February 6, 2019
As a Scientist, I am only too aware of the biases that ensue when ‘so-called‘ facts are presented. It is almost impossible for facts to be presented without a hidden agenda. However, I will attempt to introduce a few facts as a comparison between Oil and Solar in as natural a manner as possible. I will leave you to draw the conclusions and further hope to leave my bias at the door.
| Solar | Oil |
|---|---|
| Energy derived directly from the sun | Energy derived from fossil fuel |
| Energy source will never be exhausted in our lifetime | Energy source is finite and located in only certain locations in the earth |
| Energy must be converted into electricity or heat using solar converters such as photovoltaic cells, thermal cells, mirrors, or ovens. | Energy must be converted into electricity or heat by the use of converters that use fire to burn the oil, such as: turbines, engines, and fire |
| Energy can be used directly | Energy cannot be used directly |
| Converters are passive and once commissioned will operate for years without maintenance | Converters are active and have several moving parts. These will require extensive maintenance to operate for extended periods |
| Energy is only directly available during the periods of sunshine | Energy is available at all times as long as the fuel is available |
| Amount of energy decreases as the latitude increases | The amount of energy produced is not a function of the location at which it is being used |
| Zero pollutions is produced by the converters | Significant amount of pollution is produced by the use of fossil fuel |
| Zero health effects from the use of the solar converters | The pollutions from the use of oil may cause respiratory and other health hazards |
| Energy produced by the converters may be stored in batteries, vats and hot water tanks | No storage medium needed |
| Converters for transportation is limited as few electric vehicles are on the market | Oil is the primary fuel for transportation |
| The levelized cost of energy for solar systems is now comparable to that of oil | The levelized cost of energy for oil systems is now comparable to that of solar |
| The cost to install a solar system requires a capital expenditure | The cost to install a new oil electric plant is much larger than a solar plant but most oil plants have already been established and operational |
| Solar electric plants are the only systems that can be developed and installed on any scale, small, medium of large | Oil electric plants require extensive capital and are often only used for medium and large scale systems |
| Solar plants are the simplest to be installed and used the least amount of parts | Oil plants are often significantly complicated and requires extensive training to develop |