Nuclear energy is no longer an option; Nuclear energy was thought to be the solution to ending our reliance on fossil fuels, and consequently an effective way of combating our output of greenhouse gases, and climate change. However, since the nuclear power plant disaster in Japan this is no longer an option. 

A clean, green alternative source of power is the free solar energy that is given out by the sun. The government is currently encouraging home owners to have solar panels installed in their homes through their FIT scheme. 

This allows eligible homeowners to have solar panel installations installed in their homes free of charge, which turn free solar power into free electricity. Any free electricity the free solar panels do not use is simply fed into the National Grid, which the solar panel installers claim back the money for from through the utility companies.

The nuclear plant disaster in Japan may not be covered by the media anymore, but the fears for the state of the reactors are still ever present. The only way that we will be able to tell how much damage the disaster caused is with the passing of time. However, the political implications of the disaster are already becoming apparent. In Germany, hundreds of protesters took part in a demonstration against the use of nuclear power, and waved placards which read ‘Nuclear power no thanks’. Germany’s government have already shut down several nuclear power plants, and China has also reduced the number of nuclear plants they planned to build too.

Without nuclear plants it does pose a problem, in that where is the world going to get all of our energy from? At the beginning of the year people were expecting a ‘renaissance’ for nuclear power. It seemed that nuclear power was the only alternative to end our reliance on fossil fuels. Today, nuclear power provides the world with 15% of our energy, which was predicted to grow- however this now seems unlikely. Our energy needs are constantly increasing; and one source of energy that does not rely on fossil fuels, contributing to the problem of greenhouse gases, and which makes an alternative to nuclear power are renewable energy sources such as solar energy. Source

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“Solar panels are unsightly, have low efficiency, cost tons of subsidy money and have a high carbon footprint. “Edwin Koot writes about the 10 major myths about solar energy.

1. Generating Solar Energy Is Only Possible In Countries With A Lot Of Sunshine
The fact is, the energy of the sun is the most evenly spread source of energy in the world. In any part of the world where there is light, solar panels will work. The world’s biggest market for solar energy is … Germany, a country not particularly blessed with long days full of sunshine, but a country with a smart government nonetheless. In the summer, more than 10% of the household electricity in the south of Germany is generated by solar panels.

Of course, when you’re living in the Sahara region, your ROI will be higher, but there are many other factors playing a role, such as the presence of a grid, the local consumer price for electricity, your energy usage pattern, the political stability in a your country, your need for independency from external sources of energy, and many more. As an example, in Northern Alaska it is smarter to invest in solar energy than to pull a cable from a far away power plant or grid connection point.

2. Solar Panels Are Only Attractive In Niche Markets
Solar energy is an attractive product in any place where people need electricity, which nowadays is anywhere in the civilized world – globally. That is a much larger market than just large-scale solar plants in desert areas, which are very competitive markets, because they need creation of new grids, are competing with wholesale prices for electricity and are crowded with many other power-generating enterprises

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UPDATED EVENTS

Representatives from 25 cities around the nation recently gathered in Philadelphia for the 4th annual Solar America Cities meeting to share findings on emerging trends in urban energy use and to discuss solutions to local solar barriers, such as zoning, financing and unwieldy permitting processes.
At the conference, Department of Energy Acting Under Secretary of Energy Dr. Arun Majumdar announced a Request for Information  (RFI) for a solar challenge specifically designed to address permitting issues in cities. The RFI will foster solutions to help eliminate barriers to solar market development, save customers time and money and accelerate the adoption of solar energy in communities nationwide.
 
The RFI focuses on four areas crucial to solar market growth: standardizing permitting processes, improving interconnection and net metering standards, increasing access to financing, and minimizing siting restrictions.

The challenge builds on the success of the Solar America Cities program in lowering solar energy costs, and supports the Department of Energy’s recently announced SunShot initiative to reduce the cost of solar energy by 75 percent by the end of the decade. In 2007 and 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designated 25 major U.S. cities as Solar America Cities and provided financial and technical assistance to help the cities develop comprehensive approaches to increasing solar energy use. Sixteen of these designees received additional Recovery Act funding in 2009 for special projects that tackle specific barriers to urban solar energy use. The unique federal-local partnerships have enabled DOE to identify barriers to solar energy use in diverse locations and at various stages of market development, and to collaboratively develop solutions to those barriers. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and the Solar America Cities program celebrated a local partnership success, flipping the switch on a new 250 kilowatt solar PV system.  Source: Submitted by Susan Carollo

From The 2011 Seoul Motor Show: Hyundai Blue2 Concept