Solar Energy Around the World

Solar energy is taking off around the world. In Taiwan, solar energy is part of a push to make renewable resources 12.6 percent of the nation’s energy output by 2030. This does not have to mean solar energy, but it will play a large role in achieving this goal. According to Eco-Business.com, Taiwan will demand 100,000 jobs and have a production value of $29.7 billion USD by 2020. As an International Economics major, I support this push by the government to achieve this goal. It will create high tech jobs and bring in revenue for Taiwan as well as reducing oil imports. From an environmental standpoint, I think that this is a realistic goal for Taiwan and it could provide a standard for other countries to work towards.

The next country is the United States, which is taking a more passive approach to solar energy in most cases. According to the Tampa Tribune, Tampa Airport is installing solar panels on one of its parking garage which will produce 2 MW and provide power to around 250 local homes. This canopy is the future of energy production, instead of massive solar farms, small scale projects such as this will provide power locally. Solar farms are more space inefficient compared to rooftop installations. The benefits from this project are obvious, from simply putting down solar panels, people on the top floor of the garage will have nice shade from the Tampa sun as well as generating a respectable 2 MW of power while being unobtrusive to the scenery.

The final country is South Africa, which is building the continent’s first solar powered airport. This is a larger project which will take up 200 square meters and produce a massive 750 MW. This is more than enough power to power the airport and the surplus will be sold off to local energy companies. According to the South Africa’s Minister of Transport, Diupo Peters, the plant will provide an extra 3725 MW to local energy production. South African President Zuma has stated that the growing drive for renewable resources has created over 109,000 jobs as well as provided over $12 billion USD to its economy.

All three of these projects will provide clean energy for their countries as well as demonstrating the three sizes of projects, small scale, large scale and nationwide efforts. I agree with and support more of these projects around the world as they generate energy and revenue for their people as well as cutting down on air pollution. A place where I would like to see more development with solar technology is China, where their air pollution from burning fossil fuels is so bad people have to wear gas masks in some regions of the country. As a final thought, these projects should continue to serve as examples for other countries to follow, rather than isolated projects in order for more progress to be made in this field.

Sources:
http://www.eco-business.com/news/taiwan-ramps-up-green-energy-development/
http://www.tbo.com/news/business/tampa-airport-tampa-electric-unveil-solar-energy-project-20160211/

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/sa-gets-first-solar-airport-1990497