Activity 3.2.3 – Alternative Energy - Solar Energy

 Activity 3.2.3 – Alternative Energy

1. Alternative energy is energy that is not used as the main fuel source. If I have a machine that runs on solar power but can run on gasoline, solar power is the main energy and gasoline is the alternative energy.

2. One argument for alternative energy is, disasters caused by nonrenewable energy can be prevented by not using them. Another is the potential costs saving companies can have by using some alternative energy.

3. 3. Solar energy is the most replenishable source of energy we can harvest and it is all thanks to the sun. The Sun's influence is constantly felt on earth due to the light and heat it produces. Sunlight only ever hits one side of the earth at a time so sunlight is not a guarantee at all times of the day.  Not to mention, the sun’s energy is responsible for keeping all life on earth, from plants to humans, alive because of the heat it releases. The best part of solar energy is its availability, sunlight is free for everyone and the heat the sun provides is also free. It has been and continues to be one of our most important and abundant forms of energy because of its broad versatility. “Solar energy has been used for centuries to heat homes and water.” (Mutiti S. etc. 4.2 solar energy). Nowadays technology has progressed so far that we now have solar panels which capture some of the energy given from sunlight for uses such as lighting or heating. Solar Panels are still a little expensive so their value is in the clean energy used instead of the immediate money saved because of the price. Unfortunately, “Solar energy is not evenly distributed across the globe, making some locations better suited to solar energy investment than others.” (Mutiti S. etc. 4.2 solar energy). In other words, solar energy is better gathered and used in locations with more access to sunlight. Also, another great downside is that sunlight can not be gathered in the event of a rainy day or if storm clouds are above. This significantly hinders the reliability of solar panels because no sunlight can be gathered at night already, throwing another time where sunlight cant generate energy just makes them even more unreliable. The hardest problem to get around is that sunlight also cant be captured and stored so it is best used as a Alternative energy to something more reliable.

Work Cited:

Mutiti, S., Mutiti, C., Manoylov, K., VandeVoort, A., & Bennett, D. (2018). Introduction to environmental science (3rd ed.). Biological Science Open Textbooks. University System of Georgia.