems differ in how they are constructed and can also differ greatly in cost. Passive solar technology can be used to heat air or water using the sun’s energy. Unlike an active solar application, passive solar set-ups accomplish their task without the use of additional electrical components, such as fans that need an external electricity supply.
Some solar space heating or water heating systems are active solar heating systems that have various components that require external power sources. Because of their simplicity compared with active systems, passive solar heating systems generally have the lower cost of the two.
In addition to these solar heating systems, there are also solar power systems available. Rather than using the sun’s energy for heating applications, these systems convert solar energy into electricity. These products are often constructed from hundreds of a type of solar energy collection cell called a photovoltaic cell. The name of this type of cell makes reference to the fact that the cell generates electricity from light. As sunlight falls on a photovoltaic cell, the light’s energy is converted into electricity that can then be used to power many kinds of electronic devices.
Because of the complicated technology involved, these kinds of solar power systems can be very expensive. However, the cost savings may eventually more than pay off your initial investment in the solar cells.
When considering what kind of solar heating or power system to install in your home or business, be sure that you are purchasing your equipment from a reputable manufacturer or distributor who will be able to help you with any necessary repairs, periodic upgrades or additional conversion from traditional systems to a solar-powered system.
The best service will often be the most expensive, but you may be able to find grant funding to help offset the costs of equipment or installation. Many states offer grants for conversion to solar power, and doing some research into the grant programs for solar power systems in your area will help you get a sense of the how much financial assistance is available.
Jon Kelly is a published author who writes articles and reviews on solar power and its applications. If you would like to find out about solar power and learn more about solar panels.please visit: http://www.worldsolarpanels.com
Why Offset With Trees?
By James Nash
If climate change is primarily the result of burning fossil fuels isn’t offsetting with trees simply a distraction? Shouldn’t we focus on renewable energy projects that can replace the use of fossil fuel?
It’s true that burning fossil fuels accounts for the largest proportion of carbon emissions. Nevertheless, the loss of trees plays a significant role. The conversion of forests has contributed around 30% of the total carbon build up in the atmosphere since 1850. And it continues - deforestation still accounts for over 20% of emissions a year. Not only is the destruction of forests releasing huge volumes of carbon into the atmosphere, but we are losing vast quantities of one of the few mechanisms we know that can take carbon out of the atmosphere - trees.
The Earth has already lost 50% of its natural forest cover. An additional 30% has been converted to managed woodland. Each day, an area of forest twice the size of Paris disappears. Tropical rainforests are logged for their hardwoods, or to clear land for soy, palm oil and other crops. In Africa, people fell trees in search of fuel, while in West we clear land for development. As the old saying goes: a suburb is a place where they cut down the trees and then name streets after them. Even established cities find it difficult to maintain their trees. In the 20 years up to 2003, Vancouver lost half its trees (it is now trying to reverse that trend), while Harrow is typical of London areas in losing 26% of its street trees in the past five years.
We desperately need to not only stop deforestation and tree loss, but to reverse it. And this is not only because of carbon accounting and climate change. Trees play a vital role in the health of the Earth and all its creatures, not least us humans.
Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace price in 2004 for organising African women to plant 30 million trees. Her aim was to restore local ecosystems, while providing a multiplicity of other benefits for local people. By planting trees, said Maathai, “the women would get firewood, they would get fencing material, they would get fodder and roughage to put in the sheds of their animals, they would get fruits, they would get compost, and the trees would hoard and protect their soil”. Not only that, but the trees would help reduce the threat of conflicts over natural resources - conflicts that we now see in places such as Darfur - and create an optimism for the future.
“When we plant trees we plant the seeds of peace and the seeds of hope,” says Maathai. She has since launched a campaign to plant a billion trees across the planet, and is looking to offset schemes to help with funding. Maathai was first alerted to the importance of trees by noticing the damage to rivers in her native Kenya when forests were cleared. This symbiotic relationship between trees and water sources is found everywhere.
Ecologists studying fish stocks in the Pacific Northwest found that the shade provided by trees on riverbanks helps regulate the temperature of spawning grounds, while fallen vegetation creates shelter for incubating embryos and young fish. In turn, the adult salmon helps feed the forests. Bears fishing in coastal streams and rivers drag the salmon up to 100 meters into the trees, where they often eat only part of the fish, leaving the carcass for other animals, insects and birds to feed on. Together, these creatures distribute this rich source of nitrogen throughout the forest. This process is so well established that it is possible to detect signatures of bumper salmon years in the growth rings of redwoods, hemlock and spruce.
The role of trees is essential to the health of the planet’s ecosystems, while their benefits so multifarious that we really cannot have enough of them. Everyone knows of the gifts of the trees in their neighbourhoods, whether it is the beauty and shade they offer, the protection from wind or flood, their flowers and fruit, their habitat for wildlife, their wood, their sap, or the playgrounds they provide for children.
Cities are beginning to realise that their trees have a quantifiable value. New York’s parks department, for example, has concluded that its street trees provided an annual benefit of about $122m, or $5.60 in benefits for every dollar spent, through their ability to combat pollution, reduce noise, prevent flash floods, add value real estate, and so on. With one fifth of global emissions down to deforestation, we need to do everything we can to protect existing forests, while given the benefits of trees over and above their carbon sequestration, we need to plant as many as possible. Offsetting is a means to this end. There is no downside with trees.
The problem with offsetting with trees is not the trees themselves but how they are managed. With proper risk management, trees can be a great means of legitimately offsetting.
James Nash is a climate scientist with Greatest Planet (www.greatestplanet.org). Greatest Planet is a non-profit environmental organization specialising in carbon offset investments.
James Nash is solely responsible for the contents of this article.
Thursday, September 4th, 2008 at 6:35 am and is filed under energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
