Forbes. (August 19, 2019) Off-Grid Solar Power Is Making Africa’s Emerging Economies A Little Brighter. Retrieved August 19, 2019 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2019/08/19/off-grid-solar-power-is-making-africas-emerging-economies-a-little-brighter/#54a90e296cd3

This article discusses one of solar power’s biggest potential markets: Africa. Largely dominated by sunny days and frigid nights, this continent has nearly 600 million people without electricity. Rising solar energy company Lumos wants to change that. Those who do have electricity, according to Lumos, pay around $70 a month for gas-powered generators, and even those are not reliable. Not surprisingly, these people can get solar power from Lumos at $15 in a much more reliable manner. Lumos hopes to add 100 million new customers in the next 5-7 years.

I think Lumos can possibly be one of the most important factors in introducing solar power to countries with high poverty rates, and countries without the funds needed for their own solar programs. With poorer countries using expensive fossil fuels for power, it only makes sense for them to switch over to clean, renewable energy that’s more affordable. Lumos has the potential to create power for millions in impoverished areas in an affordable manner, this is revolutionary.

Forbes. (July 26, 2019) Solar Could ‘Fully Substitute’ Power and Jobs From Coal In Europe. Retrieved August 13, 2019 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/davekeating/2019/07/26/solar-could-fully-substitute-power-and-jobs-from-coal-in-europe-report/#6665a0657c75

A new study has found that jobs building and maintaining solar farms in Europe could completely replace those in the coal sector. This comes as a relief, and argument point, towards many EU leaders who have been advocating for the bill that would see Europe run completely on renewable energy by 2050. Many eastern European countries have been fighting against this bill, as many jobs and a majority of power comes from the coal sector. However, this study could be the turning point in the argument for clean energy in Europe.

Europe is one of the world’s main centers for economic and scientific growth. With the introduction of more clean energy, I think that other countries may follow suit, and lower carbon emissions worldwide. Although it will be difficult, for example a country like Poland gets 40% of its power from coal alone, it’s still important to make the change for solar power. If large countries in the EU, which have the potential and economy, begin to fund more solar research, I believe the energy crisis could be fixed much more quickly.

Economic Times. (July 22, 2019) How India in a short time has become the cheapest producer of solar power. Retrieved August 13, 2019 from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/productline/power-generation/how-india-in-a-short-period-of-time-has-become-the-cheapest-producer-of-solar-power/articleshow/70325301.cms

Climate change is one of, if not the world’s most pressing environmental problems today. Countries like Russia, China, the United States, and India have long been the world’s worst emission producers. However, India has recently realized that it is now cheaper to build and maintain solar farms, instead of coal-fired power plants. This is an important step for India’s power consumption, as their population is rising rapidly, and so will their emissions if they continue with fossil fuel energy.

More and more countries are implementing solar power into their power production, but none are more important in doing so than India. India’s rapidly growing population, as well as the vast amount of land both indicate that solar power is the right step in powering the future. With solar power becoming more and more affordable, it seems that even developing countries like India have embraced switching to renewable energy, which can only help the fight to stop climate change.

Forbes. (2019, June 29) World’s Largest Solar Power Plant Switched On. Retrieved July 18, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnparnell/2019/06/29/worlds-largest-solar-power-plant-switched-on/#230964de161a

The UAE is well known for its seemingly endless flow of oil. However, even though it’s the world’s fifth largest exporter of oil, corporations are also looking into solar energy production. This particular solar power plant, built by a collaboration of the Abu Dhabi Power Corporation, Marubeni Corp, and Jinko Solar. These companies have collaborated to create the largest solar power plant in the world. This project came at a cost of $870 million dollars, and has a 1,177 MW capacity.

This article is related to environmental science in the sense that it shows improvement in non western society in terms of renewable energy. The UAE could just as easily continue to survive without solar power, especially with all the oil reserves they have, but instead they choose to use another one of their most abundant resources: the sun. I think it’s important to see more countries welcoming solar power into their economy, as the technology can only get better from here. With more countries developing solar panels, more advancements are definitely on the way.

Physicsworld. (2019, July 18) Solar panel generates fresh water and electricity. Retrieved July 18, 2019, from https://physicsworld.com/a/solar-panel-generates-fresh-water-and-electricity/

In the Middle East, fresh, potable water is scarce. Countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have resorted to desalination to provide this much-needed resource, but this process consumes energy quickly and inefficiently. Fortunately, a new process for desalination was recently invented in Saudi Arabia by Peng Wang and a team of scientists at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. The process revolves around the use of solar panels as the heating component, as the article states that only about 20% of the sunlight that hits a solar panel is converted into electricity, while the other 80% simply heats the material. Wang and his team have pioneered a new use for this excess heat by using it to evaporate saltwater.

I believe this desalination process developed by Wang and his associates will provide a much more efficient way to provide water and electricity to not only Saudi Arabia, but the surrounding countries that struggle with the same resource shortage problems, but less money to spend. The article mentions that the additions that they made to their solar panels for the desalination process apply to all solar panels and furthermore, do not decrease energy production. This means that countries would not have to replace their pre-existing solar panels, but rather build the new device around it. Solar energy is a rising economy, but some are still skeptical about how efficient solar panels are compared to other energy sources. I think that this added benefit will convince the public that solar energy is a useful energy source.