The benefits of solar energy will be visible on GoSolar815

Brad Roos
| Special to Rockford Register Star

The sun is — and can be — an even greater source of energy and light for all of us.

The amount of solar energy reaching Earth in just one hour would be enough to power the entire world for an entire year.

Learn more about the benefits and opportunities solar energy offers our community at the GoSolar815 Conference & Trade Show July 18, sponsored by Sustain Rockford.

Burning things—primarily coal, oil, and biomass—has laid the foundation for a prosperous world. But continued reliance on them is undermining that prosperity.

For decades, this burning has filled the air with greenhouse gases. It kills more than 7 million people a year, raises global temperatures, melts ice caps, destabilizes the jet stream and ocean currents, raises sea levels, and threatens the stability of the climate in which civilization flourished.

To tackle the climate crisis, immediate and long-term action is needed to drastically reduce fossil fuel emissions.

It could happen. If global carbon emissions reach net zero, global temperatures would stop rising within three to five years, according to a Penn State researcher.

According to Duke University researchers, within about 30 years, with net zero emissions, about half of the carbon dioxide produced by humans would be removed from the atmosphere and absorbed by the upper ocean layers and Earth’s vegetation.

Moreover, the technologies to achieve such significant reductions in global emissions already exist.

This creates an unprecedented transformative opportunity to scale up investment in clean energy technologies locally and globally.

Renewable energy (i.e. wind and solar) now accounts for about 90 percent of all new electricity generation capacity at home and abroad. Solar energy is the most versatile and cheapest form of electricity generation.

Solar energy is sustainable, has a low environmental impact, increases energy independence and brings economic benefits.

These benefits include lower energy bills, high-quality job creation, and fewer emergency power outages. And that’s not even taking into account the huge benefits of federal and state incentives to use renewable energy sources.

The versatility of solar energy is evident in a variety of settings, including both rooftop and community solar installations. Rooftop solar systems are beneficial to homeowners and businesses with adequate roof space.

These systems allow for the generation of electricity on-site, greatly reducing dependence on grid power and enabling significant savings on energy bills.

In addition, properties equipped with solar panels can count on a higher market value.

Community solar projects provide an alternative for individuals, businesses and other organizations that cannot afford to install solar panels on their roofs.

Community solar energy enables multiple subscribers to benefit from the shared production of renewable energy.

This approach is especially helpful for renters, apartment dwellers and those who cannot afford the upfront costs of building a rooftop terrace, while also promoting energy equity and broader access to clean energy.

Renewable energy has become an unstoppable market force. It is best to view it not just as a cost, but rather as an investment in our collective good and humanity’s greatest cost savings.

Sustain Rockford’s GoSolar815 campaign will kick off with a conference and expo on July 18 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Rockford Riverfront.

The event will last all day and everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate (register at gosolar815.com).

Brad Roos is president of Sustain Rockford. This guest column is submitted on behalf of Roos and Sustain Rockford members Paul Schweitzer, Mary Kaull, Helen Hill, Linda Niemiec, and Mike Bacon.