The first time people used the sun as an energy source was in 1884 in New York City when the world’s first solar panel stood on the roof of a city building. This alternative energy source has changed over the past 40 years. 2.7% of the world’s electricity came from sunrays, and the sphere has a number of benefits and prospects for further development as of 2019.
Advantages of solar energy
This type of energy is environmentally friendly. Wastes harmful to nature and humans are not sold in the production of solar energy. The opposite is true for coal, gas, and oil products. This type of energy has several advantages.
- Accessibility. Our Earth has no places with a pronounced shortage of sunrays, so it is very easy to find a place to install generators. Only in Polar Regions, it is not possible.
- Noiselessness. Solar panels as an alternative source of energy are superior to wind turbines known for their low-frequency humming and vibrations approximately installations in that they are quiet.
- Profitability. This plus is also a feature of solar energy. Generators have a long life span, up to 30 years. Maintenance is very easy in the case of solar energy.
The regular generation of energy from the sunrays is another advantage, as is the wide range of applications and the rapid development of this branch of production. Engineers and scientists create new models of batteries and even windows with transparent photovoltaics for the autonomous operation of buildings every day.
Solar energy disadvantages
Alternative solar energy has several disadvantages that slow the development of this energy industry.
- high cost of the industry at the initial stage of equipment production;
- dependence of power output on weather, a season of year, or time of day;
- need for regular dust cleaning of the surface of photocells;
- developers’ need to occupy large space to increase power by generators.
The production of solar energy is a phenomenon that exists in many countries. The European Union is a leader in the production of solar energy. Germany ranks first in the total solar energy capacity per citizen. China is the global leader in total solar energy production.