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Solar energy deployment increased at a record pace in the United States and throughout the world in 2008, according to industry reports. The Solar Energy Industries Association's "2008 U.S. Solar Industry Year in Review" found that U.S. solar energy capacity increased by 17% in 2007, reaching the total equivalent of 8,775 megawatts (MW).
The U.S.-company First Solar, a leading manufacturer of CdTe, built several of the world's largest solar power stations, such as the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm and Topaz Solar Farm, both in the Californian desert with 550 MW capacity each, as well as the 102 MW AC Nyngan Solar Plant in Australia (the largest PV power station in the Southern ...
Solar panels are also known as solar cell panels, solar electric panels, or PV modules. Solar panels are usually arranged in groups called arrays or systems . A photovoltaic system consists of one or more solar panels, an inverter that converts DC electricity to alternating current (AC) electricity, and sometimes other components such as ...
Solar power plants are developed to deliver merchant electricity into the grid as an alternative to other renewable, fossil or nuclear generating stations. [96] The plant owner is an electricity generator. Most solar power plants today are owned by independent power producers (IPP's), [97] though some are held by investor-or community-owned ...
Spain is the top tenth in the installed PV solar capacity and used to export 80 percent of solar power output to Germany. [98] Total solar power in Spain reached nearly 7 GW by the end of 2016 including both installed PV and CSP. [99] Nearly 8 TWh of electricity was generated from photovoltaics, and 5 TWh from CSP plants in 2016. [100]
The total solar energy absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land masses is approximately 122 PW·year = 3,850,000 exajoules (EJ) per year. [12] In 2002 (2019), this was more energy in one hour (one hour and 25 minutes) than the world used in one year. [13] [14] Photosynthesis captures approximately 3,000 EJ per year in biomass. [15]
Solar power, the production of electricity from solar energy, is performed either directly, through photovoltaics, or indirectly, using concentrated solar power (CSP). One advantage that CSP has is the ability to add thermal storage and provide power up to 24 hours a day. [24] Gemasolar, in Spain, was the first to provide 24-hour power. [25]
For example, a solar panel with 20% efficiency and an area of 1 m 2 produces 200 kWh/yr at Standard Test Conditions if exposed to the Standard Test Condition solar irradiance value of 1000 W/m 2 for 2.74 hours a day. Usually solar panels are exposed to sunlight for longer than this in a given day, but the solar irradiance is less than 1000 W/m ...