What are the advantages and disadvantages to using solar energy?
Some of the significant advantages of generating power from photovoltaic cells include: – Low operating and maintenance costs once the panels are installed. – Environmentally friendly source of renewable energy. Reduces reliance on more carbon-intensive or GHG-intensive energy generators such as coal or fossil fuels. – Independence from utility companies can either reduce/eliminate utility costs or serve as another income stream to the household. Some of the disadvantages to meeting your power needs with solar PV technologies: – Capital-intensive projects (large amount of money required to start producing, primarily in purchasing the panels) – The cost of solar energy on a per-watt basis is high compared to other forms, such as natural gas. As demand continues to grow and power outages become common, this gap is being closed. – Producing power from solar PV is sensitive to weather conditions (i.e. snow or cloud cover), and no power is generated at night.
