(1) The nation's energy use is largely dependent on fossil fuels. (2) These fuels are nonrenewable resources, and they cause pollution. (3) We cannot continue our reliance on a fuel that will eventually run out. (4) Thus, we must find other ways to sustain our energy demands. (5) Pursuing alternative fuel sources is the key to solving our energy crisis. (6) Through different technologies, such as solar cells, scientists have learned to use the sun’s radiation to create electricity. (7) Currently, about 1 percent of energy in the United States is produced by the sun, and solar energy has the potential to become a more widely used energy source. (8) Solar energy is both inexhaustible and clean. (9) The major limit to this alternative source is that equipment is expensive. (10) Developing a cost-effective way to harness the power of the sun will be a significant development in solving our energy crisis. Which sentence references a counterclaim against the use of solar energy? sentence 3 sentence 7 sentence 8 sentence 9

Explanation: Sentence 3 refers not to solar energy, but to fossil fuels, which were introduced in sentence 1, claiming that they will eventually run out, as already implied in sentence 2 with the word "nonrenewable."

Sentences 7 and 8 do refer to solar energy, but they present supporting arguments, explaining its unexploited potential (only 1% energy produced in the US is solar and the source is inexhaustible) and environmental benefit (it is a "clean" source).

Only sentence 9 presents a counterclaim against the use of solar energy, which is the high cost of the necessary equipment.