Alternative vs. Traditional Energy Sources: What’s the Cost?

 

An argument often levelled against sustainable building practices is that so-called “alternative” forms of energy are more expensive and less efficient than their “traditional” counterparts. Certainly, this was the case for a long time, as more sustainable forms of energy like solar and wind power didn’t have the infrastructure and demand to make them affordable.

But, in 2016, that all changed.

A report from the World Economic Forum released in December 2016 found that solar and wind power are now either the same cost or cheaper than new fossil fuels in a significant portion of the world’s countries. And between the two, solar energy is outdoing wind energy to become the most cost-competitive alternative source when compared to traditional sources.

And even though the costs of solar power and fossil fuels are still relatively similar, solar is projected to continue to become more affordable, while more traditional energy sources become scarce (since they’re non-renewable) and therefore more expensive. The International Business Times reports that “a decade or two into the future, electricity generated through solar power is projected to fall to half the price of that from coal or natural gas.”

Solar Energy: How Does It Work?

 

Solar cells that are installed to face a sun’s rays (also called photovoltaic, or PV, cells) convert sunlight directly into electricity. Many argue solar power is the most reliable, affordable, efficient, and clean form of energy available, because it is infinitely renewable and costs nothing to supply (only the infrastructure to facilitate the conversion comes with a cost, and this equipment becomes cheaper by the day).

Green Earth Village aims to get ahead of the trend and build a sustainable residential community that’s not only environmentally efficient, but financially too. GEV’s building plans include an intelligent energy-management system that will allow energy-producing homeowners to inject the surplus of the power they produce back into the community grid. Other community members can then draw power from the communal grid if they are not generating enough to meet their needs, and vice versa. Didn’t we all learn in elementary school that sharing is caring?

Green Earth’s Solar Smartflower is a solar energy conversion and storage device that not only converts sunlight efficiently into enough energy to power an average home, but also cleans itself, cools itself, and monitors weather patterns to optimize the energy it captures.

Will Solar Energy Be Everywhere Soon?

 

Not quite. Even though it’s clean, affordable, and renewable, solar energy still has obstacles to overcome before becoming the go-to power source. For one thing, it’s difficult to install solar energy panels on an existing structure, as the alignment and angles of the panels have to be optimized for them to work properly. That’s why building a new residential structure with solar panels pre-planned into the design and architecture is the safest and surest way to get the most out of solar energy.

Another obstacle is, of course, political. The Union of Concerned Scientists points out that new technologies often face barriers when entering the commercial markets because of “price distortions from existing subsidies” and the “failure of the market to value the public benefits of renewables.”

What can we do? Advocate for policies, funding, and government support for renewable energy research and development in your communities, both local and global. Tell your friends, neighbours, classmates, and coworkers about the rapidly-changing cost and technology of alternative energy sources. Most folks might not even know that solar power is set to overtake fossil fuels as the cleanest and most efficient form of energy available worldwide.

Changing minds is all about spreading the word. Sunshine, after all, is here to stay!