Kaplan College Palm Springs Solar Power Technology Questions

Assignments include both questions and essay related with the both articles covered and the ideas discussed in the course notes. Additional research might be needed for the essay. Please make sure you provide references for the essay.

You need to review both article and lecture notes to answer the following questions.

1. What is solar PV energy and how would you promote solar power and energy applications more in Iowa? What are the basic pros and cons of solar power technology?
2. How does a simple solar PV panel operate?
3. Applications of solar power in or daily lives?
4. How would U.S. be a leader in solar power? Justify your answer with examples.
5. What is former U.S. President Carter’s energy plan on solar power? Can we make President Carter’s solar power dream real today? If so, how?
6. As discussed in “A Solar Grand Plan,” identify at least three of the five payoffs anticipated by the solar grand plan.
7. As set forth in “A Solar Grand Plan,” what assertion do the authors make about creating “a scenario for 2100”?
8. As suggested in “A Solar Grand Plan,” what benefits could be incurred by imposing a tax on carbon emissions?
9. How would you describe United States’ solar power resources as a major future energy use? Can we fully depend on solar power?
10. What are the environmental savings in solar power generation as compared with the coal-fired power generation?
11. Grand plan mentioned in the article offers that the cost (of required infrastructure for a new solar power based clean energy and transmission system), $420B, would be generated by a carbon tax of 0.5 cent/kWh in long term. Describe how this would be feasible by convincing American citizens with additional charges to electricity cost.

Essay: Research the current U.S. farm price support programs including subsidies. Do you think government support to U.S. farm price support programs is higher than $420 Billion that is needed for establishing a modern solar power system infrastructure in the United States? At the same time, authors and many other experts believe that “greatest obstacle to implement a renewable US energy system is neither technology nor money; it is the lack of public awareness that solar power is a practical alternative”. Do you agree or not? Explain your justification with supporting ideas and examples.