Can Solar Energy Stop Climate Change?

Climate change is an urgent matter that requires immediate action from every one of us. The necessity of moving to a net-zero future is no longer a matter of when — but how.

Many people are switching to renewable energy sources, such as solar, to do their part to protect our planet from further damage. While various solutions exist to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, solar energy offers the most promising current avenue for combating global warming. 

But can solar actually help stop — or roll back — climate change?

Solar energy technology combats climate change by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and providing a clean and renewable alternative. 

Read on to learn how solar energy can positively impact our environment right now — and reduce (or even eliminate) harmful carbon emissions into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Solar Energy’s Contribution to Combating Climate Change

Solar power can positively impact our environment and help fight climate change. It can help substantially reduce the carbon footprints of individuals, businesses, and nations. Solar provides the most accessible current alternative to fossil fuels and can be deployed almost anywhere. 

Solar is also one of the cleanest sources of renewable energy available, helping to reduce air pollution from other sources that contribute to global warming.

Take a closer look at the ways solar helps to curb climate change:

Solar Reduces Our Carbon Footprint

Solar energy has the potential to help reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions by replacing traditional sources of electricity — like fossil fuels — with clean, renewable energy. 

A significant decrease in emissions is essential to positively affecting climate change and improving air quality worldwide. 

Despite the imminent danger to our planet, CO2 levels today are the highest they’ve ever been, up to 414.8 ppm, primarily due to humans’ fossil-fuel-burning activities.

Climate Watch estimates that 17.5% of all greenhouse gases come from electricity production for commercial and residential buildings.

Harnessing the sun’s power can go a long way in reducing the carbon and harmful greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.

Solar Reduces Dependence on Fossil Fuels

By decreasing the use of fossil fuels, solar power helps reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Solar can replace about 80% of the energy needed to heat indoor spaces and water — this reduction can help mitigate climate change in a meaningful way. 

There are many ways to reduce your home’s dependence on the traditional electricity grid and fossil fuels, such as installing a Smart Home Ecosystem that integrates with your home’s existing wiring. Paired with solar panels, EcoFlow’s DELTA Max and DELTA Pro can help curb your household’s reliance on fossil fuels.

Even though creating solar panels and the balance of system currently requires fossil fuels, once installed, the clean energy they produce more than makes up for the resources needed to manufacture them.

You Can Generate Solar Energy Anywhere

You can capture the sun’s energy and generate electricity almost anywhere as long as there’s available sunlight. This accessibility makes solar an ideal renewable energy source for areas with limited access to traditional electricity sources or off-grid applications. 

Off-grid systems don’t need a connection to utility services. With portable solar panels and compact solar generators like the RIVER 2 series, you can generate energy to-go, even if you’re going there on foot. 

EcoFlow’s customisable Power Kits are an ideal off-grid power solution for tiny homes and motorhomes. 

Solar Supports the Resilience of Electric Grid

Using the sun’s energy helps support the power grid’s resilience by providing a reliable source of electricity, even when traditional sources experience outages or disruptions due to extreme weather events or excessive demand. 

The more utility customers that have power stored in reserve in off-grid solutions like the DELTA solar generators, the less demand on the electricity grid during emergencies and outages.

Home backup power is crucial for people residing in areas prone to extreme weather events and other natural disasters. Climate change is already causing more extreme and unpredictable weather patterns worldwide. Having reliable backup power for your home in the face of natural disasters and ageing infrastructure is increasingly crucial to your family’s energy security.

Solar Energy is Renewable

Solar energy is a renewable source of electricity, meaning it will never run out (at least not for another 10 billion years. 

Solar’s clean, renewable nature makes it the most attractive option currently available for reducing emissions and the need for other sources of electricity, like fossil fuels. 

Moving away from fossil fuels and towards a net-zero future is not a short-term fix… 

With solar power, it’s a long-term change that can last.

Solar Can Help the Commercial Sector Reduce Its Environmental Impact

Commercial enterprises also have to do their part to reduce the environmental impact of carbon emissions. 

In the transportation sector, switching to electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids that can run on electricity generated from the sun can slash energy costs and create more climate-friendly fleets on the road. 

Large-scale solar solutions can also significantly impact the manufacturing sector, replacing boiler fuel and process heating requirements and using solar power instead.

Reducing Emissions Supports Wildlife and Ecosystems

Solar energy-produced electricity helps support wildlife and ecosystems by reducing emissions that contribute to climate change. Experts have linked climate change to the loss of species, habitats, and ecosystem health due to increased temperatures, droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events. 

We can lessen the harmful effects of generating electricity and protect wildlife and precious ecosystems by relying on the sun for our energy needs.

How Impactful Is Solar Energy in Avoiding Carbon Dioxide Emissions?

Solar energy can reduce carbon dioxide emissions drastically. When you produce 100kWh of energy through mountable solar panels rather than fossil fuel electricity, you save more than 1,400 pounds (635 kg) of carbon dioxide from being released into the air annually. 

A solar panel that’s been operational for 28 years (a standard expected lifetime) has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by over 100 tons.

Panels can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions in smaller, individualised ways with rooftop arrays, but community systems can make an even more significant impact. Open fields, empty parking lots, and abandoned buildings are great places to set up a large-scale solar power system that community members can conveniently access when needed.

Whether or not you believe the increasingly irrefutable evidence of fossil fuel impacting climate change, the Earth’s current oil reserves will run out by 2052. 

Any action we take as individuals to reduce our use of fossil fuels can make a positive impact on the environment — and benefit your wallet through long-term electricity savings. 

By pivoting to alternative energy sources today, we can help postpone the exhaustion of global fossil fuel supplies and ensure the health of future generations and our planet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Solar power is the best renewable energy source currently available for mitigating climate change. 

We can all do our part to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions and move closer to a cleaner future by relying less on fossil fuels and more on renewable alternatives. 

Your switching to solar can start small with a portable option like the RIVER 2 Solar Generators. 

Or you can power your motorhome or tiny house completely off-grid with an EcoFlow PowerKit.

With a whole home backup power solution that utilises solar, you can not only help the planet, but also ensure your family’s safety in the event of unforeseen blackouts. 

Whatever strides you make today toward a cleaner, brighter energy future with solar will be felt for years to come.