Good Solar Energy Investment Calculation Report Example

The average American spends $2000 annually on electricity. Energy cost in the United States varies from state to state. The average energy cost electricity is 11 cents per kilowatt hour (Hinch Par 1). This means that the annual energy consumption is:
$2000$0.11=18,181.81KWh

The average power generated by a 15% efficient, 4m2 panel will be given by:

15%*110*4=66W/panel

There are 8760 hours in a year, so total energy produced will be:

8,760h*66Wpanel=578,160Wh
A single panel will produce 578.16KWh per year.

The number of panels required to support annual energy requirements will be:

18,181.81578.16=31.44 panels
32 panels will be required
32*$800=$25,600

The annual energy bill is $2000. The time taken to recoup the initial investment in form of energy savings will be:

$25,600$2000=12.8years
The total incentives offered will be: $0.85*18,181.81=$15,454.54
Amount to be paid after incentives: 25,600-15,454.54=$10,145.46

Payback period after incentives:

10,145.462000=5.07 years
Assuming the world has a total of 9 billion people and average daily energy consumption per person per day is 10KW. Then the power consumption for the whole world would be:
9,000,000,000*10=9.0*1010KW
With an average global radiation of 100W/m2 and 10% efficient 4m2 panels, power produced per panel will be: 10%*100*4=40W/panel

The panels required to support the world daily power load will be:

9.0*1010KW0.04KW=2.25*1012Panels
One panel is 4m2, so total area required will be 2.25*1012Panels*4=9*1012m2
The total earth surface is 1.5 x 1014m2 . Percentage of the earth surface to be covered by the panels will be:
9*1012m21.5 x1014m2 *100=6%

6% of the earth surface would be covered in panels.

Alternative energy sources such as biofuels, wind, and hydropower derive their energy from the sun. Biofuels derive energy from organic matter in plants. These plants in turn get their energy from the sun through photosynthesis. Wind energy is derived from the kinetic energy of moving air. Winds are caused by difference in air pressure in different regions due to localized heating of the atmosphere from the sun. Hydroelectricity is derived from flowing river water due to the water cycle. The sun heats up the water in the oceans causing to vaporize and rise. The vapor condenses on colder and higher altitudes on mountains. The sun melts the ice on mountains causing it flow down in form of rivers (The Water Cycle). The kinetic energy of flowing river water in converted to electricity by water turbines.

Works Cited

Hinch, Melissa. “Americans spend $2k on home energy costs annually”. Mother Nature Network. MNN Holding Company, 14 Aug. 2014. Web. 13 Feb 2015.
“The Water Cycle”. Water Science for Schools. U.S. Department for the interior. 8 March 2014.Web, 13 Feb 2015.