It can be difficult to classify energy sources as renewable or nonrenewable. No source of energy is fully renewable. This is especially true when considering the factor of a long timescale.
Besides, more and more persons in the United States are opting for solar power for their businesses and homes. But the question that frequently arises is, “Is solar renewable or nonrenewable?”
In this article, we will determine whether solar energy is renewable or nonrenewable. Continue reading to learn more.
1. Availability of the Sun
The Sun’s availability level will help us answer the question, is solar a renewable resource?
Some regions receive more sunlight than others. Countries located within the equator receive sunlight throughout the year. On the other hand, the Arctic and Antarctic lands are far from the equator hence do not receive direct sunlight.
The latter countries could not do anything in their power to trap sunlight even if they wanted to. If you posed a question to them, “is solar renewable?” they would likely say no. How can solar energy be used endlessly yet these countries can barely access solar?
2. Manufacturing Process of Solar Panels
Solar panels contain silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells that absorb sunlight rays. The cells convert the rays to Direct Current (DC) electricity. An inverter then converts DC electricity to Alternating Current (AC) electricity.
To harness more solar energy, you would need more solar panels. Therefore, during solar installation, you do not need to worry about the number of solar panels to use. You can install one or six panels.
Solar panels do not only harness solar power, but they also store it. If you live in a region that receives sunlight throughout, you will hardly run out of solar energy. You can use both the stored and direct solar energy.
Remember, factories mainly rely on nonrenewable energy such as oil to manufacture solar panels. If there is no oil, then they are unlikely to manufacture them. In this instance, solar becomes nonrenewable.
3. Impact on the Environment
When you are answering whether solar energy is renewable, you shouldn’t focus on solar availability but on environmental impact. For instance, nonrenewable energy emits carbon dioxide into the air. When carbon dioxide mixes with rainwater, it forms acid rain.
Acid rain corrodes roofs of buildings and kills off aquatic life and insects.
Solar companies like Blue Raven Solar improve homeowners’ lives by lowering their energy bills and boosting their dependence on clean, plentiful renewable energy.
Besides, solar panels offset 175 tons of carbon dioxide in the air. Going by this tidbit, nonrenewable energy sources use more energy to create harmful gases than useful ones.
So, is solar power renewable? In this case, it is renewable since it does not use up all its energy to create other byproducts.
Is Solar Renewable or Nonrenewable?
Going by your opinion, is solar renewable or nonrenewable? Truthfully, it depends on how you look at it.
Solar is renewable. It is difficult for people to use up all the energy from the Sun due to its enormous size and high energy.
Solar becomes nonrenewable during the manufacturing of solar panels. We are yet to discover a technique for using solar energy in manufacturing.
Nevertheless, it would help if you didn’t let this discourage you from installing solar panels.
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