Solar Power Vs Oil

Coal is on the way out.

Solar power vs oil. In comparison a similar coal power plant would use less than a square mile though further down the food chain land is used for mining as well. It is almost impossible for facts to be presented without a hidden agenda. For wind and solar to compete with oil coal and natural gas researchers will have to find a practical cost efficient way to store their power when the sun isn t shining and the wind isn. As a scientist i am only too aware of the biases that ensue when so called facts are presented.

A sharp drop in the price of. Solar power is growing rapidly and while we still consume about 100 times more energy from oil the potential for solar supply to equal oil in the next decade or two is very real. Fossil fuel use is integrated into the fabric of american society. Cheaper and dispatchable solar thermal storage power need not depend on costly or polluting coal gas oil nuclear based power generation for ensuring stable grid operation.

The 550 mw desert sunlight solar farm for example is one of the largest solar power plants in the world with 8 8 million solar panels covering six square miles. However i will attempt to introduce a few facts as a comparison between oil and solar in as natural a manner as possible. The solar industry builds and installs devices to capture the energy from the sun and convert it into electric power. I will leave.

Natural gas petroleum and coal together accounted for more than 80 percent of energy use in the united states in 2012. The ultimate way to compare solar energy to fossil fuels is by cost where solar has quickly caught up with its non renewable counterparts. Study finds fossil fuel now pricier than solar or wind this article is more than 1 year old around 75 of coal production is more expensive than renewables with industry. Though solar thermal plants with energy storage can work as stand alone systems combination with solar pv power can deliver further cheaper power.

Although hydroelectric plants have long helped power homes and businesses solar and wind power emerged as major energy sources only over the last 15 years or so. The sector encompasses a wide variety of companies with the following functions. Both wind and solar power have grown rapidly in the last decade but they only account for a small percentage of the world s energy generation capacity.