About Solar Energy

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Solar Thermal Conversion Or Photo-Voltaic

You can either use solar energy as solar thermal conversion in which sunlight creates heat and then electricity, while the second type of solar energy is using photo-voltaic conversion in which sheets that are made from special materials are used to generate considerable amount of electricity directly from the sun.

Here are the definitions from Wikipedia:

"Solar Power Plants - indirectly generate electricity when the heat from solar thermal collectors is used to heat a fluid which produces steam that is used to power generator. Out of the 15 known solar electric generating units operating in the United States at the end of 2006, 10 of these are in California, and 5 in Arizona. No statistics are being collected on solar plants that produce less than 1 megawatt of electricity, so there may be smaller solar plants in a number of other states."

"Photovoltaic (PV devices) or "solar cells" - change sunlight directly into electricity. PV systems are often used in remote locations that are not connected to the electric grid. They are also used to power watches, calculators, and lighted road signs."

Solar energy can be found anywhere the sun shines but in order to use it to provide energy it must be captured and stored. Solar energy that is captured is being used to heat homes, heat water, provide lighting and power almost anything that needs power.

Solar energy is a clean and reliable source of power. This type of energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energy platforms, a great investment with tax credits, rebates and net metering energy savings.

Solar energy  is being used more and more to replace traditional forms of energy. It is often times used for heating swimming pools, heating water used in homes, and space heating of buildings. Solar thermal power generation works essentially the same as generation from fossil fuels except that instead of using steam produced from the combustion of fossil fuels, the steam is produced by the heat collected from sunlight.  

Compared to oil based and other forms of energy production, solar energy is more cost effective and is also portable in that it can be used anywhere regardless of the location of the power grid. This is the major benefit of solar energy which puts it a step ahead of other methods of power generation.