Solar Panels: Advancing Societies

Through Renewable Energy

Arihant Jain

6th Grade

White Station Middle School

Shelby

4/5/19

Word Count: 1,327

Societies all around the world, especially Tennessee, are being challenged to live with
pollution produced by power plants, automobiles, other human activities, along with costly bills
for electricity. Resources used by humans beings for power plants are also becoming more scarce
every year. Technological ideas using science, technology, engineering, and math (“STEM”) can
innovate and advance projects to reduce water pollution and air pollution by using renewable
energy, which brings a lot of benefits to the environment. Solar panels use the sun which is a
great and free source of energy, it can replace pollution produced by power plants, and it is
everlasting, making it renewable. Renewable energy, specifically solar energy, is abundant and
clean, which can benefit the world. The convenience of solar panels is highly appealing because
solar panels can be installed on roofs, on lights, and many other convenient places. This STEM
program is applicable in areas that obtain sunlight, and it can benefit the future of Tennessee
societies.

Solar panels are made of photovoltaic panels that absorb sunlight to generate electricity.
The concept of solar storage allows photovoltaic cells to store energy from the day, and use that
energy in the night for electricity. The materials that are used to make solar panels are not
harmful to the environment, as compared to other sources of energy, like power plants.
According to the research site news.energysage.com, “Solar photovoltaics are made with a
number of parts, the most important of which are silicon cells. Silicon, atomic number 14 on the
periodic table, is a nonmetal with conductive properties that give it the ability to convert sunlight
into electricity.” When light hits a silicon cell, it causes electrons to move, generating electricity.
Engineering processes that use titanium dioxide and electrolyte are used to make these cells.

To begin with, solar panels use the sun, which is free and natural. This is a good use of
the sun because people don’t have to worry about the world running out of resources, like fossil
fuels, to make electricity. Fossil fuels were produced millions of years ago and at the current rate
of consumption, fossil fuels will be used up within a few decades. Using power plants to
generate power costs a lot of money because of the limited amount of fossil fuels. Even though
solar panels cost about $2,000 to $3,000, the electricity one can get would be worth a lot more
over a period of time. As compared to using other sources of energy, “Burning fossil fuels costs
the U.S. $120 billion a year — not counting mercury or climate impacts!” states
thinkprogress.org. Since there is natural sunlight in many parts of the world, it would be
reasonable to install solar panels throughout this planet. There are a few drawbacks to these
natural resources, but they don’t affect the process of how solar cells obtain that energy. Because
of the STEM sciences that were used to make solar panels, the solar energy obtained from the
sun comes out to be pure and clean, which is why the expenses are worth the investment.

In addition to the fact that solar energy is free, natural, and it comes from the sun, solar
panels replace pollution created by power plants with pure and clean air. Before solar panels,
power plants burned fossil fuels, like coal, to create electricity. They used a process that creates
steam for rotating turbines to create electricity. This process causes greenhouse gas pollution and
global warming, which is very harmful to the environment. As people use nonrenewable
resources more and more, the emittance produced as a result becomes greater which causes
diseases and acid rain. The materials that power plants use is also very scarce, so if people
continue using power plants, the world might not have enough resources to create electricity.
Solar panels use energy from the sun, which is an anti-pollution source. According to usgbc.org,
“Solar power systems derive clean, pure energy from the sun. Installing solar panels on your
home helps combat greenhouse gas emissions and reduces our collective dependence on fossil
fuel.” Instead of using harmful materials to make energy, we can use natural light to make energy
through solar panels.

Furthermore, solar energy is everlasting, because of the sun. If we installed solar panels
throughout the world, we could have an abundant amount of energy and electricity, as long as the
sun is in place. Power plants use materials that are scarce, and that will eventually run out. Solar
energy decreases the worry of running out of electricity, and it improves the proper use of
electricity. Not only can solar panels give electricity in the day from the sun, but it can also be
accessed during the night, through solar storage. Enphase.com states that more energy is used in
the night than the day, so the battery-powered solar storage benefits and maintains people's
lifestyles. “Simply put, a solar panel works by allowing photons, or particles of light, to knock
electrons free from atoms, generating a flow of electricity,” says Michael Dhar, from
livescience.com. Since the sun will be lasting for more than 3 billion years, this scientific process
makes solar panels generate electricity for a long time with the sun. This can help a lot of
societies around the world economically by reducing bills for electricity.

Advancing societies through STEM is important for the world to advance in technology.
Using solar panels to create electricity is a big advancement, and it benefits the world in
numerous amount of ways. After a few decades, people won’t be able to live off of the current
lifestyle because of the depletion of resources, but technology programs and devices can boost
up the lifestyle that people live. One of the biggest problems on this planet is that the need for
electricity is not satisfied. Solar energy can fix this problem around the world. People in
Tennessee are struggling with this problem, but their problems are being fixed through solar
energy. As solar panels become a more popular trend, fewer problems will arise, and it will lead
to more innovations. Rsc.org states, “It is predicted that during the six years it would take to
build a coal fired power station, it will become cheaper to obtain electricity from solar cells than
from this power station.” This means that a solar panel’s development can be used around the
globe, and will get cheaper over the course of time. Solar panels are making a lot of
contributions by reducing the dependency of the world on fossil fuels. The importance of this
idea is very significant for the optimum utilization of resources and can change the way people
think about energy.

To sum up these thoughts, solar panels obtain energy from the sun, which is a great and
free source of energy, it can replace pollution made by power plants with pure and clean air, and
it is everlasting, making it renewable. Solar power can not only get rid of environmental
pollution, but it can also replace electrical generators that use oils, like kerosene, which is
expensive and bad for health. Many varieties of solar panels are being introduced, such as
portable solar cells, and organic solar cells (solar cells that are more affordable and robust than
silicon, or normal solar cells). These can help all types of people receive energy for living
properly. Even if an area doesn’t obtain a lot of sunlight, solar cell technology can put that
limited energy to its greatest use. There are a few downsides of solar panels, but they can easily
be resolved with a simple solution. Many other innovations based on solar panels are being
launched because of its solar design and efficiency. Designers and scientists are working with
each other to reason out the effectiveness and pricing of solar panels. Installing solar panels
throughout the world is a great solution to future challenges, and can advance societies around
the planet.
 Bibliography
Ball, David, Nitin Naik, and Paul Jenkins. "Small scale mobile energy management system using Raspberry Pi and
Python." 2017 IEEE International Symposium on Signal Processing and Information Technology (ISSPIT). IEEE,
2017.

ThinkProgress. “NRC: Burning fossil fuels costs the U.S. $120 billion a year — not counting mercury or climate
impacts!” Thinkprogress.com (2009)

Holowka, Taryn. “Top four benefits of installing solar panels on your home.” Usgbc.org (2017)

Enphase. “An introduction to solar storage.” Enphase.com (2019)

Dhar, Michael. "How Do Solar Panels Work?." Livescience.com (2013)

Chadwick, Nina, and Robertson, Neil. “Can solar power change the world?” Rcs.org (2012)