
In today’s fast paced, competitive society, people rely on technology to work, study, communicate and entertain one another. The dependence we have on technology has simultaneously required us to depend on vast amounts of energy. For centuries, man has used coal and natural gas to heat our homes, power our electronics, and feed our children. It’s frightening to think about what might happen if we were to run short of these privileges. With oil becoming painfully expensive as of late, it will most likely become a trend that will only progress further as demand increase, supplies decrease and global tensions rise. To strengthen our independence from oil, coal, and natural gas we need to have a reliable, powerful and proficient form of renewable energy to ensure our security, solar energy is the best option. Solar energy is the superior source of alternative energy due to its capacity for long-term energy output, its positive effects on local and world economies and the eco-friendly nature and little need for safety concerns it possesses

Solar energy is sometimes overlooked because of the belief that it will not generate enough power to be influential or significant enough, however, this is far from the truth. The true boon of investing in solar energy is long term sustainability, and the strength of solar power is one that has been increasing rapidly in the last decade. In 2013, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducted a study on the amount of energy that could potentially be generated if one where to install photovoltaic (solar) cells on all available rooftop space in the continental United States. By dividing up the potential rooftop space into small, medium and large types, the scientists found that areas with large amounts of small rooftop space would generate far more solar energy when compared to areas with small amounts of large rooftop space. As a result, the researchers found that densely populated cities would generate the most power, however what was most interesting about this study was exactly how much energy this would generate. Overall, the continental U.S. would generate around 1,118 gigawatts of installed capacity and 1432 terawatt hours of annual energy (Gagnon 7.) Powering one U.S. residential home for a year would take approximately 600,000 kilowatt hours. This amount of energy could provide power for over 150 million homes. The state of California’s rooftop PV could generate 74% of the electricity sold by its utilities (Gagnon 7). The rooftops of the majority of US suburban and urban structures can accommodate up to three times more energy than what would be needed to power those buildings if  ran continuously (Ellison 1). Although this study does not take into account the need for strong infrastructure or manufacturing, the numbers still stand, proving that attaining these high quantities of energy is theoretically possible. Not to mention all of this could be accomplished without harming the environment, drilling, or poisoning the atmosphere. It is also worth mentioning that this study was conducted in 2013, and that solar paneling efficiency at the time was relatively low (a little less than thirty percent). An increase in efficiency would cause the results of this 2013 experiment to increase exponentially, advancements like these are being made constantly through research and implementation (Gagnon 10). The efficiency of solar panels continues to be a successful area of focus for research and development, in recent years studies have led to some breakthrough results.

Solar panels come in various measures of efficiency based on a number of variables, over time, scientists have discovered ways to maximize these variables and still continue to do so today. In 2012, scientists had managed to create a singular solar cell with twenty-eight percent power conversion efficiency, this breakthrough led to a new push for finding a theoretically perfect solar cell (Sundström 3). The efficiency of a solar panel simply refers to how much energy the paneling absorbs from direct sunlight, this can be improved through implementing the use of increased current flow, more efficient catalysts (materials used to speed up the absorption process of natural light), and better semiconductors used in the materials to make the paneling.  Choosing where to place solar paneling also has a direct effect on efficiency, by placing some solar cells on satellites in space, it is possible to achieve efficiencies greater than fifty percent (Sundström 4). One of the most common ways that designs are made to create such high levels of efficiency is through simple testing and analysis on different materials used in the construction of these panels. It is only a matter of time before more efficient combinations are found to produce a theoretically perfect photovoltaic cell

To increase the efficiency of a solar panel, scientists laboriously experiment with different materials used in the creation of these units. Currently, scientists use mainly silicon as the semiconducting material for solar panels because of its cheap cost and high reliability. Alternatives that prove to be more efficient do exist, however, these compounds either are extremely toxic over long periods of exposure, or are very low in supply. As for the catalysts. quite similarly to how Thomas Edison tried countless times to find the correct carbon based filament for the incandescent light bulb, it will only take time for scientists to figure out what catalysts enable solar cells to better carry the energy of light particles from one place to another, thus increasing maximum efficiency. Due to this significant increase in efficiency, situating photovoltaic cells in space is a practice that would yield excellent results.

