Is solar energy really practical and what affects does it have on Earth?

Question

Is It?

Answer 1

It is practical and millions of euro and dollar are being invested to develop technology on commercial scale

at one time diesel was also thought in the same way

Answer 2

At the moment, solar energy is kinda expensive (which is why most people aren't doing it i guess...) i priced my town house and from memory it was gonna cost nearly 30K to get all the needed power, and  a little feed back to the grid... as for the effect on earth... well i guess most of the effect on the earth would be during the production of the panels... during their use i would say they only have a good affect on the earth...

Answer 3

it has no effect what so ever.

Answer 4

The award winning series NOVA (on PBS) just did a great episode on the "rebirth" of the solar energy industry and the role it could be playing very soon in the lives of almost everyone in North America (see link below).

Titled "Saved by the Sun" I think it did a great debunking the old solar power "myths" and showing just where the industry is at today.  Solar power is becoming much more economical (more so when backed with state and federal tax breaks), viable, and user friendly.

While I don't see solar power as a "silver bullet" to our energy woes, it is a solid part of getting us off of oil and in the right direction.

The great benefit of solar power is that it has a zero "negative" impact on the earth.  While some of the materials going into solar panels are of concern, they have all been designed to be recycled as of late.

Again, this is just part of one step in the right direction for our enegy needs I think.

Answer 5

What effects does solar energy have on the earth?  You need to realize that literally all energy is solar energy.  All the coal, petroleum, wind, heat, etc. comes from the sun.  The gathering of solar energy with solar panels does not harm the earth in any way.

Answer 6

Not practical for most people for two reasons:

1. Economics - Until fossil fuels get much more expensive or the consumer gets big rebates, it is just simpler and cheaper to use the grid power.

2. Reliability - Doesn't make power at night and when cloudy. This makes a complete stand alone system use large Battery banks to store energy, and/or a back-up generator which burns gas or diesel. This drives the cost even higher.

The only effect on earth is the pollution and power used to make the components of the system and the power/pollution from disposing/recycling of them when old.

Answer 7

No, solar energy won't be practical until 2 things happen:  they improve its energy gathering efficiency from the current dismally low 10% to 25% or better, and they need to develop a simple means of storing excess energy for later use, the obvious one being converting water into hydrogen gas for later use in fuel cells.

Answer 8

Solar Energy drives many processes on earth such as the growth of plants so it is very beneficial.

We use solar energy form the past when we burn fossil fuels.  Technology for using solar energy today is still relatively young but is available. For six months a year (almost) all our hot water comes from solar panels on teh roof of our house.