Introduction: Solar Panels and Energy Savings

In recent years, solar panels have really come into their own as a cost-friendly option for sustainable energy that allows you relative independence from an increasingly expensive electric grid. The savings potential of a good solar panel system cannot be ignored, and, more and more, businesses are installing solar panels in order to take advantage of the technology’s enormous benefits. So, if you want to save some money as you help save the environment, solar panels might be right for your business. In this blog, we’ll take a look at why solar panels are such a good option for energy savings. 

How Do Solar Panels Work?

When looking at the potential energy savings of solar panels, it’s important to understand how they work. Solar panels, as the name suggests, take advantage of the incredible amount of power that the sun creates. Every hour, energy from the sun that hits the earth exceeds what the entire human race uses in a year. In order to take advantage of all this energy, solar panels are made up of solar cells that are able to convert that energy into something that we can use. When a photon from the sun hits one of these solar cells, they knock an electron loose from their atom. This process generates a flow of electricity, which can then be used to power whatever you may need at your place of business. 

Any excess electricity that your solar panels produce gets exported to the grid, and, if you need more electricity than your solar panels are capable of producing, you can draw from the grid. This means that you should always have a reliable flow of electricity, unless, of course, something happens to the grid. And that’s how solar panels work. 

How Much Energy Does a Solar Panel Produce?

To add to our discussion of how solar panels work, it’s also important to look at how much electricity a solar panel actually produces. A good shorthand for this is that, on average, 1 kW of solar panels will generate 4 kWh of electricity per day. Of course, in the real world, this is much more complex. How much electricity your solar panels will generate is dependent on several factors, from your location, the time of year, cloud cover and other weather factors, the orientation of your panels, the age of your panels, and more. However, in general, you should generate about 4kWh of electricity for 1kW of solar panels. 

Electricity is Expensive

If you’re drawing all your electricity from the grid, you’re likely paying a hefty chunk of change. As much as we love our home, Australians do pay some of the highest electricity bills in the world. When measured by price per kilowatt-hours (kWh), Australians are paying more than people in other wealthy countries like France, Canada, and the USA. If you’re paying that much for electricity, it could be a huge boon to consider alternatives such as solar panel technology. 

How much will you save? 

There are several factors to consider when determining how much you’ll save if you install solar panels. 

The first is, of course, to look at your current electricity bills. Look at what you’re paying currently and you can estimate how much you’d save if you switch to solar panels. 

The next is to determine when during the day your business uses electricity the most. Typically, most businesses will use the bulk of their electricity during the day, which naturally matches up well with solar panels. 

Then, you can look at the size of the roof of your business building or how much space in general you have to install solar panels. The more solar panels you have, the more electricity you can generate, so it’s important to determine how much space you have to install solar panels. 

Finally, it’s good to look at your future goals or objectives for your business. If you’re planning on moving businesses in the near future, it might not be the best idea to invest in solar panels (although doing so will likely raise the property value of your building). On the other hand, reducing operational costs through a lowered electricity bill can help you grow your business. The less money you spend on electricity, the more you can reinvest back into your business. 

Conclusion: Solar Panels are Great for Energy Savings

In general, solar panels are a good investment and provide a lot of energy savings. With typical solar panel installations, you’ll get an ROI in as quickly as two years, or as long as three to four years based on how expensive your panels are. Though there’s certainly an upfront cost associated with installing new solar panels, they very quickly pay for themselves and come with several added benefits. It’s never a bad idea to consider solar panels for your business. 

Introduction

Commercial solar has exploded in popularity in the past handful of years, all across the world. More and more businesses in Australia have been turning to the power of commercial solar to power their places of work. There are several practical reasons to install a commercial solar system, from reduced reliance on the normal electrical grid, a cheaper electric bill, and increased flexibility. In fact, we’ve talked about those reasons in a previous blog post. However, beyond that, why should businesses care about commercial solar? In this blog entry, I want to make the case that businesses should care about pursuing renewable energy, such as commercial solar, beyond just practical reasons. 

Climate Change

By this point in time, it’s hard to deny the impact of climate change upon us all. From increased fire risks, more extreme weather events, and the migration and even die-offs of native flora and fauna, the effects of climate change can be felt today. That impact has been reflected in public opinion. 

