Solar energy is energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy. It is a powerful source of energy that can be used to heat, cool, and light homes and businesses. Solar energy is created by nuclear fusion that takes place in the sun, where protons of hydrogen atoms violently collide in the sun’s core and fuse to create a helium atom.
There are three main ways to harness solar energy: photovoltaics, solar heating & cooling, and concentrating solar power. Photovoltaics generate electricity directly from sunlight using photovoltaic cells, while concentrating solar power systems use lenses or mirrors to concentrate solar radiation. Solar technologies are characterized as either passive or active depending on the way they capture, convert, and distribute sunlight and enable solar energy to be harnessed at different levels around the world, mostly depending on the distance from the equator.
Solar energy is a renewable resource, and many technologies can harvest it directly for use in homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals. Solar energy is the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy source. Solar power can be built as distributed generation (located at or near the point of use) or as a central-station, utility-scale solar power plant (similar to traditional power plants) . Both of these methods can also store the energy they produce for distribution after the sun sets, using cutting edge solar + storage technologies.
