How is solar energy renewable

Employment by energy sector. Recent Publications. Offshore Renewables: An Action Agenda for Deployment The report provides insights on various emerging offshore renewable energy technologies an Related Content.

Quick Links. Member Section. Project Facilitation. And as long as the sun shines, we can use it to heat, cool and light our homes and businesses without polluting our precious planet with carbon dioxide CO2 emissions.

When the sun shines onto a solar panel, energy from the sunlight is absorbed by PV cells in the panel. This energy creates electrical charges that move in response to an internal electrical field within the cell, causing electricity to flow.

Though humans have used solar energy to light fires and keep their homes warm since the dawn of time, we only began to understand how solar energy works in , when French physicist Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect that converts sunlight into electricity. But it was Albert Einstein, in , who helped us understand exactly how light produces the energy that we can capture to generate electricity.

The paper that Einstein wrote completely changed the way we look at light. It also won him a Nobel Prize, which we hear is pretty awesome. Modern PV technology was pioneered in the s and s, when the U. Fortum has over power plants in total: hydro, CHP combined heat and power , condensing, nuclear, solar and wind.

Solar power - unlimited source of energy Solar power is the key to a clean energy future. Renewable Renewable Solar panels produce electricity by transforming the continuous flow of energy from the sun to electricity. Key numbers for including associates MWp operating capacity.

Solar energy - a clean source No greenhouse gas emissions are released into the atmosphere when you use solar panels to create electricity. No fuel to burn After solar panels have been installed, operational costs are quite low compared to other forms of power generation. Solar power and the environment As a renewable CO 2 -free power source, the environmental impact of solar power is significantly smaller than other power generation methods.

We want to address the two biggest issues head-on, because we do believe that solar energy systems are both renewable and the future of the entire energy industry. Solar panels are conventionally made with quartz, a very common mineral found in watches, home countertops, and industrial architecture around the world.

Once mined, this substance can be converted into the silicon used to create the semiconductors in solar panels. Which means, as more solar panels are created, we need more quartz. The problem is the mining for quartz entails many of the same issues environmentalists have with mining in general. Not only does it destroy the surrounding terrain, but it also uses lots and lots of water, and miners can contract silicosis from too much exposure to the silica dust mining produces.

In response, companies like Chariot Energy have transitioned to using quartz-dense sand to reduce the impact of mining. Once you have access to silicon without heavy mining, you still need to create high-quality silicon capable of capturing sunlight with maximum efficiency.

This byproduct creates harmful fumes and soil acidification.