Advantages & Disadvantages Of Solar Power

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages, its pluses and minuses.
So, naturally, there must be a number of solar power advantages and solar power disadvantages too, right?

It’s been awhile since I ran down a list of solar power advantages and disadvantages, so I figured this topic was ripe for a refresher.

Solar Power Advantages

There are many solar power advantages worth noting. In no particular order (well, perhaps simply the order in which they come to mind), here are some of the top advantages:

1. Solar power helps to reduce/stop global warming.
Global warming threatens the survival of human society, as well as the survival of countless species. Luckily, decades (or even centuries) of research have led to efficient solar panel systems that create electricity without producing global warming pollution. Solar power is now very clearly one of the most important solutions to the global warming crisis.

2. Solar power saves society billions or trillions of dollars/ nairas.
Even long before society’s very existence is threatened by global warming, within the coming decades, global warming is projected to cost society trillions of dollars if left unabated.

So, even ignoring the very long-term threat of societal suicide, fighting global warming with solar power will likely save society billions or even trillions of money.

3. Solar power saves you money by reducing your electricity bill

Putting solar PV panels on your roof is likely to save you tens of thousands of dollars/naira.

When you begin to generate your own solar power, your electricity bill can drop significantly. How much you can save will depend on the size of your solar power system and your family's electricity usage.

4. Solar power provides energy reliability.
The rising and setting of the sun is extremely consistent. All across the world, we know exactly when it will rise and set every day of the year.

While clouds may be a bit less predictable, we do also have fairly good seasonal and daily projections for the amount of sunlight that will be received in different locations.

All in all, this makes solar power an extremely reliable source of energy.

5. Solar power provides energy security.
On top of the above reliability benefit, no one can go and buy the sun or turn sunlight into a MONOPOLY.
Combined with the simplicity of solar panels, this also provides the notable solar power advantage of energy security.

6. Solar power provides energy independence.
Similar to the energy security boost, solar power provides the great benefit of energy independence.
Again, the “fuel” for solar panels cannot be bought or monopolized. It is free for all to use.
Once you have solar panels on your roof, you have an essentially independent source of electricity that is all yours.
This is important for individuals, but also for cities, states, countries, and even companies.

7. Solar power creates jobs.
As a source of energy, solar power is a job-creating powerhouse.
Money invested in solar power creates two to three times more jobs than money invested in coal or natural gas.

Solar Power Disadvantages
Solar power disadvantages are actually not so plentiful.
In fact, there’s only one notable disadvantage to solar power that I can think of.
That disadvantage is that the sun doesn’t shine 24 hours a day.
When the sun goes down or is heavily shaded, solar PV panels reduce the electricity production efficiency.

Way Forward?
The energy stored in the battery can then be accessed and used during the sun's down time.

However, there are a couple of key things to note regarding this solar power disadvantage.

Firstly, the sun actually does shine when we need electricity most. As humans (not vampires), our days more or less follow the movement of the sun.

Society more or less wakes up when the sun rises.
At the time of the sun’s greatest height and visibility, humans tend to be most active.

At this time, we are of course using much more electricity than in the middle of the night, so electricity is in greater demand.

This also makes electricity more expensive in the middle of the day, making electricity produced from solar panels more valuable.

Another important point worth noting on this front is that, with storage, solar power could theoretically supply the world with all of its electricity needs. In fact, nothing on earth compares to the energy potential of sunshine

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