Even when the emissions related to solar cell manufacturing are counted, photovoltaic generation produces less than 15 percent of the carbon dioxide from a conventional coal-fired power plant. Using solar energy to replace the use of traditional fossil fuel energy sources can prevent the release of pollutants into the atmosphere. Using solar energy to supply a million homes with energy would reduce CO2 emissions by 4.3 million tons per year, the equivalent of removing 850,000 cars from the road. Solar energy uses fewer natural resources than conventional energy sources. Using energy from sunlight can replace the use of stored energy in natural resources such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal.
Solar energy is a renewable resource.
Some scientists and industry experts estimate that renewable energy sources, such as solar, can supply up to half of the world's energy demand in the next 50 years, even as energy needs continue to grow. The Montana Solar Resource Montana's abundant solar resource can be used to save energy in residential and commercial construction, and farming, ranching, recreation and other industries. The amount of electrical energy produced by a PV array depends on the insolation at a given location and the collector bank orientation, tilt angle, and module efficiency. Solar energy technologies work well in the Northwest. The graph shows that many Northwest cities, including Helena, rank above Jacksonville, Florida, and are nearly as good as Phoenix.