The extent to which electricity produces harmful carbon emissions relates to the amount of power that households use. Power companies look at customer demand in determining electricity generation needs. Changing weather conditions throughout the year have a direct impact on household electricity consumption, and the extent to which that usage contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

Adverse Impact of Electric Power Plants on Our Environment

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2018, 65% of the nation’s total electricity production came from fossil fuel sources. The data for 2019 hasn’t yet been released. The greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity use aren’t limited to the pollutants that power plants emit from energy generation. The methods that companies use to get fossil fuels (such as mining for coal, drilling for oil, and underground gas pipelines) harm the environment.

The way by which these fossil fuel providers get supplies to energy companies (trucks, trains, barges) rely on traditional fuel sources. And power plants that use traditional (non-renewable) techniques to generate electricity use fossil fuels to produce it. The continuing cycle of getting fossil fuels from natural resources, transporting them to power plants, and electricity generation represent a significant source of carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

What Are the Benefits of Solar Power on Climate Change?

• Solar power is clean energy because solar panels harness energy from the sun and convert it into electricity.
• Solar power doesn’t emit toxic chemicals the way fossil fuels do when they combust to generate electricity.
• Solar power (from solar panels in Community Solar projects) doesn’t contaminate water, pollute the air, or emit greenhouse gases. · Solar power can supply surplus power to the grid, assisting traditional power plants, and lessening their need to burn fossil fuels to generate electricity.
• With solar power, you can instantly reduce your household’s carbon footprint.
• Solar power reduces your reliance on grid electricity, which is primarily generated from fossil fuels.
• Community Solar projects make it possible for any residential utility customer to get a portion of their power from renewable sources without having to worry about the affordability of solar panels, installing them, or maintaining them.

Signing up to join a Community Solar project is easy to do. It’s a small change you can make to have a more significant impact on reducing your household and family’s carbon footprint. Community Solar projects give residential utility customers access to solar power without the financial or maintenance burden associated with rooftop solar panel systems.

When you can save money on your monthly and yearly energy bills while lowering your household carbon footprint in a quest to combat climate change, you have every reason to participate in a Community Solar project. Contact Ampion to learn more about our projects and their environmental benefits and to sign up to join a Community Solar project.