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• Solar power is a form of renewable energy generated by the conversion of solar energy (namely sunlight) and artificial light into electricity
• The potential for solar energy conversion is enormous, since about 200,000 times the world's total daily electricity demand is received by Earth in the form of solar energy
• Calculations based on the world's projected energy consumption by 2030 suggest that global energy demands could be fulfilled by solar panels operating at 20 percent efficiency and covering about 496,805 square km (191,817 square miles) of Earth's surface—an area close to the size of Turkmenistan or Spain
• Though solar energy itself is free, the high cost of its collection, conversion, and storage still limits its exploitation in many places
• Solar photovoltaics


  When sunlight strikes a solar cell, an electron is freed by the photoelectric effect. The two dissimilar semiconductors possess a natural difference in electric potential (voltage), which causes the electrons to flow through the external circuit, supplying power to the load. The flow of electricity results from the characteristics of the semiconductors and is powered entirely by light striking the cell.
• Solar cells (photovoltaic cells)


  • A small electric voltage is generated when light strikes the junction between a metal and a semiconductor (such as silicon) or the junction between two different semiconductors
• The power generated by a single photovoltaic cell is typically only about two watts
• By connecting large numbers of individual cells together, as in solar panel arrays, hundreds or even thousands of kilowatts of electric power can be generated in a solar electric plant or in a large household array
• The energy efficiency of most present-day photovoltaic cells is about 20 percent
• Grid-connected solar systems


  Integrate solar arrays with public utility power grids in two ways: one-way systems used by utilities to supplement power grids during midday peak usage, and bidirectional systems used by companies and individuals to supply some or all of their power needs, with any excess power fed back into a utility power grid
• A major advantage of grid-connected systems is that no storage batteries are needed, but this is offset by the increased complexity of the system, requiring inverters and additional protective gear to interface low-voltage DC output from the solar array with a high-voltage AC power grid
• Concentrated solar power plants


  Employ concentrating, or focusing, collectors to concentrate sunlight received from a wide area onto a small blackened receiver, thereby considerably increasing the light's intensity in order to produce high temperatures. The arrays of carefully aligned mirrors or lenses can focus enough sunlight to heat a target to temperatures of 2,000 °C (3,600 °F) or more. This heat can then be used to operate a boiler, which in turn generates steam for a steam turbine electric generator power plant.
• Concentrated solar power plants


  • The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the Mojave Desert near the California-Nevada border in the United States, which was the largest such plant when it began operating in 2013; larger plants have since been built in Morocco and United Arab Emirates