Coal Electricity vs Solar Electricity - Know the difference
“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” — Thomas Alva Edison
The genius inventor of the light bulb, Thomas Alva Edison's above quote signifies the importance of solar energy and how it was perceived even back then. Solar was in its infancy in those days yet its value was recognized. Today, we have enough technology surrounding us to help us make that dream true and collect the sun's energy at cheaper rates than traditional electricity.
It is important to ask yourself these questions to determine which type of electricity suits your household:
- Is traditional electricity relatively more expensive for my household? How so?
- Can solar electricity be potentially cheaper? How so?
- How can solar electricity grow to be the energy source of the future?
To understand these head scratching questions, delve deeper with us into the process of electricity generation from coal and solar.
Traditional Electricity Generation
Ingredients needed: Generator, water, fuel source, heavy machinery, transformers, substations, and wires.
Electricity produced by burning fossil fuels like coal is termed as traditional electricity.
How do we achieve that?
Coal is found below the earth's surface and is extracted using heavy machinery, leaving a massive hole in the ground. This negatively impacts the surrounding ecosystem and causes massive environmental damage. The extracted coal is then transported to large power plants that can be hundreds of kilometres away. Power plants require heavy investments to be built and operated stressing the need for making them viable and profitable which is achieved by increasing margins and cutting labour costs.
The transported coal is stored and later burnt in large furnaces. The heat generated is used to boil massive quantities of water and phase them to steam. The steam is passed through a network of pipes to increase its velocity and impinged on a large turbine. The turbine rotates and in turn rotates a generator (the primary mover) that is coupled to it. The generator produces electricity by converting the rotating energy into electrical energy. Also, a large flywheel is needed to balance the power load. The turbine and surrounding systems require regular maintenance for optimum operations.
The electricity generated is transported by long conducting wires to hundreds of kilometres away to households, offices and industries generating a complex network. These wires stretch for millions of kilometres supported by innumerable electric poles with substations and transformers to supply standard amount of electricity and forming the grid system. Investment-intensive and requiring highly trained professionals makes this system expensive.
One big drawback of such a large grid is that it faces massive power losses during transportation. Moreover, grid networks are fragile and are usually disrupted during thunderstorms or natural disasters — critical periods when it is most needed.
Solar Electricity Generation
Ingredients needed: Sun and panels.
Electricity produced from the Sun's energy is termed as Solar electricity.
How does solar operate?
Solar panels generate electricity directly from the sun’s rays and can act independently from the grid. They can be combined in varying quantities to produce enough energy to power a single household, a school, a farm, a factory or even a city.
Their scope can be further broadened by connecting panels on neighbouring households to form a micro-grid allowing exchange of energy between them. In such grids, you are empowered and are transformed from a mere consumer to a supplier.
Further, solar is agile and decentralised and can be configured for maximum utility and need. Solar doesn’t need any fuel or large networked grids, can be sized based on the need and has lower maintenance and labour requirements. This makes it cheaper to establish.
Combining solar panels with energy storage options like batteries can free you from relying on the grid. Although, batteries are expensive, you can always find various affordable solar plus storage options from GTL Renewable. Check GTL Renewable's website to know more.
Global warming is not the only reason for Solar and Renewables to be the “Right choice”.
