Is Solar Energy Renewable?
Posted by GreenSpeak
A question that often rears it's head with people unfamiliar with renewables is, is solar energy really renewable?
The short answer is yes. By definition, "renewable energy" is any energy source that can replenish itself. Solar energy IS renewable as it does replenish itself - no constant supply of raw materials is required to keep solar panels producing electricity.
This is easy to see when you consider how solar works - silicon solar panels conduct the sun's energy (photons) and convert it into electricity, without any input from any raw materials.
It's useful to compare this to non-renewable energy sources to see the difference. Coal power plants for example, require a constant supply of coal to continue producing energy. Thus the method of burning coal for electricity is not self-replenishing, and not renewable.
An additional point, raised by a good article on the advantages and disadvantages of solar power is that solar has other "renewable" impacts over and above the fact that it doesn't constantly consume resources. It is renewable in that it doesn't need constant human interaction - it doesn't require people to constantly be shovelling coal into a furnace or to be drilling into the ground - once solar panels are installed, they essentially take care of themselves. Solar also has a pseudo-renewable characteristic in that it allows eco-systems to be renewable - by not destroying them. Mining of oil and coal requires destroying forrests and ecosystems in the process of accessing them. These, particularly oil drilling, also involve great risks and collateral damage from accidents or incompetence, e.g oil spills. As installing and using solar panels is a method that doesn't require such processes, and by replacing such methods, solar energy allows these eco-systems to be renewable and self-replenishing, rather than destroyed.
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