Clean, solar energy use has soared since the turn of the century and is becoming more cost-effective.

The three technologies used (photovoltaics), low-temperature, and high-temperature are now available. More and more plants are being opened, capacity records are regularly broken and ever more ambitious pro ects are in the works. *Clean Energy !olar energy is clean, releases almost no greenhouse gases, and produces no waste. "nd every year the earth receives #,$#% times the amount of energy spent annually by humankind - && billion tons of oil e'uivalent( )owever, solar energy on its own cannot replace fossil fuels. *t offers an important opportunity to diversify the energy mi+. ,or e+ample, solar technologies used in houses are both efficient and proven. -ow-temperature thermal solar energy uses thermal panels to convert light into hot water. This technology can be used alongside photovoltaic panels- that convert light into electricity which individuals can use themselves or sell to distributors. Moreover, there are many photovoltaic power plants already operating or under construction. *n ,rance, the plant has been operational since .%%/, the 0eunion plant has been open since .%%/ and the !aint-Charles plant near 1erpignan opened in .%&%. !wit2erland, 3ermany, and the 4nited !tates also have photovoltaic power plants5 and in .%%# the huge plant was opened in !outhern 1ortugal. This plant has installed capacity of over 6/ M7 and can produce 8$ million k79h per year, enough to meet the energy needs of $%,%%% homes. !o solar energy is being produced in all four corners of the planet. *n industriali2ed countries, most photovoltaic power plants are hooked up to the grid, while stand-alone facilities are more common in developing countries. Thus solar energy is starting to develop and is now reaching maturity, even if it remains much more e+pensive than conventional energy sources. )owever, to make a decisive transition in terms of improving yield, reducing costs and diversifying applications, the solar sector still needs significant human, technological, and financial investment. *It Takes an Investment 7hile solar panels fitted with thermal collectors to produce domestic hot water are relatively cheap to install and operate, this is not the case with photovoltaics. :ne of the reasons for this is that the panels contain silicon, which is used to convert sunlight into electricity. This involves substantial initial investment that takes several years to pay off. 0ich in sunshine but poor in technology, developing countries are unable to take advantage of their solar potential. )owever, improvements in technology, increasing numbers of production areas and the industriali2ation of this field should lead to a significant drop in the cost of solar energy over the ne+t &% years.

*Solar energy is Very Mobile True. ;co-shops and some larger retail outlets sell many solar-powered items, like< flashlights, garden lamps, clock radios, mobile phones, and watches. This proves that consumers are taking to solar energy. "nother advantage of solar energy is its mobility. !olar chargers can now be used to charge cell phones, 31! navigating systems, and laptops. -ong-distance travelers can now even get backpacks fitted with solar panels( !ome are already dreaming of clothes with built-in photovoltaic cells for plugging in their M1$ or cell phone. *There is a Promising Future !olar power plants use high-temperature thermal solar technology, an alternative to photovoltaics. These operate in a similar way to conventional thermal power plants, *obtained in this way drives turbines that generate electricity. These plants are called thermodynamic solar power plants. These power plants have two ma or advantages over photovoltaic power plants< *First They can store energy. This is key because solar energy is intermittent - it changes according to season and sunshine. =y storing it, even for a few hours, it is easier to match electricity supply to demand, which is constant. *Second *t is cheaper to build a solar power plant than a photovoltaic power plant because silicon is not re'uired. Many countries are interested in these advantages. ,or e+ample, !pain has had the most powerful thermal solar power plant in ;urope since .%%8. *t is called "ndasol and will eventually comprise $ units. The first two plants, "ndasol & and ., are already operational. Their /.6 parabolic mirrors supply electricity to 6>,%%% homes. The government of ?habi is pursuing the !hams & pro ect, the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world. *t will cover an area of ..> km. and will have production capacity of over &%% M7 thanks to its @/# parabolic mirrors. *t will help ?habi reach its @A renewable energy target by .%.%. The future of solar technology may also be in ad ustable mirrors. " heliostat tracks the course of the sun to collect as much of its energy as possible throughout the day. *t concentrates this energy to a photovoltaic collector, increasing the intensity of the light and therefore electricity production. :f the many concentrated solar power pro ects currently being studied, the Bictoria pro ect in "ustralia is particularly ambitious. *n this plant the solar flu+ will be beamed by &8,.>% heliostats to .6/ towers which have concentrated photovoltaic cells at the top. *t will produce .@%,%%% M7h per year, e'ual to the annual electricity needs of 6>,%%% homes. The Bictoria plant will begin operating in .%&6. "nother technology currently being studied is the solar chimney, whose operation is

based on the principle of circulating air. " flat-plate collector with a greenhouse-like structure heats the air that rises naturally inside the central tower. The airflow drives turbines that are connected to generators. " chimney of this type was operational in !pain in the &8#%s. Two new pro ects are being studied< a 6% M7 plant with a .%%m tower in !pain and a .%% M7 plant with a 88%m tower in "ustralia.