Solar Energy By: Izzabella Christian, McKenzie Sulkey, Madi Johnston, Nicole Dalrymple and Ally McCarthy

The Uses in the US and Globally Some holiday or vacation homes use solar energy to conduct electricity. Solar panels are semi-transparent to provide shaded light. Some solar panels are in the form of sun shades to provide shade, but it also uses sunlight to conduct electricity. Solar energy is used to power industrial appliances. Some schools, community halls, and clinics use solar energy to conduct electricity and power appliances.

Globally Used Used in… – Germany – Spain- 10% solar energy – Italy- 9% solar energy – Japan – United States – Czech Republic

Advantages The power source of the sun is free. Solar energy produces no pollution. The technological advancements are extremely cost effective. Requires no maintenance. The life span of most systems is years. Most systems have a warranty of over years.

Disadvantages The upfront cost is expensive The installation is expensive Solar energy systems for an entire house is a minimum of $15,000 to a maximum of $35,000 Solar energy does not work at night Solar panels are bulky and difficult to store

U.S. Energy Usage A small percentage of energy production is from solar energy. When comparing the energy sources, the solar energy is under the 8% of renewable energy. Once the renewable energy is broken down into the categories that make it up. Solar energy ends up being only one percent of the total 8% of renewable energy.

Renewable Energy Pie Chart

Regional Energy Usage If two regions are compared based on the amount of energy source used, there will be varied percentages. The type of energy use depends on where that region is located. For example Region R is most likely located in a sunnier area because it uses twice as much solar energy as Region Q.

Examples of Regional Energy Sources

Effectiveness Not effective to power electric appliances Very effective for powering gas appliances Good to use in sunny states-NC is a good place to use it, WA is a bad place to use it Solar panels convert 15% of the suns energy into electricity

Comparison to Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels will run out eventually but solar energy will not because it is powered by the sun, and the sun will not “run out” By using clean, renewable energy the demand for energy will decrease by as much as 68.5% Decreases future global energy needs by 20 times Uses non-toxic materials and doesn’t produce pollutants

Technology Used Some types of solar panels used to capture energy are… Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Heating and Cooling (SHC) Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)

Impact on Public Land Solar panels require large amount of land space to produce electricity Some materials used in making the panels are safety hazards to workers or anyone else coming in contact with them. Some solar thermal use water, but the water is able to be reused Water is also used to cool the systems, this can put a strain on public waters

Impact on Public Land Data Tables

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