25
May 2015
Q. What are the environmental benefits?
Solar energy creates electricity and heat and avoids pollution unlikeĀ conventional coal plants and nuclear plants. Using national average emission factors, every megawatt-hour of electricity generated through a solar PV panel avoids more than 1,300 lbs of carbon dioxide (CO2), more than 5 lbs of sulfur dioxide (SO2), and almost 2 lbs of nitrogen oxide (NOx), and it also avoids producing radioactive nuclear wastes.