ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR ENERGY OVER WIND ENERGY

What is solar energy?

Solar energy is the radiation from the sun reaching the earth’s surface that is channelled into uses. When the sun’s radiation heats the earth’s uneven surface, hot air rises and cool air settles. The difference in the atmospheric pressure creates wind.  Therefore, wind energy is a form of solar energy. Although wind energy releases less CO₂ into the atmosphere and produces more energy overall, here are some advantages of solar energy over wind energy:

Lower maintenance costs

Wind turbines and generators have moving parts which over time experience some form of wear and tear. This results in routine maintenance costs.

Little or No Pollution

In solar powered systems, there is little or no form of noise pollution. Looking at wind turbines, they make a lot of noise.

Danger to Wildlife

With solar, there is really no animal in danger. But with the wind blades rotating, birds and other animals of the air are at risk.

Suitable for all population

Wind energy systems or wind turbines aren’t suitable for densely populated areas as they need space. This means that in large cities, solar systems are more preferred as they can be installed on rooftops. In densely populated areas, urban and rural areas, solar energy systems are still preferred.

Less required space

Wind energy systems consume a lot of space and for them to be very effective, a wind farm is usually advised. Solar systems are still very effective on rooftops which consume lesser space or land use except in cases of solar farms.

In addition, solar energy provides a more predictable output than wind. As there are issues of uncertainty with daylight for solar panels, the same goes for wind pressure variations.