The Power of Solar Energy
Solar
Power for Montana
Montana has an abundant solar resource
that can be used to save energy in residential and commercial construction, and
farming, ranching, recreation and other industries.
How Solar Energy
Benefits Montana
Solar energy can play a key role
in creating a clean, reliable energy future in Montana. The benefits are many
and varied. Consumers who use these technologies will benefit directly and immediately.
Using solar energy produces immediate environmental benefits. Electricity is often
produced by burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas. The combustion
of these fuels releases a variety of pollutants into the atmosphere, such as carbon
dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxide (NOx), which create acid
rain and smog. Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is a significant component
of greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions could significantly alter the world's
environment and lead to the global warming predicted by most atmospheric scientists.
The combustion of fossil fuels
releases more than 6 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year. The
United States alone is responsible for 23 percent of these emissions. Clean energy
sources, such as solar energy, can help meet rising energy demands while reducing
pollution and preventing damage to the environment and public health at the same
time.
Solar energy is an excellent alternative
to fossil fuels for many reasons:
Solar energy is clean energy. Even when the emissions related to
solar cell manufacturing are counted, photovoltaic generation produces less than
15 percent of the carbon dioxide from a conventional coal-fired power plant. Using
solar energy to replace the use of traditional fossil fuel energy sources can
prevent the release of pollutants into the atmosphere. Using solar energy to supply
a million homes with energy would reduce CO2 emissions by 4.3 million tons per
year, the equivalent of removing 850,000 cars from the road.
Solar energy uses fewer
natural resources than conventional energy sources.
Using energy from sunlight can replace the use of stored energy in natural resources
such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal. Energy industry researchers estimate
that the amount of land required for photovoltaic (PV) cells to produce enough
electricity to meet all U.S. power needs is less than 60,000 square kilometers,
or roughly 20 percent of the area of Arizona.
Solar energy is a renewable
resource. Some
scientists and industry experts estimate that renewable energy sources, such as
solar, can supply up to half of the world's energy demand in the next 50 years,
even as energy needs continue to grow.
The Montana
Solar Resource
Montana's abundant solar resource
can be used to save energy in residential and commercial construction, and farming,
ranching, recreation and other industries. The amount of sunshine available at
a given location is called the "solar resource" or insolation. The amount
of electrical energy produced by a PV array depends on the insolation at a given
location and the collector bank orientation, tilt angle, and module efficiency.
Solar energy technologies work
well in the Northwest. The graph shows that many Northwest cities, including Helena,
rank above Jacksonville, Florida, and are nearly as good as Phoenix. Longer summer
days and cooler temperatures add up to higher performance.
Montana can be divided for
insolation roughly the way it is divided geographically—Eastern Montana and Western
Montana. Eastern Montana receives an annual average of 5 hours of full sun; Western
Montana receives an annual average of 4.2 hours.
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