In a survey conducted in 2019, respondents reported that the environment was the second most important problem facing Australia, behind the economy. In that poll, the environment ranked as a bigger issue than the government/politicians, social issues, and immigration/population. Moreover, the environment saw the biggest rise from the previous year, displaying a large increase of anxiety over climate change. Most of this anxiety seems to be coming from the age 18-24 population, with 43% of them reporting that it was the biggest problem facing Australia. This figure makes sense – young people have to inherit our increasingly chaotic environment, after all. 

So, we can see a concern over the environment and climate change that’s only increasing with every year that goes by. 

The Effect of Solar Panels on the Environment

While there is no single silver bullet that will help the environment, the mass adoption of commercial solar can have a measurable impact on climate change. Solar panels, as we are all well aware, use the power of the sun to drive the production of usable electricity. While this is a remarkably clean source of energy, it’s not completely without emissions, especially at this point in time. The production and transportation of solar panels currently cannot be done without some emissions, and it’s been estimated that solar power produces about 40g of CO2 emissions per kilowatt-hour. Other estimations put it as low as 21g per kWh. While this may seem like a lot, it’s important to note that coal power plants produce 1,000 g of CO2 emissions per kilowatt-hour, and “cleaner” natural gas generation produces around 400 g of CO2 emissions per kWh. 

Just imagine how much better things would be as solar power continues to be adopted by businesses and residential areas alike. With such a drastic decrease in emissions, we would certainly see positive benefits reflected in the environment. While it may seem like a drop in the ocean now, just remember, we all have to start somewhere. A cumulative photovoltaic capacity of 7552 MW was installed in Australia in 2017. Today, there are over 21,000. 

Corporate Social Responsibility

Do businesses have a responsibility to care about the environment, though? Should they care about installing commercial solar? More and more people are saying that, yes, they do, and, in fact, it’s their responsibility.

Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is the idea that companies should engage in activities or enact policies that are not just beneficial to their bottom line, but to the communities that they’re embedded in. There are no rules and no laws that dictate that any company should do this, but many people still believe that it’s the right thing to do. Climate change is a problem that affects all of us, too, from the biggest corporations to individuals in society. We all have to live here, after all. 

Of course, there are also other, more immediate reasons to engage in some CSR. 

On top of helping the community around you, caring about social responsibility can help to attract and retain employees. As we can see from the polling results above, people care more and more about the environment. If your corporate culture and even policies align with those values, employees are more likely to be attracted to your business in the first place and are more likely to stay if they feel like their workplace cares about the same issues they do. 

CSR can also help your brand. According to a survey conducted by Nielsen in 2015, more than half of all consumers are willing to pay more for a product or service if the business prioritizes sustainability. 

Introduction: Australia and Solar Power, A Match Made in Heaven

Australia is a perfect place for solar power. The popularity of solar power has been growing year to year in Australia, and for good reasons. Plenty of Australian companies have already gone solar, Australia’s potential for solar power is massive, and, of course, solar panels are instrumental in the fight against climate change. In fact, the list of reasons not to adopt solar energy is shrinking every single year. In this blog, we’re going to take a look at why solar power and Australia go together like peanut butter and jelly, like Holmes and Watson.

Australian Companies Love Solar

More and more companies and institutions across Australia are installing solar panels, and it’s not hard to see why. No matter the industry or the business, people have nothing but good things to say about solar panels. The University of New South Wales, for example, has three solar panel systems totaling 237kW installed on their campus. They’ve stated that the install was easy and painless and that they’ve gotten their ROI right on schedule. In a totally different field, Pullman Hotels and Resorts have a 100kW solar panel system on the rooftop of one of their properties. They’ve said that the install minimized disruption to guests and surrounding residents, meaning that solar panel installations can be painless both for the recipient and the community around them. It’s easy enough to find these testimonials almost anywhere you look. More and more, companies are turning to the reliability and functionality of solar panel systems.

Australia Has Incredible Solar Potential

Currently, Australia has over 8 GW of rooftop solar panel PV capacity. This is a tremendous number and represents the end result of years and years of growth in this area. More electricity than ever before is coming from rooftop solar, and solar power in general. However, Australia still has huge amounts of untapped solar potential. Studies have shown that up to a whopping 179 GW of solar panels can be installed on rooftops across Australia. To put that number into context, Australia uses about 229.4 TWh of electricity per year. If Australia reaches its rooftop solar potential, then 245 TWh of electricity could be output per year.

