Solar
in sentence
1475 examples of Solar in a sentence
Other companies are using a similar model to provide
solar
lamps and more efficient cooking stoves.
A new approach is needed – one that takes advantage of Africa’s abundant hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal assets to fuel a low-carbon energy revolution.
Rather, policymakers should figure out how much renewable energy is worth to society (possibly attributing a different value to solar, wind, geothermal and biomass) and make utilities or governments pay extra for it.
Germany has subsidized
solar
panels, as some hope Obama might.
Even if governments rethink their ban on new nuclear plants, accelerate development of windmills and
solar
panels, and search for new gas supplies, Europe will remain dependent on Russian gas for more than a decade.
By contrast, investing in a company like Tesla Motors – which has now developed a rechargeable battery for home use, which could lead to a sharp increase in the number of households switching to
solar
power – looks far more attractive.
Greed will not reverse human-caused climate change, and Trump’s executive orders will not stop the global process of phasing out coal, oil, and gas in favor of wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, geothermal, and other low-carbon energy sources.
It releases more CO2 per unit of energy than oil and gas, and it – and all the fossil fuels – is increasingly being outcompeted by wind, solar, hydropower, and other zero-carbon energy sources.
The Gulf countries are deploying large new capacity in renewable energy, especially
solar
energy.
Biofuels reduce emissions by only ten Mt, and
solar
panels by a paltry three Mt.
Since 1990, the EU has heavily subsidized
solar
and wind energy at a cost of more than $20 billion annually.
The relatively small reduction in emissions achieved through wind power costs more than $3.3 billion annually, and far smaller reductions from ethanol (biofuels) and
solar
panels cost at least $8.5 and $3 billion annually.
By contrast, subsidizing current, ineffective
solar
power or ethanol mostly wastes money while benefiting special interests.
But offshore wind power is so expensive that it will receive at least three times the traded cost of regular electricity in subsidies – more than even
solar
power, which was never at an advantage in the UK.
And China – long the world’s largest oil, gas, and coal importer and leading carbon emitter – became the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter of
solar
panels.
Consider the Swedish company Solarus AB, whose innovative business model – manufacturing
solar
panels out of carbon fibers discarded by the aerospace industry – has enabled it to offer competitively priced
solar
technologies, without support from government subsidies.
The fact that
solar
technologies can be produced locally from recycled materials, Pauli argues, means that governments should not provide solar-related subsidies and bailouts – the costs of which eventually land on taxpayers.
For a country like Chile, where large hydroelectric projects have been politically controversial, and where
solar
and wind power have been too slow in coming, gas imports from the US would be a tremendous boon.
Wind energy is now cost-competitive in many locations, and the costs of
solar
energy continue to plummet – down around 70% since 2008.
Looking ahead, the world economy will need to introduce alternative technologies that conserve energy, water, and land, or that enable us to use new forms of renewable energy (such as
solar
and wind power) at much lower cost than today.
The long-term answer is more research and development – not only into next-generation, safer nuclear energy, but also into energy sources like
solar
and wind, which currently provide well below 1% of the planet’s energy.
To understand what is happening, consider Evergreen Solar, the third-largest maker of
solar
panels in the US, which announced in January that it would close its main American factory, lay off its 800 workers there within two months, and shift production to China.
Pathways to a low-carbon future focus on three main actions: improving energy efficiency, producing electricity from low-carbon energy sources (such as
solar
and wind energy), and switching from petroleum to low-carbon energy for powering vehicles (such as electric or fuel-cell vehicles) and heating buildings.
Moreover, they must meet the need for new power lines to carry low-carbon solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric power from remote areas (and offshore platforms) to population centers.
One example is pumped hydropower, in which excess wind and
solar
energy is used to pump water uphill into reservoirs that can later produce hydroelectric power.
With renewables like
solar
and wind consistently outperforming expectations, growth in electric vehicles far exceeding projections, and governments worldwide acknowledging the urgency of tackling climate change, the writing is on the wall.
In this context, subsidies that promote the development of green technologies – wind, solar, bio-energy, geothermal, hydrogen, and fuel-cell technologies, among others – are doubly important.
In the United States, the 2011 bankruptcy of Solyndra – a
solar
cell manufacturer that folded after having received more than a half-billion dollars in government loan guarantees –seems to illustrate both failures.
The case of
solar
panels provides a cautionary tale.
This will require the vast mobilization of zero-carbon energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro power, implying a power system that can handle intermittent energy sources that depend on when the sun shines, how hard the wind blows, and how fast the rivers flow.
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