RENEWABLES versus fossil fuels.
It’s a raging discussion. And there’s not a simple answer.
Ideally, yes, renewables are the way to go but when one begins to read more about the energy sector and the industries surrounding it, one begins to see this overwhelming presence of companies that are into fossil fuel products. And if one keeps digging, one couldn’t put aside anymore the reality that renewables will have to claw its way out of a deep hole.
It looks bleak and gloomy but there’s actually hope for renewables; especially for solar power generation. More and more people are getting into it and are, somehow, fighting the system that power utilities command. There’s an on-going clamor for one to be able to power their own residences in the cheapest way possible and with the least impact on the environment.
Yes, there are setbacks here and there but it can be said that solar power is on the rise. There’s hope, if you ask me. Solar panels are getting cheaper and that means it can be had by more people. And if governments see the bigger benefits and begin to also support the push, the sun can only shine even brighter. Sure, there will be energy companies who will fight tooth and nail to make sure that consumers only get the power from them and they get paid for it but it’s only a matter of when fossil fuels run out and there’s no other choice but to harness the power of nature.
An article on the Los Angeles Times tells us about utilities wanting to put up their own solar power generation sites. As the article said, it’s "both an opportunity and a defensive maneuver: Sunshine-capturing technology has become so cheap, so quickly, that utilities are moving to preserve their core business against competition from household solar panels." The cat’s out of the bag and it can’t be put back in again. Solar power will only skyrocket in popularity.
Here in Mindanao, one such solar power plant is already completed. A 28.6 MW power plant solely reliant on the sun. In India, one of their airports there is powered 100% by solar. And, let’s not forget, Tesla’s endeavor at the island of Ta’u in American Samoa. That entire island is powered by solar energy. Israel is also getting into solar power with their Ashalim project in the Negev desert.
These are just some that I looked up with a few simple searches on Google. A deeper, more intensive research will most definitely dig up similar “triumphs” towards renewable energy sources.
Hopefully, the scientific community together with more citizens of the planet will be able to convince governments that the best way to go with energy is with renewables.