Simply put, this means that Australia’s entire energy needs could theoretically be satisfied with solar power. Obviously, there’s no practical way to reach this number given our current manufacturing levels of solar panels, the money invested in the technology, and the feasibility of installing all of those solar panels. However, the overall point remains: Australia is well adapted to solar energy. After all, what else would you expect from a place that is among the top 10 sunniest countries in the world?

Climate Change and Solar Panels

Sadly, climate change has had a huge effect on Australia. Average annual temperatures are up while average rainfall declines, bushfires are getting worse every year, people’s homes are at the risk of sea-level rise, the water supply is declining, and more. Unless we begin to take action now, we risk these problems getting worse, with a very human cost attached to them.

The worry over the environment is very real, too. In a survey conducted in 2019, Australians said that the second most important problem facing them was the environment. The survey results placed the environment after the economy, and head of the government/politicians, social issues, and immigration/population. On top of that, the environment by far saw the biggest rise compared to past surveys. Climate change isn’t just a theoretical problem we all need to tackle, it’s a real problem that’s affecting us, and we can see that borne out in the feelings of Australians.

Of course, to zero in on the top two responses to this survey, we all have to understand that the environment and the economy are intrinsically linked. Though this is a topic worth its own paper, we’ll go over it briefly here. The effects of climate change, from climate disasters, agricultural issues, the threat to our infrastructure, the burden on our health, and more carry with them huge consequences upon the economy. Being proactive in our approach to climate change, by installing solar panels, for example, can also have an impact on the economy.

Conclusion

Australia has a huge role to play as we move into our uncertain future. Given the amount of sunlight that Australia receives and the resulting potential for the generation of solar power, it just makes sense to consider solar panels. There’s so much to gain with solar panels.

Introduction: The Future of Solar Power: On the Water

Right now, there aren’t many types of green technology more impressive than solar power. The solar panel technology that we have right now is efficient, cost-effective, and relatively easy to maintain and install, not to mention the clear environmental benefits. However, this doesn’t mean that the technology has stopped evolving. Far from it, in fact, as there are scientists and researchers all around the world working on ways of improving upon our existing solar panels. One innovation that has a lot of people excited actually has less to do with the panels themselves and everything to do about where they’re installed.

Traditionally, we’ve seen solar panels installed on the rooftops of business and homes, out on unpopulated stretches of land, and sometimes even on existing farmland. However, more and more, people are looking to bodies of water as a place to install solar panels. While that might sound crazy at first glance, it’s actually a promising direction for the future of solar. We’ll take a deeper look in this blog.

Floating solar panels?

Simply put, the future of solar panels might involve them being installed on floating structures on top of existing bodies of water. Though this might seem strange – water and electricity aren’t meant to mix, after all – there are a surprising number of upsides involved. And, if this catches on, we might be seeing more of our electricity generated by solar panels that are lounging about on the water.

Why look to the water?

Well, perhaps the most obvious answer to this question is – why not? Why limit ourselves to the land when there’s so much surface area of water to take advantage of? While it’s easy enough to take advantage of rooftop space, for example, it can still be difficult to secure large amounts of land for solar. Even with our need for clean energy to stymy climate change, it can still be a hard sell. Why give up land to solar when it can be used for agriculture or housing, just to name a couple of examples. In this instance, water can be a much easier sell, especially since most floating solar projects take advantage of “ugly,” man-made bodies of water, like reservoirs, wastewater storage ponds, and agricultural irrigation ponds. Nobody wants to be around any of those anyway, so why not float some solar panels on them?

On top of that, water can actually help the efficiency of solar panels. Though solar panels, naturally, harness the power of the sun, they actually get less efficient the hotter they are. Water has a cooling effect on floating solar panels, and some studies suggest that this can increase electricity production by up to 12.5%. Now that’s an impressive output of clean energy.

However, there are further reasons to look at floating solar panels as the future of the technology.

Climate change and floating panels

Beyond the obvious benefits that solar panels have as clean energy, floating panels might have specific preventative effects against climate change, especially those installed on natural, freshwater bodies of water. Though these bodies of water make up only 1% of the Earth’s surface, they contain 6% of all biodiversity. Due to the effects of climate change, the surface temperatures of these freshwater lakes have risen by an average of 0.34°C per decade since 1985, all around the world. Rising surface temperatures can result in harmful algal blooms, lowering water levels, and can prevent water mixing between higher and lower levels of water, which prevents oxygen from reaching the bottom.

Introduction: What in The World Is A PPA?

