Photovoltaics.

Solar power provides a unique opportunity for creating jobs and reducing our trade deficits. It reduces energy imports and dependence upon foreign oil. Solar power improves grid reliability and supplies electricity when and where it is most limited and most expensive, making it a highly valuable and strategic contribution: solar electricity can guarantee a more stable energy economy. Below are a few more reasons as to why solar power is so important to us.

Our Environment – Solar has very little impact on our environment: it is one of the cleanest technologies available. In its operation, Solar Power does not produce any air pollution or hazardous wastes. Traditional power sources are the primary source of ground-level air pollution, which causes severe health and environmental problems. Also, PV doesn't release greenhouse gases and is a strong measure for slowing global warming. Global warming is the cause of rising sea levels and regional climate shifts – both of which are having a sever impact on our ecosystems, agriculture, and coastal areas. Another point to consider is that Solar has no mechanical or moving parts, making its operation silent.

The Energy Grid – Solar is designed to be scaled and placed directly where power is consumed, or where the energy grid needs to shore-up capacity and energy for increasing demand. It is mobile and can be relocated easily. Solar does not need to transport or use combustible fuels from different regions of the world; it uses a natural, abundant and free fuel source – the Sun. Because of this it can guarantee energy at times when demand is at its peak – seasonal and cyclical variations are well matched. All of this makes photovoltaics a sensible and secure candidate for creating energy assurance. The grid can be designed with a fixed energy price, as opposed to the shaky centralized infrastructure that is dependent upon unreliable fuel sources and is open to disruption from either natural disasters or man-made.

Our Economy – August 14, 2003 – North America suffered the largest blackout in its history. Approximately 50 million people in eight states and parts of Canada were left in the dark. Power outages such as this one, according to the Electric Power Research Institute, Consortium for Electric Infrastructure to Support a Digital Society, cost the United States economy $119 billion dollars per year. Solar power can play an important role in reducing power disruptions such as the one that occurred in August of 2003. Solar power is a distributed resource; it supports the grid by providing power at peak times of the day, reduces transmission requirements, and can continue supporting customers during downtimes. Two-thirds (66%) of the business surveyed in the affected area after the blackout claimed that they had lost at least a full day of business. To a quarter (24%) of these businesses, the loss of a business day translated into a $400,000 business loss (businesses stated a $50,000 per hour loss and assumes an 8-hour work day); to 4% of them, the loss was $1 million for each hour of down time. With the integration of a solar power system, this loss can be avoided. This is but one example of how solar power is a strategic contribution to our economy. Read more about the importance that solar power has on our economy at the U.S. Department of Energy: Solar Energy Technologies Program.

And You – Solar to you means a stable energy price, a more reliable energy grid, a cleaner healthier environment, and more money flowing in our own economy. Solar power gives you a choice.

More information about the fundamentals of solar power and its importance can be found at the links below.

U.S. Department of Energy: Solar Energy Technologies Program
National Center for Photovoltaics
Renewable Energy Policy Project