Solar Power Solutions

By Raymond A. Mardo III

Harnessing The Solar Power Of The Sun

As the cost of fossil fuel continually increases, solar power has become a reliable alternative to regular power in certain remote areas, gaining in popularity. Solar power is used in houses, businesses, lights, and for cooking. The practice of harnessing the sun's rays through panels and converting it into energy has even been used in outer space.

Though solar power causes no damage to the environment, other threats may stifle the ability to use solar power in coming years. Smoke and smog pollution allows less sunlight to reach the Earth's surface resulting in a condition called Global dimming. It is closely associated with global warming, and threatens the advancement and useage of solar energy.

More than one method can be used to create solar energy. One process, photoelectric application, utilizes photovoltaic cells to transform the energy into electricity.

Another process used to convert the sun light collected by the solar panels  into energy is solar thermal application, and involves using the energy from the sun to directly heat liquids or air.

The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) is a network organization of more than one hundred electric utility companies in the solar industry that have united for the purpose of finding viable solutions to meet our energy needs. Fifty are utility companies, twenty five are solar companies, and the remaing mambers consist of various types of businesses. The SEPA meetings allow members to share experiences, knowledge, and details of solar programs while providing a platform to discuss policies and technology relating to solar energy in an effort to advance the industry.

With all the advantages of using solar energy as a safe alternative to fossil fuel - such as it being free; it can be used in remote places where it is cumbersome to install electricity; the sun is not a resource that is going to be depleted - there is another side to the equation.  Solar energy is dependent on the sun, and therefore doesn’t function at night. Stations are required to store the energy for when the sun is not shining, and the cost to manufacture such solar power stations is currently very high in today's market.

Certain areas of the world that do not receive enough sunlight are not able to benefit from the power of solar energy.