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Solar power is energy, usually in the form of electricity, which comes from sunlight. The way the energy is captured and converted depends on the scale. Small systems, like those used to power homes or small businesses usually use photovoltaic cells. Businesses that produce a lot of energy, such as utility companies, often use Concentrated Solar Power systems. Since solar power cannot be produced in the absence of sunlight, some type of energy storage is needed if electricity is to be used at night time.

Most of the major solar energy production facilities use CSP systems to convert sunlight into electricity. California’s Mojave Desert is home to the largest solar energy plant. It produces more than 350 mega watts. Spain also has several large CSP energy plants. As you can see, locations that get a lot of sunlight year round are ideal for this type of energy production.

CSP systems concentrate sunlight into a small beam using lenses and/or mirrors. These will track the sun as it moves across the sky, concentrating its energy onto a small point where it heats up a working fluid, and generates electricity in the same way as a conventional plant.

A study by various international organizations has estimated that CSP could provide 25% of the worlds electricity requirements by the year 2050. At the moment Spain is the world leader in these technologies. CSP stations are best located in desert areas, such as Africa, Mexico and the south-western states of the US.

The other type of solar power being practically used in the world today uses photovoltaic technologies. PV cells are semiconductor devices that are able to be contained in a fairly small panel. They produce a relatively small amount of DC electricity when sunlight is absorbed into the panel. Many thousands of these cells can be arranged in panels to produce more practical amounts of electricity.

Most installations are small, supplying electricity to single homes, or to small off-grid applications such as traffic signs. PV panels are also practical for larger installations. Several panels are connected to produce the amount of electricity required. The power plant in Canada produces 97 mega watts with a PV system.

Systems which produce energy from the sun clearly cannot work at night time, and in common with some other green energy sources (tidal and wind power) some form of energy storage is required. There’s a plant in Germany that stores solar energy in the form of pumped storage hydroelectricity. During the day solar generated electrical energy is converted to potential energy by pumping water into a raised reservoir. During the night that water can be used to produce hydroelectricity.

Because of the cost of the batteries to store electricity, many residential PV systems are simply connected to the grid. During daylight hours, the homes use solar energy produced by the PV cells. During night and on cloudy days, electricity is purchased from the power company. The grid can also be used as a form of energy storage, because it is possible for consumers to feed power back into the grid, provided that is permitted by local electricity companies.

On their own photovoltaic cells are still too expensive to be economically viable for most homeowners. Because it’s a renewable green technology, many countries are offering subsidies that tip the scales in favor of installing solar panels on homes. These type of PV installations require an electronic unit called an inverter, which converts the DC voltage produced by the solar panels into the AC required by the grid. Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Korea and the United States have all experienced recent growth in the PV market due either to favorable tariffs and subsidies, or to local market conditions.

If you want to get involved in the trend toward solar energy, just run down to your local Home Depot to find solar panels for sale. Read up on solar panel maintenance to keep them operating at their peak performance. Solar Power by Coleen Regis.

Technorati Tags: alternative energy, energy efficiency, environment, geothermal, home, home improvement, hydroelectric, power, saving money, solar, solar energy, Solar Panels, technology, wind power

Subsidies are financial incentives, usually paid by governments to encourage the production of something. There are many reasons that a particular product might be beneficial to the community, but not economically feasible to individuals and businesses. Many products are subsidized to support local businesses, reduce the amount of imported goods, provide employment and encourage environmentally friendly practices. The energy industries (coal, oil, nuclear, alternative) have always worked in an environment where subsidies have been used. The most recent trend, however, is to subsidize green renewable sources of energy, like wind and solar, so that they’ll be competitive with traditional but environmentally damaging fuels. Alternative energy subsidies include Feed-in Tariffs and financial incentives to photovoltaics.

Each country’s goals may be different, so naturally they use subsidies differently to move toward their objectives. One common goal is to encourage people to use a fuel source that can be produced locally, thus promoting employment in their own country and reducing dependence on fuel from foreign countries. They may use subsidies on production rather than consumption of a locally produced fuel in order to increase the export of that product.

Subsidies are often used to bring about economic benefit for the people the government is trying to look out for. Examples of this might be reducing prices of a product to help the poor or increasing employment in a specific area. Sometimes international treaties come into play. For example, countries might impose tariffs or subsidies to reduce the consumption of some forms of energy and increase the consumption of others to comply with an agreement like the Kyoto Protocol.

Those who oppose subsidies will often use arguments that they distort the free operation of the marketplace, they do not necessarily benefit the people (e. G. The poor in underdeveloped countries) they were supposed to help, and, in the case of energy subsidies, they encourage increased consumption and waste.

Many countries now have policies for encouraging renewable or alternative forms of energy. In addition to the fact that protecting the environment is good for each country individually, international agreements often drive the need for such national policies.

Fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when they are burnt. This adds to the green-house effect (a natural effect in the earth’s atmosphere), making the earth warm up (global warming). A main aim of policy in many countries, is to reduce the use of fossil fuels, and to encourage sustainable and renewable energy, using alternative, carbon-neutral sources, such as biomass fuels, solar power, wind power, tidal power, hydro-electricity and (more controversially) nuclear power. You can see the effect of subsidies on the prices of solar panels for sale in the U.S.

Alternative energy subsidies support those policies. Financial incentives to photovoltaics and feed-in tariffs make it beneficial to consumers to install and use renewable power sources. Grid parity is achieved when the cost of renewable electricity drops below that of conventional sources. The incentives and subsidies are intended to help accelerate the move to parity.

When a government pays the producer of renewable energy for each unit of power the produce, that’s called a feed-in tariff. Traditionally utility companies and their partners are considered suppliers, while homes and business that buy and use electricity are considered consumers. Now that the owners of homes and businesses can produce their own electricity, and sometimes even feed power back into the grid, homeowners and businesses can be suppliers too.

When solar panels are purchased and used by a private individual or business, they may generate more electricity than the home or business need, especially at certain times of the day or year. Feed-in tariffs allow the owner to feed that electricity back into the grid. The electricity company is obliged to buy that power, sometimes at a rate which is quite favorable to the home owner. This encourages owners of homes and businesses to invest in solar panels and produce renewable energy, thus reducing their negative impact on the environment.

Find out what incentives are available for solar power in your area and then research prices of solar energy systems. Solar Power Subsidies by Coleen Regis.

Technorati Tags: alternative energy, energy efficiency, environment, geothermal, home, home improvement, hydroelectric, power, saving money, solar, solar energy, Solar Panels, technology, wind power