Welcome! Throughout this blog, I will be exploring different types of energy sources that are used in the United States and Europe. I will first explain how these energy sources actually work, delve into the pros and cons of each type of energy, and then compare their usages in the United States vs Germany. The first energy source which will be explored is solar power.

How Does Solar Work?

Solar power is a very well known type of energy. It is a renewable resource which uses energy from the sun to produce electricity- but how does it actually work?

First, tiny particles of energy called photons travel from the sun to earth and hit solar cells, which are inside of solar panels. Solar panels are made from the material silicon, with a positive and negative side of each panel, which creates an electric field. When the photons hit these solar cells, it releases electrons and causes them to move through this electric field to create a circuit. As the electrons flow through this circuit, they generate electricity.

Solar panels create Direct Current (DC) electricity, where the electrons flow in one direction from the positive end to negative end of the circuit. This can be used to power some small items, but power grids for homes are all Alternating Current (AC) electricity, where the electrons reverse direction from positive to negative and vice versa. In order to be able to utilize solar power for homes, there must be a solar inverter attached to the system, which causes the DC electricity to be transformed to AC.

Pros and Cons of Solar Power

Solar energy use is expanding throughout the world. It is becoming increasingly utilized in the United States and Europe especially, even though it is not yet the top energy source. When deciding whether or not a person, community, or country should go solar, there are many positives and negatives to take into consideration.

The main benefit of solar power is of course its eco friendliness. The production of the electricity itself does not cause any pollution, in direct contrast to the vast amounts of pollution created by fossil fuels. It is also entirely renewable, considering that the sun is a resource which will always be available. Another attraction of solar panels is the fact that they can be installed onto the roofs of houses, which saves space due to the fact that there is no requirement for a secondary installation space. Installing these panels also benefits users, because it has the ability to drastically reduce their energy bills.

Despite these positive aspects of solar power, there are also many drawbacks. The main obstacle with solar panels is their high cost of installation, which would take many years of solar power use to make worthwhile. Another disadvantage is the fact that solar panels are only able to produce power when it is sunny outside, which means both during the day and when the weather is right. This means that there must be a form of storage for solar power to be utilized during nighttime or poor weather, which is also very expensive.

Solar Power in the United States vs Germany

In the United States, the total installed capacity of solar panels is 49.3 gigawatts of energy, which is enough to power 9.5 million Americans’ homes. Solar power use is growing, but it is still not a widespread source of energy that is utilized in America. However, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has recently stated that he has plans to grow the solar usage in the US in the future. He claims that it will only require a 100×100 mile square of solar panels to power all of the United States, and also only a one square mile of energy storage to hold the energy so that it can be utilized during nighttime and non-sunny weather, which Musk plans to produce with Tesla. These panels, and a large number of panels already in use in the US, are mainly located in the southwest region of the country, specifically in states such as Texas and Arizona where it is often very hot and sunny. Despite these prospects to grow the United States solar usage, however, the US industry will soon take a large dip. This is due to the new 30% tariff that President Trump has recently imposed upon foreign imported solar panels, which will greatly impede the use of solar panels due to their increase cost.

In Germany, however, solar power accounts for a much higher percentage of overall energy use. In contrast with the United States, Germany’s solar power produced about 40 Terawatt Hours (TWh) of power, accounting for around 7.2% of Germany’s overall electricity consumption in 2017. Germany utilizes renewable resources much more heavily than the United States, which is also facilitated by their government’s “Energiewende”, or “Energy Revolution”, which aims to increase renewable energy use drastically from 2010 through 2030. Companies such as sonnenBatterie are also creating new energy storing systems which allow users to harness their solar power during the nighttime and overcast days, which could ultimately allow German citizens to use solar power for 75% of their annual energy.

One large reason for this contrast in solar usage between the United States and Germany is the difference in cost. In the United States, it is much more difficult and expensive to have solar panels installed on a home than in Germany- up to double the cost, in fact. Until the costs of solar panels decrease in the United States, it is unlikely that the US will catch up to Germany’s renewable energy production- which is not looking likely in light of the recent tariffs. Even though the US may not catch up to Germany any time soon, however, both of these countries will certainly continue to increase their solar usage over the next few decades in order to contribute to a greener earth.