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Solar Power Disadvantages
Solar Energy is one of the Greenest Solutions
for Clean and Renewable Energy, however certain Solar Power Disadvantages still
need to be resolved before Solar Power Goes Mainstream
By Mark J. Donovan
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Solar power has held promise for
decades in providing clean and renewable energy. Unfortunately several solar
power disadvantages over existing fossil fuel technology have prevented solar
power from seeing mass adoption, yet.
First and foremost, the equipment and
installation costs associated with solar power are still prohibitively high for
broad adoption. Though the price of solar panels has come down dramatically in
recent years, they are still quite expensive when comparing kilowatt hour
performance with fossil fuel based energy resources.
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The second solar power disadvantage
involves integrating a solar powered home into an existing electrical power
infrastructure. Simply put, it is no easy or inexpensive task. Significant
planning and costs are required to convert the Direct Current (DC) coming from
the solar panels into Alternating Current (AC) and tying it into a home and
public utility’s existing electrical infrastructure.
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A third solar power
disadvantage revolves around the fact that solar panels are inherently
inefficient with only a 14-17% efficiency rating, and as a result produce
limited power on a per square foot basis. The average solar panel typically can
produce 10-15 Watts per square foot in ideal conditions. Thus a large surface
area is necessary to provide sufficient and meaningful power to even a portion
of a home’s total energy requirements. In many cases there is simply
insufficient land or roof space to justify using solar energy to supplement a
home’s energy needs.
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Another glaring solar power disadvantage is the fact that it is only useful
during sunny daylight hours. Batteries can be used to store the energy generated
by the day, however batteries have significant costs as well. In addition, not
all regions of the world have ideal climates or conditions to utilize solar
energy. Extreme northern and southern latitudes, where twilight exists for
nearly 6 months of the year are poor locations for implementing solar power
utilities. Likewise, excessively rainy and/or cloudy regions are also poor
locations for utilizing solar energy. In addition, areas that have obstructed
viewing angles of the sun, such as mountainous or urban areas, are poor places
for solar power conversion systems.
Though there are several solar power
disadvantages, there are still many solar power advantages, particularly when installed in
sunny open areas. In addition, continued advances in photovoltaic cell
technology continue to drive solar panel costs lower. Also, the political
environment is changing in favor of clean and renewable energy such as solar
power. Consequently tax incentives, as well as government R&D expenditures in
solar power technology, will help to further reduce solar power equipment and
installation costs going forward.
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