It's Time To Embrace Solar Power

Online, December 28, 2010 (Newswire.com) - As we approach a new decade, it's time to make resolutions as to the future of our planet. Governments and corporations have a big role to play when it comes to shifting to alternative energy to cut emissions, but as citizens we have an important role to play by demanding cleaner alternatives and embracing them.

2010 was a year when we often reported on the inauguration of massive solar farms, both in the United States and abroad. We also reported that small communities in remote African regions are finding in small-scale solar power a life-changing alternative to the grid. Perhaps those communities have something to teach us all in the sense that even with very few economic resources, we can still embrace clean technology as a source of power. And improve our lives in the process.

"One of the great advantages of small scale solar power, such as rooftop solar panels, is that it does not require any extra space as it can be installed on existing structures", says Antonio Pasolini, editor of Energy Refuge, a top web destination for alternative energy news and comment.

Solar systems get cheaper

And the time is ripe for embracing solar power. According to recent release by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, between 1998 and 2009, the cost of residential solar installations has fallen by 30 per cent. In some parts of the country, such as California and New Jersey, a price drop of 14 and 16 per cent, respectively, was registered in 2010 alone. This means that while in 1998 the price per watt in those states was $11, now it costs $6.

"With falling costs and the environmental imperative to spare the Earth from fossil fuels, we have arrived at an age when home owners and individual citizens in general can quite easily play their part in expanding the use of renewable energy, save in electricity bills and help to reduce harmful gas emissions", adds Pasolini.