There’s no denying the importance of solar power in our changing world. With more extreme temperatures and weather patterns around the globe, our reliance on fossil fuels must be challenged by green technology, such as solar energy. However, even as the costs of solar panel installations plummet year after year, they can still present a steep upfront cost. This cost can be especially difficult to overcome if you’re a new or smaller company. Thankfully, though, there are options to take advantage of green energy without having to purchase an entire solar panel system yourself. Today, we’re going to be taking a look at one of those options – a Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA.

What is a PPA?

Though the world of PPAs can be confusing at first, the basic concept is fairly simple. Power Purchase Agreements, at their most fundamental level, typically involve purchasing solar-generated electricity without also purchasing an entire solar panel system. This can be an attractive option for a wide range of companies interested in solar electricity, from smaller companies who are put off by the up-front cost of installation to groups of companies who want to go into solar electricity together.

There are also different types of PPAs – the most common being on-site or direct PPAs and virtual PPAs. Let’s explore the differences between the two.

Direct PPA

A direct PPA is quite simple. Once you enter into this type of agreement, a solar provider will install a system on the rooftop or somewhere on your worksite for “free.” Along with this installation comes a contract between you and the installer, so that you can buy electricity from them at a fixed cost. The company that installed the panels will also help with maintenance and upkeep.

With this arrangement, you’re locked into one price for the electricity. This can be quite attractive, especially if you think that buying from the grid will be more expensive or if you distrust the volatility of the traditional electricity market. However, you can also still tap into the grid, since you’re still hooked up to your normal utilities. This way, your company can still take in electricity on days where the solar panel system just isn’t enough. Finally, many of these contracts will end with the PPA provider passing on ownership of the solar panels to your company.

Virtual PPA

On the other hand, we have virtual PPAs, which are somewhat more indirect. A typical PPA of this type typically involves three different organizations – the company developing the solar energy system, the normal utility company, and a third-party company. The third-party company finances the solar energy system of the first company, guaranteeing a fixed price for the electricity it sells to the grid – the normal utility company. If the electricity sells for less, the third-party company pays the difference. If the electricity sells for more, then that third-party company will actually make money. The biggest value for the third-party company, though, is that they can claim that they’re “100% renewable,” since they’re helping to finance the development of a solar energy system.

Pros and Cons

There are plenty of benefits to Power Purchase Agreements. First and foremost, there’s no big upfront cost to install an entire solar energy system. With both types of PPAs, a company can take advantage of solar power without installing it themselves. That can be an attractive proposition to plenty of organizations. These PPAs, typically involving fixed prices for electricity, can also hedge against any future volatility in the normal electrical grid. And, as with all solar energy systems, they can help with reductions in the cost of electricity and, of course, can help save the environment. It’s difficult not to appreciate that kind of setup.

However, there are cons as well. Over time, the costs can equal themselves out. Installing your own solar panel system can be a bigger upfront cost, but you’ll own the system forever and will save you money on electricity over time. If your electrical needs can be taken care of by solar energy, then all you’re paying for is maintenance and upkeep. Entering into a long-term contract can also be risky, as well. Given the volatility of the electrical market, it’s quite possible that a PPA will have you paying less for electricity. However, that isn’t certain. A PPA might also lock you into a higher price for electricity.

Conclusion

Adopting solar energy is extremely important, both from an economic perspective and an environmental one. However, the costs can still be difficult to overcome. With a PPA, it’s possible to take advantage of solar power with a potentially more attractive financing arrangement. As you and your company look to solar power, it’s important to keep PPAs in mind. SEO Keywords Targeted

Introduction: Trains, Trains, and Automobiles

That title is no accident. Are trains the form of transportation for the future? Certainly, people have been making this prediction for decades now, and it has borne fruit in some situations. Places like Japan, the Netherlands, and, yes, Australia, have embraced the benefits of commuter rail, while other developed nations like the United States have traditionally lagged behind. As we move into a world increasingly affected by climate change, however, rail only becomes more appealing – especially as companies figure out ways to incorporate green technology such as solar energy. In this blog, we’ll explore the environmental impact of trains and how solar energy technology could make them even better.

Are Trains Environmentally Friendly?

In a word, yes. In fact, commuter trains are by the far the most efficient means of transportation we currently have. Over medium-length distances, taking a car instead of a train will cut emissions by nearly 80%. That’s a staggering number, especially since transportation as a whole accounts for 17% of all emissions in Australia. The more we can reduce that number, the better. And, one way that could be done is encouraging the use of trains over automobiles.

