Solar Energy
The sun has produced energy for billions of years. Solar energy, which is plentiful, is gathered from
the sun’s rays that reach the earth. In 1954, three American scientists developed a way to convert the
sun’s energy into other forms of energy, such as heat and electricity. The energy can be converted in
two different ways:
1.) Photovoltaic or “solar cells” change sunlight directly into electricity. These cells are grouped into
panels and arrays of panels that can be used in many different ways.
2.) Solar thermal/electric power plants generate electricity by concentrating solar energy to heat a
fluid and produce steam that is used to power a generator.
The main benefit of solar energy is that it is clean—it does not create air pollution or carbon dioxide,
and when solar panels are placed on buildings, they have a very small effect on the environment.
TRY IT-SOLAR ENERGY REVIEW
Solar power also has
limitations. The sun’s
energy can only be
gathered when it is
shining—night time, clouds
and bad weather can
interrupt the sun’s rays. Also, solar
panels can be expensive
and it takes a very large area
of the earth’s surface to collect
the energy at a useful rate.
Across
2. Solar energy is _________.
3. Solar energy requires a
_______ area of space.
5. Solar energy does not pollute
the environment because it is
__________.
6. Solar panels can be ________.
Down
1. Solar energy can be used more
than once, it is ________.
4. Darkness and bad weather
_____ the supply of sunlight.
The largest solar plant in the world is
located in the Mojave Desert in
California and covers 3,500 acres.
One of the largest solar arrays in the
region that powers rural electric
cooperatives in the west is the
Cimarron Solar Facility
in New Mexico (pictured at right).
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