subject: What Is Solar Power? [print this page] As people become aware of the dangers coal and oil present to the environment, more and more are looking at clean solar power. To determine whether it is an option for you, its best to learn a bit about it first. Solar power can have several long term benefits for you.
About Solar
Solar power is described as the creation of electricity straight from the sun. The generation can be direct with the use of PV or photovoltaics or indirect via CSP or concentrating solar power. CSP is done by using the energy of the sun to focus and boil water which will eventually create solar power. Solar power has the capacity to give more than 1000 times the total world energy consumption back in 2008. However, solar power only comprised 0.02% of the total in 2008.
Solar power could end up being the worlds dominant source of electricity by the end of this century if output could just be doubled every two and a half years. The largest solar power plants are of the concentrated solar variety. But technology is improving and its now possible to create photo voltaic plants that produce many mega watts. Portugal and Germany have both invested huge amounts of money in photo voltaic (PV) plants and are the worlds leaders in solar energy production.
Needing More Solar Power
Terrestrial solar power is a predictable and intermittent source of energy, which means even though solar power is not readily available all the time, people can still predict it using a certain degree of accuracy when the energy source will or will not be available. A number of technologies, like the solar thermal concentrators, include an element of thermal storage, such as molten salts.
Predictability is removed from the equation when we start talking about orbital solar collection. The sun always shines in space. And the intensity of sunlight above our atmosphere makes this type of collection many times more efficient.
About Solar Energy
The available energy the sun gives off in the form of radiant light and heat have been used by humans since ancient times. Solar radiation along with the secondary solar sources of energy like wind, wave, hydro electricity and biomass, make up the majority of renewable energy used on earth. Only a tiny amount of the available solar power energy is used.
In order to produce solar power we currently rely on photo voltaic cells and heat type engines. How we use solar power is only limited by the human imagination. Some of the many uses of solar power are architecture designed for heating and cooling, solar hot water, cooking with solar, solar water distillation and disinfection, and many more. But the most effective way to harness the suns limitless energy is still the use of solar panels.
