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 thermal power.

Photovoltaics (PV) is the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells for energy by converting sun energy (sunlight, including sun ultra violet radiation) directly into electricity.

Concentrating solar thermal power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists; the most developed are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear fresnel reflector, the Stirling dish and the solar power tower. Various techniques are used to track the Sun and focus light. In all of these systems a working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight, and is then used for power generation or energy storage

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