Actions Around the Home
The Frog will explore The Climate Action Handbook: A Visual Guide to 100 Climate Solutions by Heidi Roop in the first 100 days of 2024
In the first `100 days of 2024 we will explore 100 climate solutions that may “empower you to evaluate, engage, and act” to address on-going climate change as an individual on your terms.
A solar module converts solar radiation into DC voltage through the photovoltaic effect. The concept was developed by Einstein and published in a seminal paper in 1905. The first functioning solar cells were first fabricated in the fifties at Bell Labs and the assembly processes and design of the modern “terrestrial” solar module were developed in the seventies through considerable investment by the US Government.
The Chinese government decided to become the world leader in solar module manufacturing in the early 2000s. China deliberately stood up a massive manufacturing effort to install domestic solar capacity and become the dominant global supplier of solar modules. Largely because of this deliberate manufacturing at scale, solar PV has become the cheapest source of electricity in history since 2020.
The installation of solar PV grows annually. Today, 60 percent of new renewable energy capacity is solar PV installed by utilities at large scale. But we need much more if we want to achieve net-zero emissions globally by 2050. And at the same time other technologies for storage, transmission, and grid management will have to be deployed to make solar the reliably constant source of electricity we are used to.
You might consider installing panels on your house or buying into community solar projects – see Climate Action in 2024 – Day 8. These types are projects, called distributed solar, may be an option for you depending on where you live. There are a number of US Federal subsidies and rebates from utilities to provide you incentive to install systems on your house or property.
I am working on a stand-alone post outlining my experiences installing solar panels on my house. I would be happy to be a resource for you as you explore your options.
Become an advocate! The Solar Roadmap™ is a useful tool to use with communities or organizations seeking to increase the capacity of solar power in their region.
Deployment of solar energy at scale, coupled with smart grid technology and utility-scale storage, is a big swing that promises to allow us to avoid as much as 69 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions in the next 30 years while saving over $13 trillion in operating costs. It is critical that we accelerate this massive conversion of our energy systems to displace fossil fuel sources with renewables in order to even have a chance to meet global emissions reduction goals.
Next Up: Climate Action in 2024 – Day 58: Light With LEDs
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