A position paper is the type of paper where the writer chooses and support a side of the argument. What makes the process of creating a position paper different from an informative review paper is that in the position paper as the name suggests you have to take a position and support your position. While on the informative review paper as the name also suggest you inform the audience about a certain issue or topic without taking a position directly. This position paper consist of demonstrating that solar energy is the best alternative energy source.

Solar Energy and its Promising Ability to Help Power the World

Lisbeth Sosa

It is not a secret that coal is one of the energy sources that control the world’s supply. However, over the past decades, coal has harmed and continues to harm the environment in many different ways and if it is not stopped soon the consequences could be catastrophic. The burning of coal produces Sulfur dioxide (SO2), which contributes to acid rain and respiratory illnesses.5 Despite all the evidence that expose the negatives effects of coal on January 31, 2018, President Trump stated in his annual speech to Congress that, “We have ended the war on American energy, and we have ended the war on beautiful, clean coal. We are now very proudly an exporter of energy to the world.”1 The government seems to be experiencing a technology lock-in (with coal) and because of it they have claimed that clean coal technology has been effective in reducing the amount of toxins release to the environment during the burning of coal. However, latest reports have shown that even though the burning of coal is not as dangerous as before, clean coal does not seem to be effective in keeping the environment safe. Therefore, sooner or later if we want a safe and clean environment, the government needs to eliminate coal as its energy source and consider new alternative energy sources like solar energy (which is an effective energy source). Although solar power is seen as inefficient by other alternative energy advocates, solar is the best alternative energy source because it is renewable, creates new jobs opportunities but  most importantly it can help stop the damage caused by coal without polluting the environment.

There have been many articles explaining the inefficiency of solar energy.  To determine whether solar energy is the best alternative energy source, one must first know what solar energy is and how it works.  Solar energy is the use of the sun to produce electricity, the energy used “arrives in the form of solar radiation, and must be converted directly or indirectly into electricity or other usable forms of energy.”6 In other words, solar energy is the use of sun rays directly or indirectly to produce electricity. One way to convert the energy obtained from the sun into electricity is through the use of photovoltaic (PV) cells. The photovoltaic process has been favored by many and, “as the industry has grown over the past 25 years, the cost of PV has declined by several orders of magnitude.”2 Therefore, solar energy would not only protect our environment with its clean way to create energy but as this energy source becomes more popular not only the rich part of the population but everyone would have access to this environmentally friendly energy source.

It is important to remember that over the past years, solar energy has been used mainly to heat the water of many homes and buildings, and it has been efficient in doing so. “Solar energy is especially well suited for heating water, a task that requires 15-20 percent of a home’s total energy consumption. Solar water heaters can provide 50-90 percent of that hot water, and their original cost can be recovered through energy bill savings over the course of 4-7 years.”2 In other words, solar energy today can covert 15-20% of the total energy consumption of a home. Yes, you would have to invest your money to install this technology, nevertheless, it is guaranteed that the money invested would be refunded by having lower rates on the energy bills. Solar energy is the alternative energy that the earth needs since it is the source of energy that is most environmentally friendly.  A 2.5 kW system, which covers less than 400 square feet of rooftop, would be able to save the same amount of carbon dioxide that a car emits during a year, which is a huge save of toxins released to the environment.2 The PV technology saves the same amount of toxins because it does not release any atmospheric emissions or greenhouse gases while it produces electricity.

Another benefit of solar energy is that, the “PV industry is expected to provide with 15 percent (about 3,200 MW or 3.2 GW) of the new U.S. peak electricity generating capacity expected to be required in 2020.”2 By 2020 the energy demand would increase in the United States, and solar energy would be expected to covert part of that energy demand. Therefore, the PV industry would have to increase the number of employees in order to be able to provide the US with that 15 percent of electricity. It is also expected that by 2020 there would be over 150,000 Americans employed in the PV industry.2 Solar energy would not only be affordable, accessible, and environmentally friendly, it is also expected to help the US economy by stopping the unemployment crisis that the US can experience.

