Essay Example: Alternate Sources of Energy

Solar energy is the technology that is used in the harnessing of the energy from the sun so that it can be put to use in the production of electricity and heat. The use of solar instead of fossil fuel such as petroleum has been adopted in many parts of the world because it is renewable energy. It also has many advantages compared to the use of fossil fuels which play a significant role in conserving the natural environment and improving the livelihoods of the people around the areas where such alternate energy sources are used. Although solar energy has many benefits when used in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge compared to the use of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum, it also has certain disadvantages that make many people oppose its adoption.

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The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has had many debates due to the oil and gas that is drilled in the area, posing a threat to the natural environment and the United States at large. The development of oil has posed a threat to different species of animals and plants in the area, which risks them being extinct (Chester 21). The machinery used to extract the oil produces carbon dioxide and other harmful gases to the environment that create climate change and global warming. The effects of global warming on the park include melting sea ice and sea levels rising at rapid speeds which becomes a threat to the wildlife and people that are at risk of drowning.

Advantages of Adopting Solar Energy

To deal with the immense adverse effects of drilling oil and using it as a source of energy in the wildlife-protected area, renewable sources need to be used as they can displace the electric power sector (Chester 21). Solar energy can be installed on large parts of land with no adverse effects on the habitats of both wildlife and people.

Solar power is a source of energy that can be used as an alternative to oil as it is capable of generating electricity and producing certain levels of heat to the people who need it. It depends on sunny days when the collection, storage, and conversion methods are the most useful in determining how long the power will be stored and used (Abraham 6). Solar energy is captured using thermal systems, photovoltaic, and other solar energy systems. Solar thermal systems capture the energy in the atmosphere in terms of heat. Flat-plate collectors that consist of black metal plates and glass sheets trap the heat from the sun, and it is used in various establishments for heating water and air, especially in cold environments (Abraham 6). On the other hand, photovoltaic systems of capturing solar energy utilize solar energy to create electricity.

The advantage of using solar energy over other forms of energy is that it is renewable and more environmentally friendly. It is renewable in the fact that after use by individuals and the stored energy is depleted, one can wait the next day for the sun, and they can harness the power again (Solangi et al. 2149). The use of environmentally friendly sources of energy will help to conserve the environment and maintain climate change to the way it has been. Solar energy can never be exhausted despite how much it is used because they cannot drain the sun, which is the source of energy. Solar energy is also noise and pollution-free, making it a useful energy production source compared to other sources of energy such as coal and other fossil fuels like petroleum.

The use of solar energy is effective in reducing climate change and the global warming effects that are realized from the use of fossil fuels that emit Carbon Dioxide and several greenhouse gases that increase the global warming levels and effects in the United States (Solangi et al. 2149). Global warming is evident from the use of other fossil fuels where greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere and increase average temperatures.

Oppositions of Solar Energy

Despite all the benefits that solar power has in protecting the environment for the wildlife in reserve, it also has environmental effects that may pose a threat to the park and the country at large. Solar power uses a lot of land in the wildlife reserve because many solar panels have to be installed for the government to be able to retrieve the same energy they were retrieving when using fossil fuels like oil (Lyman and Economist 1). The land that is filled with solar panels becomes inaccessible to wildlife as well as interferes with their natural movements and water flow, making many animals get displaced.

The use of solar energy also requires the use of different cells for its manufacturing, maintenance and storage, which are hazardous and may find their way into rivers and the land destroying the environment. The reaction of such cells may also cause emissions that create irregular climate changes (Lyman and Economist 1). Alaska is faced by significant seasons of winter periods which make the sun a rare sight where it does not appear for weeks. Solar panels require that the sun is available most of the time; hence they may be ineffective sometimes due to lack of heat from the sun to harness and store energy.

Conclusion

Solar energy transformation has been a great move to withdraw the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity and heat. Adoption of this energy has created many benefits such as reducing the dependency of the village on fossil fuels that produce many hazards to the environment, improving the predictability of prices of electricity and provision of local benefits to the general environment of the United States. However, it does not come without its share of disadvantages such as it has to be integrated with the already existing grids of energy production, the significant parts of land it is installed on, the hazardous cells it uses, and the lack of sun during the better part of each year. Experts advise reviewing other sources of energy that save on costs before settling for solar energy in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Works Cited

Abraham, John. "Study: Wind and Solar Can Power Most of the United States | John Abraham." The Guardian, Guardian News, and Media, 26 Mar. 2018, www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/mar/26/study-wind-and-solar-can-power-most-of-the-united-states.

Chester, Matt. "Drilling in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Reserve vs. Renewable Energy: The Drilling Debate, Economic and Environmental Effects, and How Solar and Wind Energy Investment Would Compare." Chester Energy and Policy, 9 Jan. 2019, chesterenergyandpolicy.com/2018/01/16/drilling-in-the-alaskan-arctic-national-wildlife-reserve-vs-renewable-energy-the-drilling-debate-economic-and-environmental-effects-and-how-solar-and-wind-energy-investment-would-compare/.

Lyman, Robert., and Energy Economist. "Why renewable energy cannot replace fossil fuels by 2050." Energy, (2016). https://www.ourenergypolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Renewable-energy-cannot-replace-FF_Lyman1.pdf

Solangi, K. H., et al. "A review on global solar energy policy." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 (2011): 2149-2163. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c103/6c71b314f5c45982ff1b63464d781df3e316.pdf