Solar Energy Advantages

Advantages:

1. Solar power is pollution free and causes no greenhouse gases to be emitted after installation
2. Reduced dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels
3. Renewable clean power that is available every day of the year, even cloudy days produce some power
4. Return on investment unlike paying for utility bills
5. Virtually no maintenance as solar panels last over 30 years
6. Creates jobs by employing solar panel manufacturers, solar installers, etc. and in turn helps the economy
7. Excess power can be sold back to the power company if grid intertied
8. Ability to live grid free if all power generated provides enough for the home / building
9. Can be installed virtually anywhere; in a field to on a building
10. Use batteries to store extra power for use at night
11. Solar can be used to heat water, power homes and building, even power cars
12. Safer than traditional electric current
13. Efficiency is always improving so the same size solar that is available today will become more efficient tomorrow
14. Aesthetics are improving making the solar more versatile compared to older models; i.e. printing, flexible, solar shingles, etc.
15. Federal grants, tax incentives, and rebate programs are available to help with initial costs
16. No trenching is needed since the solar can be close to or at the place of installation

Disadvantages:

1. High initial costs for material and installation and long ROI (however, with the reduction in cost of solar over the last 10 years, solar is becoming more cost feasible every day)
2. Needs lots of space as efficiency is not 100% yet
3. No solar power at night so there is a need for a large battery bank
4. Some people think they are ugly (I am definitely not one of those!)
5. Devices that run on DC power directly are more expensive
6. Depending on geographical location the size of the solar panels vary for the same power generation
7. Cloudy days do not produce as much energy
8. Solar panels are not being massed produced due to lack of material and technology to lower the cost enough to be more affordable (this is starting to change)
9. Solar powered cars do not have the same speeds and power as typical gas powered cars (this too is starting to change)
10. Lower solar production in the winter months

https://www.sepco-solarlighting.com/blog/bid/115086/solar-power-advantages-and-disadvantages