Train Ridership in Australia

However, as we look to the future, which includes the prospect of solar-powered trains, it will all be for naught if people don’t actually want to commute that way. Thankfully, that’s not a problem in Australia. Commuter rail is hugely important in Australia’s largest cities – Sydney, for example, has daily ridership numbers in the millions, with other cities not far behind. Overall, walking-only commuters and train commuters, at 24% and 21.9%, respectively, have overtaken car commuters (19.9%) as of 2016 in terms of type of commute taken. Trains are a key part of Australia’s average commute.

In fact, all around the world, many major metropolitan areas have embraced commuter trains as the superior method of getting around. It makes sense. If you need to move a lot of people around at one time, it’s hard to get more efficient than a train.

Solar Trains

Now, here we get to the good stuff. Solar-powered trains. While this might have seemed like a sci-fi impossibility a decade ago, today people have managed to make it work. Let’s take a look at what might become the future of trains.

Right here in Australia, the Byron Bay Railroad Company has made one of the most convincing solar-powered trains yet. The company looked at an abandoned, 70-year-old, stretch of track in Byron Bay and dreamed of creating a new twist on a familiar classic. Though the route had been decommissioned for 13 years due to low passenger levels, they figured that they could revive it with a solar-powered train.

This train features a 6.5-kilowatt solar panel system, artistically curved to match the classic slopes of the train’s rooftop. That system is accompanied by a 77-kilowatt-hour battery system, similar to what you would find on an older Tesla. Together, those systems allow the reincarnated train to carry up to one-hundred seated passengers, with room to spare for standing passengers, luggage, bikes, and, of course, surfboards. In case the train doesn’t have quite enough juice, it’s accompanied by a 30-kilowatt solar panel array, battery storage system, and charging station at the end of its route.

However, this isn’t the only example of a train route boosted by solar energy. In India, a potentially more practical plan has taken shape, with a diesel commuter train with solar panels on its roof that power lights, information displays, and fans. Though perhaps not as flashy as a train that is entirely powered by the sun, this is a much more feasible way to marry solar technology and commuter trains. And, the benefits are still immense. Those solar panels could save up to 21,000 liters of diesel fuel per year, which would save a lot of money – and, of course, the environment.

If that isn’t practical enough for you, there are also plans to power the electrical overhead lines that bring energy to trains with solar power. These solar panel systems would be set up as close to the railways as possible, so that the least amount of energy would be lost to transmission and distribution. A sort of “in-house” solar panel system could be the way of the future for trains.

Conclusion

While the world of solar-powered electric trains isn’t here yet, they could be a promising avenue for fighting climate change as time goes on. Trains are already an incredibly efficient means of transportation, and marrying them with solar technology would make them even better.

Introduction: Solar Highway Noise Barriers

When it comes to the health risks of living in the big city, a lot has been said about air pollution. This certainly isn’t meant to diminish its impact on people – air pollution has several proven effects on the health and wellbeing of city dwellers. Breathing in too much exhaust or other dangerous particulates definitely isn’t good for anyone. Because of this, cities have made serious efforts to cut down on emissions, plant trees and other urban greenery, and more.

However, a less discussed form of pollution is noise pollution. While plenty of people complain about the noise that is generated inside of a large city, fewer know the genuine and detrimental ways that noise affects a person’s health. Think of the noise you get in a city. Even at night, when the sun has gone down and activity has likewise slowed, there’s still a steady level of noise in the background. Sirens, the rumbling of late-night trains, the remaining traffic on the streets, even the low-level humming of central air, all contribute to that noise pollution. Things, of course, get even worse during the day, when activity has ramped up and the sounds of traffic, airplanes overhead, industrial activity, and more gets even worse.

In this blog, we’ll look at the impacts of noise pollution as well as how some solutions can be married perfectly with solar technology.

The Impacts of Noise Pollution

In most city, the noise levels tend to sustain at around 60 decibels, with the possibility of spiking up to 85 decibels or more, depending on where you are. These levels aren’t just annoying, they can be genuinely harmful to your health. Naturally, being exposed to all of the noises of the city can lead to hearing loss, but that’s not even the worst of it. These sustained decibel levels can even lead to higher blood pressure and heart rate, stress, loss of concentration, and loss of sleep at nighttime.

A lot has been said about chronic stress, and the noises of the city can contribute to these stress levels. Chronic stress is associated with several cardiovascular risk factors, and can, down the line, even lead to things like hypertension, myocardial infarction, and stroke. These health issues aren’t anything to turn a blind eye to.

