How Solar Panels will Lead to Job Growth
Renewable energy resources are the future, not only from an environmental standpoint but also from a business standpoint. The main reason we should be pushing for the use of renewable energy resources is for the environment, it is also crucial to look at it from an economic standpoint. Many argue that fossil fuels are much cheaper and cut back on unnecessary costs, but from a simulated experiment I did in a Geology class, I can prove that the switch will save money in the long run. Also turning to renewable energy resources; such as geothermal, solar, wind, hydro, etc. will help create jobs in brand new fields and stimulate the economy.
My Findings
The experiment I conducted was done through a simulation software called Energy3D. The purpose of the experiment was to show how much energy a solar panel on one house would produce based on location, size, and direction of the house. When solar panels are placed on homes they can produce enough, if not and excess, of energy to power your home. I chose to place my solar panel on a home in Barcelona, Spain. I was able to find that in one year the solar panels would produce 6,310.49 kWh of energy. This is a significant amount of energy, and it is also important to note that Spain has a long rainy season where there is very little sunlight. It would be valid to assume that in a place like Florida these solar panels would produce a lot more energy. The average American home uses 10,399 kWh of electrical energy per year, so with that amount of energy created by the solar panels 60.7% of the total energy used in a year would be from a renewable resource. Although this may not seem like a significant amount, renewable energy sources will have to be implemented together, so in the future, we will be using a mixture of all kinds of energy sources to meet our needs. This experiment showed that even now we have the capabilities to reduce our fossil fuel use greatly. Also, if it were to be done on a larger building, like a factory, you would see a much greater amount of energy being produced.
Why Hasn’t It Been Done Already?
Renewable energy will need to be implemented, but why are businesses so hesitant? Many businesses do not want to switch over because there are expensive up-front costs, and in some industries, it will cause job loss. While both of these points are valid it is important to note the return on investment and the millions of jobs that will be created if renewable energy sources become our main source of energy. Although up-front costs may be high, companies will see a substantial return on investment because solar panels pay themselves off over time. As for job growth, there are so many new areas that will be popping up once renewable energy sources become the norm. One possibility is a system that will be created where anyone who makes more energy from their solar panel than they can use will be incentivized to pool that extra energy and disperse it to people who need extra money. If a house makes more energy than they need they can give that extra energy to a company perhaps, who needs the extra energy for their factory. This could create a whole new industry full of jobs, and that is only one scenario of the countless that will arise.
It is obvious that sooner rather than later we will need to rely solely on renewable energy sources and I think businesses must do their part. If they start investing in renewable energy and creating change, it will cause change throughout society as well.