Despite all the benefits that solar energy has to offer to us and our environment solar energy is often seen as inefficient.  Opposers of solar energy have argued that PV technology would not be able to produce the necessary energy to power all the homes and buildings of the United States and the world. Some have even stated that even if we cover all the rooftops of the United States with solar energy, it would still be inefficient and if the government decides to place solar plants in the whole dessert how can we transport the energy acquired? “If there were large energy-producing facilities in the deserts, how would the energy be delivered to New york, Boston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Chicago, thousands of kilometers distant? High-voltage power lines? Through whose neighborhood?”3 Not being able to transport the energy gathered from solar energy camps through the different places where the energy is needed is one of the reasons why solar energy is not seen as an efficient energy source. However, this limitation is not a reason why the government should not change to solar energy because solar energy does not have to work alone to function. Batteries are another type of energy source that can work with solar energy and together help power the US. The energy obtain from the photo voltaic cells can be store in batteries and in that way transport them to any part of the United States and the world.

However, if we want solar energy to work people would have to change some of their lifestyles. One of the changes that people would need to adapt for solar energy to work is that people would have to install photo voltaic windows.4 People have windows everywhere in their homes, at work, and at many other places changing those normal windows to solar energy windows (PV glass) is not a hard change in their life and they would adapt quickly to it. Installing PV glass as windows would also be beneficial because people would have a solar energy plant available to them for their personal use and it would not harm the environment in any way.

In conclusion, even though opposers hold a strong position towards solar energy, when we investigate we would find our selves with more evidence supporting it than going against it.  Therefore, solar energy is the best alternative energy source because it would clean our environment, it would help the economy by creating new jobs, but most importantly it produces electricity without polluting the environment. Remember, solar energy does not have to work alone, it can be paired with any other source of energy that would not pollute our environment. Establishing solar energy as our primary source of energy is the best choice because it would not only create a safer environment for today’s generations but also for the futures ones.

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Works Cited Page

Grandoni, D. (2018, February 01). The Energy 202: Trump says he has an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy, but coal gets top billing. Retrieved October 24, 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/02/01/the-energy-202-trump-says-he-has-an-all-of-the-above-energy-strategy-but-coal-gets-top-billing/5a71f62c30fb041c3c7d7550/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.49f2dfd1d7f7

Hamer, Glenn. “Solar Power Can Help Fuel the Future.” Energy Alternatives, edited by Barbara Passero, Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010220250/OVIC?u=cuny_ccny&sid=OVIC&xid=d175deba. Accessed 22 Oct. 2018. Originally published as “Solar Power 2002,” World & I, vol. 17, June 2002.

Hayden, Howard C. “Solar Energy Is Inefficient and Impractical.” Global Resources, edited by David M. Haugen, Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010139274/OVIC?u=cuny_ccny&sid=OVIC&xid=a2c64705. Accessed 22 Oct. 2018. Originally published in The Solar Fraud: Why Solar Energy Won’t Run the World, Vales Lake Publishing, LLC, 2004, pp. 181-207.

Higgins, James M. “The Looming Energy Crisis Creates Opportunities for Solar Power.” The Energy Crisis, edited by Lisa Krueger, Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Opposing                                                   ViewpointsinContext,http://link.galegroup.com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010609207/OVIC?u=cuny_ccny&sid=OVIC&xid=52e80641. Accessed 22 Oct. 2018. Originally published as “Your Solar-Powered Future,” The Futurist, vol. 43, no. 3, 2009, pp. 25-29.

 

Standifer, K. (2017, January 23). Renewable Energy Sources. Retrieved October 24, 2018, from https://prezi.com/b74edoxnh-op/renewable-energy-sources/

US Energy Information Administration. (2018, March 23). Retrieved October 21, 2018, from https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/print.php?page=coal_environment