If we want to defeat climate change, it would be primordial to move from fossil fuel energy to clean and renewable energy. The most important sources that seem to have more potential to achieve this goal are wind and solar power.
It is sometimes difficult
If we want to defeat climate change, it would be primordial to move from fossil fuel energy to clean and renewable energy. The most important sources that seem to have more potential to achieve this goal are wind and solar power.
It is sometimes difficult to imagine how these two sources can really work, mainly because they fluctuate in both space and time and it is also known that solar panels work well during the day, but they do not function so well at night. On the other hand, wind turbines just send electrons when the wind is blowing.
Although the two sources of energy fluctuate, they do it in a way that they complement each other. For example, solar power generation is highest during summer and lowest in the winter. On the contrary, wind power is greatest in the spring and fall. Another compliment is that wind turbines work at night when solar panels are dormant.
According to the U.S Department of Energy, solar power generation grew 40.5% in 2017 over 2016. What is more, the amount of growth in electricity from sunlight represented over 1.9% generated in the United States in 2017. In comparison to the electricity generated during 2015 which was just under 1%, it shows that solar power generation tends to double over the course of two years.
Currently, because of the solar power growth, the total electricity generation has fallen around 1.5%, and coal energy has fallen less than 30% of the total. By 2017 electricity from fossil fuels was down 5.3% approximately.
Plus, wind and solar electricity together generate 8.2% energy. Besides, there is no source of power growing as quickly as the solar. If this change continues growing like this, the U.S. will get more than 5% of its electricity from solar in 2020.
A recent paper published in Energy and Environmental Science Journal, the authors analyzed 36 years (1980-2015) of available wind and solar power in the US. They also included the electrical demand and its variation.
After the recollection of data, two possible scenarios were stated. The first scenario was seen as wind and solar installations that would supply 100% of the US electrical needs.
The second one was imagined as the installations would be over-designed; capable of providing 150% of the total U.S. electrical need.
The authors analyzed these two scenarios with different mixes of power (solar to wind). Besides, the effect of aggregation area, that is to say, what sized regions are used to generate electricity was included.
It was concluded that with 100% power capacity and no mechanism to store energy, a wind-heavy portfo