Solar Panel Electricity

Solar Panel Electricity


Solar power is nothing new - it has been around since the dawn of the universe. Without our sun, planet Earth would be a cold, dark, lifeless piece of rock drifting aimlessly through the galaxy.

But even though the sun releases enough energy in a minute to power the earth's needs for an entire year, we have yet to tap into that energy source in a significant way. So far the main industrial method we use for power generation is only indirectly linked: hydroelectric schemes (these rely on the cycle of precipitation, which of course is driven by the sun).

Whilst mankind has relied on solar energy for thousands of years to heat our homes and grow our crops, it is only in the last couple of hundred years that we have started to develop the technology to turn light from the sun into electricity (known as the photovoltaic (PV) effect - see how does solar power work? for an overview). And it's only in the last 50 to 60 years that this knowledge has been applied commercially, paralleling the development of silicon semi-conductors used in integrated circuits found in computers and other electronic appliances.

Nowadays the search for alternatives to fossil fuels is being driven in response to a number of concerns:
  • a necessity to reduce carbon emissions which are widely believed to contribute to global warming
  • a political desire to reduce dependency on foreign oil imports
  • rising energy costs as a result of increased demand from developing nations
Solar energy in contrast is clean, free and abundant, but the challenge is to capture it in a usable and affordable form. Much progress has been made in recent years and it is now possible to install solar power systems in our homes to supplement or even replace our dependence on grid consumption. Unfortunately such an installation still represents a significant investment for most of us, but the good news is that alternative energy is now firmly on the global agenda, which means government grants and incentives to install systems in our homes, and more money being spent on research and development which will ultimately bring us more efficient and cost-effective solar energy.