Why Are Cities So Noisy?

As mentioned above, there are several reasons that the noise levels in cities are so high. One factor that can’t be ignored is the presence of cars. Road noise in cities is pervasive and, depending on the speed of traffic, can result in fairly high decibel levels. Another issue is that, throughout the day, traffic can be fairly constant, leaving people with no respite from endless road noise. Not ideal, given the health impacts of high decibel levels.

What Can Be Done?

On faster highways, one way to cut down on road noise is to put up noise barriers. The concept here is simple – physical barriers by noisy roads will literally block the sound from travelling too far. This simple idea can save nearby residents from the deleterious health effects of noise pollution. In fact, similar projects have been taking place on Australia’s own southern expressway in order to block out unwanted sound.

Photovoltaic Solar Noise Barriers (PVNB)

This is where solar technology can come into play. These noise barriers create a lot of otherwise unused flat surfaces, and there are few places that solar panel systems like more than a flat surface. There are many different ways to design a noise barrier and thereby several different ways to affix solar panels to their surface, but the concept itself is simple. If there’s some free real estate somewhere, you might as well throw some solar panels on it.

This idea really is a no-brainer. As you protect people from noise pollution with noise barriers, you can also generate clean electricity with solar panels. And, given how much pollution is normally caused by all the cars on these noisy roadways, it’s nice to offset at least some of that with solar energy. The ideal solution to cutting down on noise pollution from traffic is, of course, to simply have fewer cars, but until we can make that happen on a large scale, solar panels on noise barriers is a pretty good way to go.

Conclusion

Noise pollution is a serious issue. These high decibel levels can have huge health impacts on those affected, such as higher blood pressure and heart rate, stress, loss of concentration, and loss of sleep. A lot of this noise pollution can come from road noise, and road noise can be cut down with the use of noise barriers. If we affix solar panels to these noise barriers, then we can generate some clean energy while also lessening the serious health effects of noise pollution.

Introduction: Solar Car Park

Many of us, especially those interested in a sustainable way of life, surely dream of the day we can say goodbye to the car entirely. To say goodbye to the emissions, the long commutes, and the never-ending hunt for parking spaces, only to come back to a boiling-hot vehicle that’s been cooking under the sun. However, we don’t live in that world, and with the way things are going, we’ll likely never say goodbye to the car (although we’re likely going to have far more electric vehicles zooming around compared to the gas-guzzlers of old). This is why, for the time being, we have to make sure that cars are as environmentally friendly as possible, down to where we park them. That’s why it might be important to invest in solar car parks. Solar car parks are simple – take a normal parking lot, and install solar panels above the parking spaces.

How much parking is out there, anyway?

To have a solar car park, you must have some sort of parking lot, or even just a single residential parking space. So, you might be wondering – how many parking lots are out there across Australia? How many solar panels could potentially be put up?

Unfortunately, we don’t have that exact information for the whole of Australia, but the City of Melbourne has good information and we can also take a look at the data available for cities in the US. While the US tends to have a more car-centric culture, it can still be a worthwhile example to examine. As a worst-case scenario, some cities in the US have half of all their ground space taken up by car parking, while other studies have shown that in five US cities, “car storage has become the primary land use.” Melbourne has data that shows that there are 217,090 parking spaces in inner Melbourne alone, which doesn’t even account for the 5.1 million square meters of off-street parking (good for 12% of the total floor space in the area).

In short, that means that are potentially a lot of parking lots and spaces that could have the space to install solar panels.

How much electricity can a solar car park generate?

Well, as always when it comes to solar panels – it depends. Solar panels get more efficient year after year, so these numbers are subject to change. On top of that, not all parking lots and parking spaces are the same size, so we’re using an estimate there. With all those caveats aside, though, we can still see that a solar car park is an attractive option for generated some extra electricity.

So, with all that, we’re looking at about 3kW worth of solar panels for each parking spot. Naturally, if your business has a large parking lot, we’re talking about a lot of electricity generation.

Why solar car parks, anyway?

Beyond the obvious – solar panels generate electricity whenever there’s sunlight, save money, and reduces your reliance on the traditional electric grid – there are a lot of reasons to install a solar car park.

Parking lots are really a natural fit for solar panel installations. Any parking lot demands a lot of space, space that typically can’t be used for anything other than cars. That’s why it’s good to build up to install solar panels.

