Solar energy is one of the answers for future power needs. photovoltaik plug and play energy of the sun can be converted in the useful energy directly or indirectly. It can be directly converted in electricity or by using concentrated power in the different ways. The concentrated solar power plants can produce electricity by converting the solar power of the sun into high intensity heat using various types of mirrors for concentrating the sun rays. The concentrated power plants consists of two sections namely one which converts sun’s energy into high intensity heat and the other one converts heat energy into electricity. The size solar plants can vary as it is required.
A 10 kilowatts solar plant can light up a village or it can be grid based plant generating several megawatts. Other mini solar systems can be combined with natural gas or oil based plants providing higher values and efficiency. Mini solar systems now a day are becoming quite popular in the Sun Belt regions around the world. Solar power is a carbon free energy and pollution free power. During night times many companies install systems like molten salt storage that can store enough energy during daytime which can be used during night time. Due to efficiency and low cost operation, nearly everywhere solar power plants are being planned. Solar power is very efficient can also replace the fossils fuels that are used in the traditional power plants. Solar energy could be very cheap in the future as the crude oil prices are soaring.
Solar power has also got new found friends in the name of environmentalists as it does not emit polluting gases like carbon dioxides, carbon monoxide and other green house gases as in the case of conventional power plants. In many rural places in the least developed and developing world there is shortage of electricity to light up the homes, hospital and schools, in the places like above solar power can light up lives of people. Solar power can be utilized to run other equipments such as computers and refrigeration systems.
Another way to harvest solar power is by using photo voltaic cells. Photo voltaic cells are those that can be seen on the roof tops of commercial buildings and private houses. These cells are covered with solar cells and it produces electricity when sun light is illuminated on it. This panels use the technology of photo electric effect. These photo panels absorb most sunlight when it falls on them directly so it has a mechanism that makes the sun light to fall on them normally. These mini solar systems are fuelled by sun rays and do not emit green house gases. They have a unique quality to store solar energy efficiently and dispatch it to grid when need arises even during cloudy days and also night. A power tower converts solar energy into electricity for the electricity grids. Solar power towers offer large-scale, distributed solutions to our nation’s energy needs, particularly for peaking power. This mini solar system mechanism utilizes many large, sun-tracking mirrors to focus the sun rays on a receiver which is present at the top of a tower. A fluid is made to be heated in the receiver to generate steam, which, helps to conventional turbine to rotate and produce electricity.
