Solar thermal panels, installed on the roof of a house, use the light and heat of the sun to heat water.
Solar panels do not require fuel and do not produce any emissions, however some of the materials used to make photovoltaic cells are very toxic and are dangerous to extract from the ground.
Solar panels and solar farms are expensive to install and construct. They are not very efficient as only a small amount of the light energy received is actually converted into electricity, a lot being dissipated as heat or reflected.
Solar panels only operate at around 10–15% capacity in Ireland. The capacity is the amount of electricity a solar panel is capable of producing. If the sun shone all the time, capacity would be high but because solar panels only operate during the day and we do not have a lot of sunshine in Ireland,
Fig. 8 A house with solar panels.
Science in Society Research the ethical and sustainability issues that arise from generating electricity.
Pick one non-renewable source of energy and one renewable source of energy. Consider the following:
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Is it economically sustainable? Is it environmentally sustainable? Is it socially sustainable? Is it ethical to generate electricity using this source of energy?
34.3 Electricity consumption 370
The way we as individuals use electricity has a direct effect on the environment. The more electricity we use the more electricity that needs to be generated. Because of our reliance on technology we often use energy extravagantly. As a result the majority of greenhouse gas
they only operate at 10–15% capacity in Ireland.
Solar power in Ireland may be considered to be environmentally and socially sustainable but not economically sustainable because so much money is spent on developing the technology and also because they are not very efficient and have a low capacity. Taking into account these sustainability issues, the ethical issue is whether it is morally right to generate electricity in Ireland using solar power.
