Summary Reader Response draft 2
In the article "Go-Ahead Singapore (GAS) carries out a 6-month trial of public buses with solar panels," Kok (2021) describes it as a revolutionary method of incorporating solar energy into public transportation. According to the author, GAS conducted an experiment which found out that solar energy has helped to save “1,400 gallons of diesel per bus” which equates to a reduction of “3.7 tonnes of carbon emissions per year”. The article also claims that by implementing solar panels onto Singapore's public transportation, the amount of savings and benefits found during experiments would be even better due to the sunny and tropical environment of Singapore. While the implementation of solar panels onto the roofs of public transportation buses may provide a clean and green environment to the society, it is not suitable for countering the reliability of gaining solar energy because the generation of power is mostly affected during the monsoon seasons and night-time where Singapore has.
I believe the introduction of solar panel buses by Go-Ahead Singapore should be a success, since it is considered as a cost-effective and stable alternative energy source that would tremendously benefit Singapore by cutting carbon emissions which is one of the key global goals that is needed to combat global warming.
The article “Solar energy is now the most cost-effective way to add electricity” (Nhede, 2021) reported that the cost of solar energy is likely to fall further and the growth in the solar industry will increase according to a report released by Wood Mackenzie, a global research and consultancy. The generation of solar energy is now appealing due to the basis of its low cost. Over the last 20 years, the cost of solar has fallen by 90%, and it is expected to fall by another 15% to 25% by 2030. According to the report, countries such as Spain, Italy and India have achieved the goal by having solar to be the cheapest source of new power. Wood Mackenzie projects that the US state, as well as Canada and China are targeted to attain the same goal by 2030. Global installations have top 115GW in 2020, up from 1.5GW in 2006.
Solar energy may be viewed as the world's greatest free source of renewable energy, offering a sustained and unlimited supply. Tester (2005) defines sustainable energy as, “a dynamic harmony between the equitable availability of energy-intensive goods and services to all people and preservation of the earth for future generations”. The constant demand of energy with increasing population in the world had led to continued use of fossil fuel-based energy such as Coal, Oil and Gas, which created challenges such as depletion of fossil fuel reserves, greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental concerns, geopolitical and military conflicts, and constant fuel price fluctuations (UNFCCC, 2015). Twidell, J. , & Weir, T. (2015) mentions that for renewable energy sources to be sustainable, they should be obtained organically from continual flows of energy in our environment and must be infinite to provide non-harmful delivery to the environment.
The significant carbon emissions produced by heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks in metropolitan areas have resulted in both short- and long-term consequences such as air pollution and climate change. Hence, there is a need to reduce carbon footprints generated by introducing alternative sources of energy.
Air pollution has been a major contributor to poor air quality in many nations. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) (2016), 98% of the cities with populations greater than 100,000, did not meet WHO criteria for the maximum production of air pollutants of 10 micrograms/cubic meter in the air (Brauer M et al., 2015). For example, nitrogen oxide emissions are a major problem in London, UK as the regulation limit value of 40 micrograms/cubic meter is not being fulfilled. In working towards zero-emissions, a policy of no needless idling has been implemented to minimise nitrogen oxide emission in central London (City of London, 2015). Additionally, Brauer reported a population-weighted annual average value of PM25. In major cities such as Delhi-170, Dhaka-135 and Beijing-55 for PM25 in micrograms/cubic meter.
The long-term effects of CO2 emissions have led to climate change which has various negative implications such as rising temperatures, wildfires, and floods. Ayre J (2016) mentions that there are efforts to improve urban air quality in countries such as Norway to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles (EV). If electric buses are available to replace diesel-powered buses. Pollution associated with carbon emission will be reduced and air quality will significantly improve.
There will always be a negative aspect to everything. According to Andrew (2021), the presence of heavy cloud cover, as well as continuous and urban shadow, impedes the use of solar panels by creating challenges such as intermittency. Singapore's high temperatures reduce solar cell performance. With all these considerations considered, the efficiency to generate maximum sunlight to power the buses will be considerably reduced, affecting the amount of money saved and diminishing the desire to continue the project. To address these difficulties, technical advancements in solar panels might be implemented.
To sum up, the use of solar panels is beneficial around the globe as an alternative source of energy despite a few setbacks. With the ability to draw limitless amounts of renewable energy, this becomes more affordable, cost efficient and helps to reduce the amount of greenhouse emissions over time.
Andrews-Speed, P. (2021, May 07). Commentary: Why hasn't Solar Energy in Singapore taken off in a big way after so long?
Ayre, J. (2016). Electric Car Sales 28% of All Car Sales in Norway (First 7 months of 2016).
Brauer M, Freedman G, Frostad J, et al. (2015). Ambient air pollution exposure estimation for the global burden of disease 2013. Environ Sci Technol 50: 79-88.
City of London. (n.d.). Air Quality.
https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/environmental-health/air-quality
Yufeng, K. (2021, March 30). Go-ahead Singapore rolls out 6-month trial of
public buses with solar panels.
Nicholas, N. (2021, Feb 03). Solar energy is now the most cost-effective way to add electricity
The Global Goals. (n.d.). Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy.
https://www.globalgoals.org/7-affordable-and-clean-energy
Tiwari, G. N., & Mishra, R. K. (2015). Advanced Renewable Energy Sources. Royal Society of Chemistry.
UNFCC. (2015). Adoption of the Paris agreement
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09.pdf
WHO. (2016). India takes steps to curb air pollution
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