People also don’t like to leave their cars parked out in the sun, and Australia gets a lot of sun. Why not make a covering for those cars that also generate electricity? A good solar car park will do both – provide a covering for open parking lots while also generated electricity.

Speaking of shelter, when it does rain, the typical titled roof design of a solar car park ensures that water drains off. Nobody wants to get wet just from walking from their office building to their parked car.

Solar panels are also a good symbol of a commitment to solar energy and a more sustainable future. Customers are more likely to trust that you care about the environment if you actually have sustainable technology like solar panels installed on the premises.

Finally, as solar technology improves and becomes more efficient and effective, a solar car park can also be used to charge electric vehicles without relying on the grid. Electric cars are clearly the way of the future, and these EVs often have auxiliary systems that drain the battery even when they’re not in use. With a good solar car park system, it’s easy to imagine they can be used to keep EVs fully charged.

Conclusion

A solar car park is an easy way to install solar panels in areas that are difficult to be used for anything else. While cars may not be completely sustainable and environmentally friendly yet, that’s all the more reason to make sure the places they park are.

Introduction: Solar Panel Recycling

By this point, there’s no denying the impact that solar panel systems have had on the world of energy generation. By harnessing the immense power of the sun, solar panels can generate energy cleanly and now, more than ever before, cheaply. Not only that, but solar panels promote energy independence by freeing us from the grid, lowering our electricity bills, and, of course, can help save the environment. These days, it’s looking like more and more of our homes and business are going to be looking to solar energy for their power needs.

However, that does leave us with one glaring problem. What’s to be done with solar panels that reach the end of their lifespan? Now, let’s be clear: solar panels have a long lifetime, in the range of twenty-five years or more. Solar panels you buy right now will last you for a long time and give you the clean, efficient energy that you expect.

However, they don’t, unfortunately, last forever. This means that we’ll need to come up with a way to properly recycle our solar panels.

Traditionally, this has been done by treating these old solar panels with hydrofluoric acid, an extremely dangerous and corrosive substance. However, a new method has emerged that looks to not only be safer but highly cost-effective.

Benefit of Recycling

If you’re interested in solar panels, you’re likely already interested in recycling as a principle. However, it’s also easier to think about recycling in terms of putting cardboard boxes into the right bin compared to thinking about what happens to solar panels at the end of their lifetime, for example.

The good news, first off, is that solar panels tend to last a long time. Your average panel can last about twenty-five years or more, and researchers are always looking at ways to make them last even longer. Solar inverters don’t last as long, but still make it to a respectable ten years on average.

While solar panels do last a long time, they do reach the end of that lifetime at some point. Around sixty million tons of solar panels have already become waste, due to their natural loss of efficiency at the end of their life. This is a problem that needs a good solution, and that’s where solar panel recycling comes in.

Previous Methods of Solar Panel Recycling

Typically, to recover the materials in solar panels, the most widespread method has been a hydrofluoric acid wash or the use of a mix of hydrofluoric acid and other chemicals. Hydrofluoric acid is extremely toxic and corrosive and is specifically dangerous to people in a way that other acids are not. Hydrochloric acid, for example, will attack the skin with its active Hydrogen cation. Hydrofluoric acid also has that dangerous local effect, but its fluoride anion causes deeper damage on a systemic level in the body. Exposure to a large amount of hydrofluoric acid can lead to organ failure, erratic heart function, and even death.

So, in order to recover the valuable silicon, aluminum, silver, and lead found in solar panels, it would do good to use a method that’s not quite as dangerous.

The New Method

Rather than using a simple hydrofluoric acid wash, a new method discovered by researchers at India’s KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology uses several different chemicals to recover the aforementioned materials.

The researchers used sodium hydroxide at 63 degrees Celsius to handle the aluminum layer, nitric acid to take care of the silver electrodes and lead, and phosphoric acid to remove the anti-reflective coating.

The results appear to be quite promising – their tests have shown that they can recover 99.9984% pure silicon. Those are great numbers for any recycling venture, especially to reuse a material as important as silicon.

This process also seems to be cost-effective. Though these analyses are always subject to change, they’ve determined that the materials recovered are more valuable than the cost to recycle them. That’s very promising, as the solar panel market is only growing larger, and we’ll need a good method to handle the panels that inevitably reach the end of their lifespan. That recovered silicon can be used for a variety of applications, from new solar cells to diodes, transistors, and even microchips.

