Solar energy: clean energy, yet not accessible to all!

Solar energy can be converted into thermal or electrical energy. It's a clean and fully renewable energy, as well as available! Despite this abundance, solar energy is still not accessible to most of the population due to many reasons! How to solve this issue?

Sun is a natural nuclear reactor that releases small energy packets called photons, which travel 93 million miles to Earth in about 8.5 minutes.

Thus, every hour, solar photons generate enough solar energy to supply global energy needs for a year!

Photovoltaic panels consume only 5/10 of 1% of the energy spent on the planet!

Solar power generation is flexible because:

it can be built with so-called "distributed generation", that is, located on or nearby the site itself.
it can be built as a solar power plant, similar to traditional power plants.

Electricity generated by solar energy panels can replace traditional electricity that supplies light, and environment heatings of homes, commerce, and industries.

The use of solar energy also reduces significant losses that happen in the transmission and distribution of electricity. In other words, during the trajectory of traditional electricity, there are reasonable load losses from the generator to the final location.

Other benefits of solar energy:

It greatly reduces the need for high investment for big electricity infrastructures, such as the construction of new hydroelectric plants or transmission lines.
Greater energy security, mainly for the country that adopts it, due to the insecurity of the water supply, which reverberates on the lack of water in the reservoirs of hydroelectric plants. As a result, water beds may benefit from this switch.
Reduction of the use of thermal power plants, since its electricity generation spent a great deal of coal and oil, because of diesel generators. The less hydroelectric plants use, the less CO2 in the atmosphere.
Flexibility in installation projects, because of the low complexity to build solar energy panels in comparison to traditional hydroelectric plants. So the costs are much lower.

Solar energy can also generate electricity along with other technologies, such as wind power!

General access to solar energy must be any government priority!

One of the goals of any conscious government that actually cares about the environment and the well-being of its population should be to facilitate solar energy in homes, everywhere!

"Every home no matter how far away may have a light at home" (ISA mission)

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was established in 2016. Currently,121 countries with solar potential join it. The US is not a member of the ISA so far! You may wonder why not...

According to a projection by the International Energy Agency (IEA), photovoltaic solar energy will be the world's number one energy source by 2035!

How Do Solar Panels Work?

When photons hit a solar cell, they knock electrons loose from their atoms. If conductors are attached to the positive and negative sides of a cell, it forms an electrical circuit. When electrons flow through such a circuit, they generate electricity. Multiple cells make up a solar panel, and multiple panels (modules) can be wired together to form a solar array. The more panels you can deploy, the more energy you can expect to generate.

What are Solar Panels Made of?

Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are made up of many solar cells. Solar cells are made of silicon, like semiconductors. They are constructed with a positive layer and a negative layer, which together create an electric field, just like in a battery.

How Do Solar Panels Generate Electricity?

PV solar panels generate direct current (DC) electricity. With DC electricity, electrons flow in one direction around a circuit. This example shows a battery powering a light bulb. The electrons move from the negative side of the battery, through the lamp, and return to the positive side of the battery.