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While many people make the switch to solar for its substantial financial benefits such as lower utility bills and increased home value, the significant environmental benefits are equally as important. If you are thinking about switching your home to solar, check out the following 3 eco-friendly advantages:
- Solar reduces air pollution: Harmful carbon Solar reduces air pollution
Harmful carbon dioxides and methane emissions from fossil fuels, our traditional energy source, are the leading contributors to global warming and decreased air quality. Generating electricity with solar panels produces no greenhouse gasses. In fact, the solar capacity currently installed across the United States is expected to offset as much as 16.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. That’s a huge step towards mitigating the human impact of climate change.
- Solar reduces water pollution
While all manufacturing processes require some water, solar photovoltaic cells don’t need water to generate electricity. This is one of the biggest, yet least talked about environmental benefits of solar. Traditional biomass and geothermal power plants, such as natural gas and coal-fired facilities, require massive amounts of water to facilitate their vital cooling requirements. With solar energy there is no pollution of local water resources, nor does their operation (which again requires NO water) strain local supplies through the competition with agriculture, drinking systems, and other vital water needs.
- Solar reduces the need for finite resources
Solar energy is renewable. The sun is the world’s most abundant energy source, producing an amazing 173,000 terawatts of solar energy every second. That’s more than 10,000 times the world’s total combined energy use, and it can be used over and over again. In contrast, fossil fuels are non-renewable and while they may seem in abundance today, there will come a time when the world will run out.