Conclusion

There’s no denying that solar panels are key in our journey to move away from our dependence on fossil fuels and towards greater energy independence. However, this does leave us with a distinct issue – once all of these solar panels reach the end of their lifespan, we’ll need to find something to do with all of them. Recycling is the obvious answer here, and a new method of solar panel recycling seems to be successful at recovering highly pure silicon, is cost-effective, and avoids the use of dangerous hydrofluoric acid.

Introduction: Agrivoltaics

Though it goes without saying, there are few things more important to agriculture than sunlight. This is also why you sometimes see solar panel installations competing for space with traditional farms – it turns out that some of the best places to install solar panels are also often the best places to grow crops. The conditions that help crops thrive also maximize solar panel efficiency. Then, it comes down to a question of what people find more important: creating energy, or growing food.

However, agriculture and solar power don’t need to exist in opposition. It’s possible to marry both solar energy and agriculture, a combination that’s also known as agrivoltaics. Rather than having this be a fight for space, more and more researchers have been finding ways to marry the two, which has everyone very excited. In this blog, we’ll look at the benefits of agrivoltaics.

Benefits for Crops

Typically, the solar panels that are installed at farms are suspended above current crop growth, allowing for a more efficient use of space. This allows crops to grow while also letting the solar panels absorb largely uninterrupted sunlight.

However, there are benefits to agrivoltaics beyond simply saving space.

By installing solar panels above the ground, they tend to cool crops during the day while also keeping them warmer at night, creating a natural barrier from the extremes of nature. This benefit is also a two-way street. Because crops create more moisture in the air, this has the effect of cooling down the solar panels. And, since solar panels typically lose efficiency the hotter they are, it turns out that crops can help solar panels, too.

There are further benefits to the more humid conditions that these solar panel installations create, too. With more moisture in the air and more moisture in the soil, irrigation becomes more efficient, since there’s simply less need for outside water to be pumped in. Where solar panels are involved, efficiency goes up all around. 

On top of this, solar panels can also block the wind and limit soil erosion. In more ways than one, agrivoltaics can have a protective effect on crops. However, there are benefits to agrivoltaics that go beyond the growing of crops.

Benefits for Livestock

If you’re worried above livestock, though, solar panels can be elevated to a minimum of seven feet above the ground in order to allow livestock the ability to continue grazing. Unlike with growing crops, however, this does come with some risks. Livestock, especially larger animals such as cows, can damage the frames that the solar panels are installed on.

However, since these solar panel installations shade the ground below, the resulting drop in temperature can be beneficial for livestock. Studies have shown that livestock grazing beneath solar panels have lower internal temperatures, thereby increasing their health and happiness. Though there are risks involved with allowing livestock to graze near solar panels, there are clear benefits as well.

Other Practical Benefits

There are other practical benefits to agrivoltaics as well. Since the technology has gotten dramatically cheaper over the years, installing solar panels no longer comes with the steep up-front cost it once did. And, of course, solar panels very easily justify their purchase, from either reducing existing electric bills or from selling electricity back to utilities companies.

There are few risks that come with agrivoltaics, too. Solar panels are typically installed on aluminum and/or steel frames, which studies have shown don’t leech anything harmful into the soil. There are also no links between solar panels and increased pest problems.

This almost goes without saying, but solar panels, and green technology in general, is beneficial to the environment. Sustainable power sources are far less damaging to the environment than traditional fossil fuel sources, and we’ve already seen the effect that climate change has had on agriculture. Increasing our use of sustainable power sources can help slow climate change and ensure that the environment is healthy enough to sustain agricultural practices.

Cons

However, all is not sunny in the world of agrivoltaics. Though there are numerous benefits to installing solar panels above crops, they are also limiting in certain ways. For one you can’t drive large farm equipment through solar panel installations, due to space constraints and risk of damaging the solar panels. This means that solar panels require manual farming. This isn’t an issue if the crops being grown are already handled this way, but can be a difficult transition otherwise.

As mentioned above, too, allowing livestock to graze around these installations also comes with the risk of damaging solar panels. Similarly, wild animals can also cause damage, meaning that care has to be taken to keep them away. Most farms likely already have some protections in place, but it’s still a consideration to make.

Conclusion

Agrivoltaics, or the marriage of agriculture and solar energy technology, is an exciting development for the future. Though there are some cons, there are plenty of benefits as well, from the improvements to crop growth to the money-saving potential to the clear environmental angle. There’s little confusion as to why people are so interested in agrivoltaics.