Solar advantages will shine bright at GoSolar815 Conference and Expo

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

The amount of solar energy that hits the Earth in just one hour is enough to power the world for an entire year.

Learn more about the advantages and opportunities solar energy represents for our community at the GoSolar815 Conference and Expo July 18, sponsored by Sustain Rockford.

Burning things — principally coal, oil, and biomass — has provided the foundation for a prosperous world. But continuing this reliance is undoing this prosperity.

For decades, this burning has been filling the air with greenhouse gases. It is killing more than 7 million people a year, raising global temperatures, melting ice caps, destabilizing the jet stream and ocean currents, raising sea levels, and threatening the stability of the climate in which civilization has flourished.

Addressing this climate crisis requires and sustains efforts to dramatically reduce fossil fuel emissions.

It can happen. Once global carbon-based emissions reach net-zero, global temperatures will stop increasing as soon as three to five years, according to a researcher at Penn State.

Within about 30 years at net-zero, approximately half of the man-made carbon dioxide would be taken out of the atmosphere and absorbed into the upper ocean and global vegetation, according to a researcher at Duke University.

Even better, the technologies to achieve these deep cuts in global emissions already exist.

This creates an unprecedented transformational opportunity to increase investing in clean energy technologies, locally and globally.

Renewable energy (that is, wind and solar) now accounts for about 90 percent of all new electrical generation capacity nationally and internationally. Solar energy is the most versatile and least expensive form of electrical generation.

Solar energy is sustainable, has a low environmental impact, promotes energy independence and provides a positive economic benefit.

These benefits include lower energy bills, creation of quality jobs and fewer emergency blackouts. That doesn’t even consider the huge benefit of federal and state renewable energy incentives.

Solar energy’s versatility shines across different settings, including both rooftop and community solar installations. Rooftop solar systems are advantageous for homeowners and businesses with suitable roof space.

These systems allow for on-site generation of electricity, significantly reducing reliance on grid power and providing substantial savings on energy bills.

Additionally, properties equipped with solar panels can benefit from enhanced market values.

Community solar projects offer an alternative for individuals, businesses, and other organizations that may be unable to install rooftop panels.

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

This approach is particularly helpful for renters, apartment dwellers and those less able to afford the upfront cost of rooftop while promoting energy equity and broadened access to clean energy.

Renewable energy has become an unstoppable market force. It’s best viewed not just as a cost, but rather an investment in our collective well-being 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.

This is an all-day event and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend (register at gosolar815.com).

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

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Your turn: Solar advantages will shine bright at GoSolar815