Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Solar energy vs. shade
Sunlight has always been critical to survival on this planet. The vast
majority of the earth's living organisms rely on light and warmth from the
sun for their continued subsistence. Plants that store solar energy through
photosynthesis form the basis for food chains that sustain and nourish
billions of humans and other creatures throughout the globe. Even the
energy in the fossil fuels that heat our homes, propel our automobiles, and
illuminate our computer screens originates from the sun.
On the other hand, concerns about global warming are a reminder of
the potential problems of having too much solar radiation. Most scientists
now believe that fossil fuel emissions are trapping excess solar heat in the
earth's atmosphere and that this greenhouse effect could cause average
temperatures to rise significantly and hazardously impact communities and
ecosystems throughout the world.
Ironically, humankind is increasingly looking to sunlight for ways to
combat global warming. Technologies that convert solar resources directly
into electric power can offset some of the world's consumption of coal, oil,
and natural gas and thereby help to reduce global emissions of greenhouse
gases. As the demand for solar energy systems rises, economies of scale
are enabling manufacturers to make these systems ever more efficient and
beginning to have a noticeable impact in energy markets throughout the
world.
Although the pace of utility-scale solar energy is growing, most solar
energy development is “distributed” in nature, consisting of countless
rooftop solar PV arrays spread throughout cities and towns. Distributed
solar energy development is advantageous in that it does not require the
installation of costly transmission superhighways through remote rural
areas. On the other hand, the growth of distributed solar energy also means
that landowners are increasingly installing solar energy systems close to
homes and other types of development, thereby increasing the potential for
conflicts.
As the global solar energy industry has blossomed in the past decade, so
has interest in the controversial topic of “solar access.” Shade is the arch
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