Solar Electric Technologies

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity by the use of different solar electric technologies. Sunlight can be converted directly into electricity using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly with concentrating solar power (CSP), which normally focuses the Sun's energy to boil water which is then used to provide power, and technologies such as the sterling engine dishes which use a sterling cycle engine to power a generator.

Since solar power is intermittent, it must be combined either with storage (batteries) or other energy sources to provide continuous power.