The world's efforts to veer away from the high environmental costs of power sources such as fossil fuels has led to aggressive developments in the field of solar energy. Now there are many ways of harnessing energy from the light of the sun, and more and more solar power applications are being implemented. Solar energy technically refers to energy from the sun. This "energy" is actually electromagnetic radiation, which the sun abundantly sends out to the earth. So bounteous is solar energy that the planet is only able to use a very small fraction of it - about 400 million times less than what the sun gives. Scientists and inventors are now finding new ways to channel all the unused energy for more practical applications. Solar energy also encompasses "indirect" forms of energy from the sun, like wind, hydropower, and biomass, among others. Solar energy is now being incorporated in industries ranging from architecture to mass energy (power plants). Many industrial buildings and homes now employ solar designs to substitute for grid electricity and fossil fuels. Architectural features such as insulation and efficient lighting and appliances help reduce the usage of energy in any structure. Even heating and thermal cooling systems are now powered by solar energy, and so are circulation pumps. A lot of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants are now being built in developed countries and will soon replace existing power sources. Japan, Australia, Germany and the United States are among the countries actively pursuing the shift to solar CSPs. There's good news: solar energy is getting cheaper. The average retail cost of a large solar panel is now only $4 per watt (from about $7 just a few years ago). The decline in prices is slow, but is enough to make developers optimistic. Tax and rebate incentives have also been given to the solar energy industry, enabling developers to work more aggressively without worrying about overspending. This means that the world may be powered entirely by the sun sooner than we think. |
