Solar power

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaics convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic effect.

The International Energy Agency projected in 2014 that under its "high renewables" scenario, by 2050, solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power would contribute about 16 and 11 percent, respectively, of the worldwide electricity consumption, and solar would be the world's largest source of electricity. Most solar installations would be in China and India.

Photovoltaics were initially solely used as a source of electricity for small and medium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to remote homes powered by an off-grid rooftop PV system. As the cost of solar electricity has fallen, the number of grid-connected solar PV systems has grown into the millions and utility-scale solar power stations with hundreds of megawatts are being built. Solar PV is rapidly becoming an inexpensive, low-carbon technology to harness renewable energy from the Sun.

Latest News for: Solar power europ

Edit

Germans turn to balcony solar panels to save money

Khaleejtimes 08 Jan 2025
Solar power supplied 14.6 per cent of Germany's electricity last year. Far less powerful than roof panels, balcony solar kits ... "There's an educational effect, it familiarises a larger number of people with solar power and might spur them to invest in more powerful systems," he said....
Edit

German solar smashes 100GW after record installations

Recharge 06 Jan 2025
Solar power in 2024 meets 14% of electricity consumption in Europe’s largest economy as more than a million new systems are installed .......
Edit

Solar power installations hit new highs

China Daily 24 Dec 2024
Tan added that Europe's solar market is slowing due to lower power prices and market saturation, but there is still strong growth in other markets including the US, China and Saudi Arabia ... 2030 target for total wind and solar power capacity six years ahead of schedule, he added....
Edit

Miliband and the Left hate nuclear energy, but it is the only real solution

The Daily Telegraph 21 Dec 2024
This is why Japan’s recent assessment of solar showed that in lower ... Having shut down their nuclear power stations years before in favour of wind and solar power, Germany was left scrambling for electricity imported from its neighbours, pushing up prices at home and abroad....
Edit

'Dark lull' in German energy transition sparks political debate

Potter Leader-Enterprise 20 Dec 2024
Twice in recent months electricity prices temporarily spiked in Europe's top economy because of a lack of both sunlight and wind to power its solar panels and turbines ... In Europe's interconnected energy market, Merz told Scholz that "your energy policies are setting teeth on edge across the European Union, which is very angry with Germany"....

Most Viewed

×