The advancement of technology of solar panels leads to a variety of breakthrough applications, one of which being space travel. For the longest time the most efficient way of powering satellites on their journeys through space was by equipping them with low-power chemical batteries that would eventually run out but generate a large enough energy flow to allow satellites to send messages to and from earth. (Dryden 3). Thanks to the recent developments in solar paneling efficiency, it is now possible to equip these satellites with efficient enough solar panels so that whenever the satellites does receive direct sunlight, it can receive enough power to maintain functionality for the time when it does not receive direct sunlight. In fact, the panels can generate nearly eleven times the power that is contained within an average full charge of one chemical battery in only sixty minutes. The solar panels that are used by NASA (National Aeronautical and Space Administration) need only be positioned within fifteen degrees of direct sunlight to receive substantial power. (Dryden 16). This technology has a large amount of potential in that once this technology can be implemented to possibly low-atmosphere collection, large amounts of energy could be obtained. The implementation of solar energy certainly is a strong choice when it comes to overall energy output and yet, another positive effect that coincides is an increase in economic growth in terms of both local and global proportions.

Among the many positive aspects that a growing solar energy industry will provide, the creation of new industries and grants pertaining to solar energy projects will create new jobs. Over the past five years, solar energy jobs have doubled. More people now work in the solar industry than that of oil and coal Their wages have increased to about twenty-one dollars an hour, in 2015 alone, 35,000 new solar industry jobs were created. In fact, the solar industry workforce outnumbers that of gas and oil construction and is nearly triple the size of the coal mining workforce (Gillespie 1-3). This rate of growth is accelerating every year, and as more engineers and electricians are hired as researchers, the more competition among businesses we would expect to see. As a result, we would simultaneously expect to see an increased chance at breakthroughs in maximum efficiency. In conjunction, there are several reasons that point to solar energy having a strong market in the near future

Solar energy is projected to have a robust market in the future for a number of reasons, the price of silicon has also dropped in the last five years. Silicon PV prices have dropped twenty percent and as a result, have cut the prices of photovoltaic modules to a measly .4 cents per watt. In some parts of Europe, such as France and Germany, solar power costs as little as eight cents per kilowatt hour (Sundström 4). At this rate, we can expect solar energy to become the most efficient and also the cheapest form of renewable energy for countries that are not nearly so well developed. Due to the increase of popularity, as more companies try to push for their energy grid, prices will drop, which will simultaneously increase the popularity as a result. Since silicon is also non-toxic, in high abundance and cheap cost, it is projected to dominate the market in the near future. 

Solar energy is an industry that is backed by many highly influential and wealthy individuals and as a result, receives a number of subsidies. Many question the flexibility of the solar industry, some claim that the industry could not survive without these subsidies. This is quite the opposite, the amount of subsidies that solar gets is thirteen times smaller than that of oil and gas on average. Oil and gas have been the primary source of energy in the U.S. for over a century, clearly if oil and gas can survive independently with the staggering amount of financial backing they have, solar will have no problem (Francesco 5). Germany, as well as some other European countries have started putting feed-in-tariffs on the solar industry. This means that the government will guarantee payments to solar energy companies for generating electricity. Because of this, the industries where these tariffs are in place have grew exponentially in terms of success and popularity. In urban areas in the U.S. containing dense amounts of small buildings, feed-in-tariffs would be extremely useful. Recently, both solar and wind energy have accounted for the largest number of shares in additional energy capacity that has been commissioned in the United States and Europe (Tennant-Wood 9).  Gainesville, Florida’s feed-in tariff has already proved to assist in making the city a world-known leader in solar energy. Not only is solar energy a top contender in terms of energy output and financial benefits, but it also is one of the most environmentally friendly sources of alternative energy on the planet.

