Why is solar energy not widely used? This is a question worth asking, which is frequently asked. As is known, fossil fuels are being depleted day after day, not to mention the damage that may be caused to the environment because of it. This makes us in dire need to switch to clean renewable energy systems from solar or wind. But why isn’t that actually happening? What are the obstacles?
Why is solar energy not widely used?
When we ask: Why is solar energy not widely used? In fact, there are many challenges that stand in the way of using solar energy, including practical and engineering ones. The practical challenges are that until now, the process of obtaining energy from coal and natural gas is still cheaper than using solar panels. Where this requires more costs, represented by the initial cost of the system, the price of purchasing and installing panels, in addition to their maintenance over time. In addition to the fact that the solar energy system requires a large space to install the panels, which makes people not like it very much.
Why are people against solar farms?
Some people do not like the installation of solar energy systems and attribute this to several reasons, some of which are related to aesthetics, which may harm the appearance of the property. Another is related to fears of losing arable land.
While the engineering factors are evident in the linkage of the productivity of energy systems with weather conditions, this constitutes a major problem that may be somewhat difficult to solve for you, as it makes the solar energy system insufficient, so what is it?
What is the biggest problem with solar energy?
The problem of linking the productivity of solar energy systems to weather conditions is the biggest problem because it makes it not possible to rely on solar energy alone.
Why is solar energy not enough?
Solar energy systems are not sufficient because the generation process is limited to sunshine hours. In other words, the supply will be cut off during the night hours and cloudy days of winter. This is what requires more costs in order to store energy in batteries.
Thus, the disadvantages of the solar energy system can be summarized by three reasons, so what are they?
What are the 3 negatives of solar energy?
- Requires a lot of space to install panels.
- The system’s productivity is linked with the weather: as it requires sun if the supply is not interrupted in the absence of the sun, whether at night or during winter hours, production will certainly decrease.
- Cost: This includes all of the initial cost of purchasing the system requirements of panels and mounting bases and their installation. And the secondary cost, including the maintenance of the equipment later, in addition to the price of the storage batteries for the hours of supply interruption.
If we talk about the material cost for a long time, we will find that this has changed recently, as the cost of installation has become greater than the cost of purchase. This was about solar energy systems, but what about the rest of the renewable energy systems? Why don’t we use more renewable sources?
Why don’t we use renewable energy all the time?
The reason for not adopting and developing renewable energies is due to both material and infrastructure costs in addition to efficiency. It will spread widely when the infrastructure for renewable energy sources grows. So what is the efficiency of fossil fuels, solar energy, and other energy systems? How much do fossil fuels and other energy sources cost?
Solar energy vs fossil fuels statistics
Solar panels have an average efficiency of between 15% and 20%, while the efficiency of coal reaches 40%, and the efficiency of natural gas reaches 60%, as the remaining energy in each of the fossil fuels is permanently lost and spreads in the form of heat.
Is renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuels?
However, as we have indicated, the costs of renewable energy are declining to become cheaper than fossil fuels in several applications. Studies show that it will become cheaper in all applications in the coming years. And the faster the process of switching to renewable energies, the faster the costs will decrease.
But it is worth noting that if all fossil fuels are completely exhausted from the earth, people will definitely turn to renewable energy sources, including solar panels, for-profit turbines, water, and so on. Here you will ask yourself: Should we use more solar energy?
It is true that the energy of solar panels has a higher material cost than fossil fuels, but if it is compared with other renewable sources, how will the matter be?
Is solar energy cheap or expensive?
The World Energy Outlook, published by the International Energy Agency, indicates that solar energy and wind energy are the leading sources of other renewable energy sources in terms of low cost. They both cost much less than other alternatives to fossil fuels, so their popularity increases every year.
Assuming the world’s intention to switch to alternative energy systems completely, when will this happen?
Is 100% renewable possible?
The research of researchers and analyzes of scientists in energy research says that it is possible for the world to switch to alternative energy by 100% by the beginning of the year 2050.
In the event that the transformation takes place and the entire world becomes dependent on renewable energy systems, and the process succeeds with high efficiency, what will people do with the surplus systems??
What happens if I produce more solar than I use?
In the event that your production of solar energy overflows and you have more quantities than you need for reasons related to the peak and the sun in the summer season, in particular, your system will feed the surplus to the grid.
Now, if we make a comparison between the different types of energy sources, who will be the best in terms of cost?
Which is the cheapest source of energy to produce electricity?
As we mentioned, according to the global energy outlook published by the International Energy Agency, solar energy, and wind energy are the leaders of other renewable energy sources in terms of low cost, as each of them costs much less than other alternatives to fossil fuels.
In short, the reason behind: Why is solar energy not widely used. There are two types of challenges, the first is practical and the last is engineering, including both material costs and their connection to the weather.