Solar technology today has achieved a really great development from the past to the present. Our childhood memories of solar technology were calculators and wristwatches powered by tiny solar cells. In just a few decades, solar energy has become one of the major candidates for leading the world’s energy transition. Our survival on this planet has always been accompanied by the sun and its direct influence. Solar heat is extremely important for the survival of many crops. Sometime around the mid-1950s we started using the power of solar energy and the work of photovoltaic panels, but since then the technology for using solar energy has advanced much more. Renewable energy sources refer to energy that comes directly from natural sources or existing processes that are complementary and constantly renewed. Given the environmental and climate crisis we are facing globally, which is the result of greenhouse gas emissions from dirty energy sources, it is easy to see why all research and development programs are focused on the renewable energy sector.
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Former United States President Jimmy Carter is the man who built a solar farm in Plains, Georgia. The land on which this solar farm was built is owned by the former US President, and covers 10 hectares of land, which in 2017 became a solar farm. There are now about 8,852 solar panels on this land. Former United States President Jimmy Carter was once a proponent of clean energy. He installed 32 thermal solar panels on the roof of the White House in 1979, becoming the first US president to do so. This later became the practice of both George W. Bush and Barack Obama in their presidential terms, they also installed solar panels. According to statistics and a statement from the former USA President, these panels can produce 1.3 megawatts of energy on a nice sunny day. This electricity provides energy for 50% of the small town in Georgia. According to US government data, one megawatt will provide enough energy to power 400 – 900 homes.
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Renewable energy is slowly but surely paving the way for an energy transition on a global scale. The percentage of installation of renewable energy facilities is increasing in contrast to the capacity of new fossil fuels. About one third of the world’s energy capacity is now in the renewable energy sector. Solar technology does not pollute the air, and with each passing year it becomes more economical, more efficient and creates new jobs, while the sun provides an unlimited source of energy. However, there is a danger, because if we are talking about creating solar farms, land use should be taken into account. Creating large solar farms requires large areas. If the space and areas provided for solar farms are not well planned, it may lead to loss of habitat and loss of favorable agricultural land. The size of the land required depends on the technology used and the topography of the space. This can be solved by using brown fields (urban areas that have previously developed on them), abandoned mining sites, transport paths or even certain types of water bodies, as locations for solar farms. Technology is moving us forward, we just need to find a way to use it most efficiently.
