Solar energy

Article By:

San Martin, Robert L. Formerly, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

Last reviewed:July 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.633300

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• Solar energy, published June 2016:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Solar energy, published January 2016:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

Energy transmitted from the Sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy. Solar energy is extensively used to generate electricity as well as to provide heat for space comfort conditioning of buildings and for industrial processes. Solar power generally comes in two forms broadly known as solar thermal, which uses concentrating solar power (CSP) technology to convert heat into electrical power via a collector system that absorbs solar radiation, and photovoltaics (PV), which convert solar energy directly into electricity. This article will focus on solar thermal and photovoltaic processes for generating electricity (Fig. 1). Solar power is an attractive electrical power generation method because it does not produce climate-altering greenhouse gases and other forms of atmospheric pollution. Solar research and development aims at finding the most efficient ways of capturing energy from sunlight and developing systems to convert the captured energy to useful purposes. See also: Electric power generation; Electricity; Energy sources; Global climate change; Solar heating and cooling; Solar radiation; Sun

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