Solar energy not only is known for its impressive energy output and financial benefit but it’s also one of the most environmentally friendly. Photovoltaic cells generate no waste products and the construction and installment of these units causes virtually no damage to the environment. Since solar cells are commonly made with using the non-toxic silicon semiconductor, even solar cell manufacturing plants that use some of the more toxic materials generate on average 275 times less sludge waste than that of a coal burning plant. One of the main opposing arguments for solar being the superior alternative resource is that nuclear power is vastly superior. However, this is immensely untrue (Covert 5). The little effect that solar energy has on the environment is what truly sets it apart from nuclear energy and its harmful byproducts. 

Due to the volatile nature of the nuclear fission reaction that occurs within a nuclear power plant, these institutions can generate on average about one megawatt per day. This is a considerably high amount, however this kind of energy source is one that puts an immense toll on our environment and also bears a major safety concern for any surrounding communities. The regulation of these plants alone is a challenge for technicians and researchers who work there. Prolonged exposure to uranium has harmful effects on the body, this is a critical issue since the regulation of the conditions of these reactor containment vessels needs to be near perfect to sustain a maximum flow of energy. Having a human technician only puts the plant at risk for human error and possible, eventual plant meltdown. When one examines the many disasters such as Chernobyl and the disaster that occurred on Long Island (Spinrad 1-2), one could easily ascertain the notion that  nuclear plants will never be something that would thrill a community to have near their homes or businesses. Solar energy is virtually limitless, the sun generates about two-hundred million terawatt hours per year of energy, nuclear power plants generate about two-hundred terawatts a year (Sundström 1). Not to mention that the construction of nuclear power plants has slowed significantly since the 1980s, and that the power generated from these plants has decreased in most countries due to the decreasing cost of nuclear energy due to a competitive market (Covert 127). On average, it takes around twelve to fifteen years to actually construction a functional nuclear power plant, a time that stretches far too long for a fast paced, sensitive economy (Tennant-Wood 9). Germany, one of the world leaders in nuclear energy has made it clear that they are moving to remove its investments in nuclear by phasing out its primary nuclear power stations, this trend will most likely extend to other countries in the upcoming years (Tennant-Wood 9). Solar outmatches the crude collection of energy obtained through solar through its reliability and eco-friendly attributes.

It is clear to see that solar panels are the more intelligent option in terms of the better alternative source of energy, solar panels need virtually no maintained from technicians, they leave behind no waste other than that used to manufacture the units themselves. Solar panels cause no harm to the environment or to people in general and are certainly more of a welcome sight than that of a nuclear power plant. And although the panels are not active during the night time hours, people use most of their energy during the day and that is most likely when the sun shines the brightest. When the summer days roll around the energy that could be gathered through the intense rays of the sun in the warmer months could provide enough energy to replace conventional sources and greatly reduce the cost of transmission and distribution. And through long term investment, solar has the capabilities to even outmatch the output of a nuclear reactor. As Ellison eloquently put: “solar panels have no restrictions on natural resource limitations, no restrictions on the growth of technology and solar panels need no pipelines to be built” (Ellison 1). 

In conclusion, solar energy is clearly the better option for the superior alternative form of energy due to its impressive long term energy output, its positive effects on local and global economies and its eco-friendly nature and little need for safety concerns. It is clear that people will never stop relying on finite resources like oil and coal, there will always be those who want things done quicker, who have no regard for the long-term consequences of their actions, such as the utter depletion of earth’s natural resources, or the destruction of its environments. It is up to those who notice this lack of regard to find a long-term plan to compensate for the eventual scarcity of natural resources. By investing in solar energy, one is building a better future for the planet and for future generations to come. Those who work in this field are building stepping stones to technologies that will further advance everything from our methods of space travel to how we commute to work.  

