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Solar Power, An Introduction
By George Sykes

Renewable energy or alternative energy seem to be the "buzz" words of the moment. Renewable energy uses energy sources that are able to be continually replenished naturally such as by the sun, water, wind or the earth's heat.

Solar power is a renewable energy that is derived from the sun. It is usual for renewable energies to be used in the created of more useable forms of energy such as energy and heat.

At this present time we primarily use fossil fuels for energy. The sources are replenished by nature but at such a slow rate that these sources are, in effect, limited as we are using them far faster than they are being created. Therefore the sources will eventually run out. Fossil fuels are considered bad for the environment as the methods used to extract the energy releases gases into the atmosphere. The gases are refered to as greenhouse gases as they help trap the sun's heat and contribute heavily to global warming. Alternatively solar power is considered a "green" or "clean" energy as it does not produce any such pollutants.

Solar power has been used since ancient times. Primary uses were to heat homes with many ancient civilisations building their homes to face the sun. One of the best examples of such use is how Native Americans built their homes into a south-facing cliff. During the winter the cliff face absorbed the suns heat which was transefered into the homes. In contrast they were protected from the sun in the summer (as the sun was higher) and the homes were, as a result, kept cooler. This type of solar energy use is know as passive solar power.

Over the last few decades the technology has been developed to enable the creation of solar power systems that can produce electricity. This solar electricity is know as photovoltaic or PV for short and is widely used in space where power sources are limited.

Solar power is continually increasing in popularity. Solar panels have been designed to create sufficient electricity to power small devices or charge batteries. The cost of the technology in solar panels decreases as their use becomes widespread. It is now common to see them in shops. Smaller solar panels are used in calculators available from the likes of Radio Shack.

Home solar power is becoming a reality but usually it includes the capture of wind energy. There have been several cases of home systems using the combination of solar & wind power generating sufficient energy for the whole house and creating a surplus that can be entered into the grid and sold to the power companies.

The U.K. Government has been looking for a suitable global warming soloution for a number of years. They initially concentrated on energy conservation but recently made anouncements supporting home electricity generation utilising solar power and other green technologies. In other countries solar power has been widely used in desalination plants and other large scale civil projects. In the USA it is California which seems to be leading the way with support for solar power and other green technologies.

Possibly the most exciting technology is portable solar power generators which equip users with electricity in remote areas unable to gain power in other ways. The wind up radio enabled remote villages in Africa to listen to the radio and now other portable power systems will be able to add further to their quality of life.

The articles below look into the many areas of solar power. We hope that you find them useful and that you consider looking to the use of renewable energies at the earliest opportunity.

Join the green revolution today and help nature fight back!

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