Solar Energy
Solar energy is the primary source of energy for all life forms. It refers to the energy from the Sun. It can prove to be a better alternative to some non-renewable sources like oil, coal and gas etc.
Quick Facts: –
- Enough sunlight falls on the earth every minute to power the world for a year.
- Da Vinci predicted a solar industrialization as far back as 1447.
- As early as 1921, the Noble Peace Prize was awarded for experiments with solar power and photovoltaic. It was awarded to Albert Einstein.
- Studies have found that, on average, homes with solar power sold 17% more and 20% faster.
- In 1990, a solar powered airplane flew across the US.
- The Sun will generate fuel for the next 5 billion years.
- About 2 billion people in the world are currently without electricity.
- Accounting for only 5 percent of the world’s population, Americans consume 26 percent of the world’s energy.
- If we covered a small fraction of the Sahara desert with photovoltaic cells, we could generate all the world’s electricity requirements.
- Shell Oil predicts that 50% of the world’s energy will come from renewable sources by 2040.
- On average, solar energy demand has grown 30% annually in the past 15 years.
- In 1979, Jimmy Carter installed the solar panels on the White House. In 1981, Ronald Reagan removed them.
- In 2010, Barack Obama tried to put them back on.
- Federal State and Local solar electric system rebates and incentives can reduce the cost of your installation by as much as 65%.
- By 2025, New Jersey will be producing as much power with solar as the Hoover Dam. NJ has the #1 incentive program in the US.
- In 2011, New Jersey installed more commercial installations than California.
- A decade from now solar will have created 80,000 new jobs and saved ratepayers $400 million a year in lower wholesale electricity prices.