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The Future of Energy: Rooftop Solar Panels

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The Future of Energy: Rooftop Solar Panels
Coal fired energy plants have long been recognized as extremely damaging to the environment. The role of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in precipitating climate change is well documented. Carbon-dioxide emissions have increased manifold since the Industrial Revolution and have led to an increase in the Earth’s temperature in the past 50 years, worsening forest fires, drought and coastal flooding among other disastrous side effects of climate change, according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. (NOAA National Climatic Data Center).
In Kentucky where 91% of its power is generated from coal (Department for Energy Development and Independence; Kentucky Coal Association), there is a great impetus for utilities to cut down on carbon emissions. Unfortunately current efforts to reduce carbon emissions are largely insufficient because they do not attempt to reduce America’s and Kentucky’s overreliance on fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. Rather, currently adopted technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) and natural gas-fired plants that halve carbon emissions merely seek to reduce the environmental impact while still relying on fossil fuels for energy. (Nijhuis) (Breeze) For a solution to be viable in the long run, it must propose an alternative energy source to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels for energy which is the root cause of excessive carbon emissions. Investing in renewable energy like solar power is therefore a far better choice for utilities, as compared to their current efforts.
For the purposes of this paper, I will be focusing on the state of Kentucky to exemplify the issues facing coal-reliant states in America. I will also be considering the proposed solution from the perspective of Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E) because of its dominant market position in Louisville,

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