Solar power
Solar power is a type of renewable energy that comes from sunlight. It can be installed on roofs or in rows or clusters on land. Solar could provide up to 70% of clean, cheap electricity for homes in the UK.
Solar power harnesses energy from the sun creating clean, renewable energy.
Solar panels make electricity from the sun using photovoltaic panels. In many parts of the world, solar energy is the cheapest form of energy – cheaper even than dirty fossil fuels. Because of this, expanding solar power is one of the best ways to tackle climate change.
How do solar panels work?
Types of solar power
There are a few different ways to produce energy from sunlight.
- Solar panels can be installed on the roofs of buildings, to provide electricity or hot water.
- Transparent solar panels can be used as windows.
- Solar panels can be arranged in rows on land.
- Concentrated solar power systems use big circles of mirrors or lenses to angle sunlight towards a central receiver which gets very hot.
New ways of harnessing solar energy are being invented all the time. Companies are even testing putting solar panels in outer space, and sending the energy back to Earth.
Is solar a reliable source of energy?
Solar panels don’t produce energy all the time, because they take energy from the sun, and the sun doesn’t always shine. But with some supporting technology they can still be a reliable source of power.
Batteries are the most common method of storing solar energy for electricity. In home solar thermal systems, solar panels are used to heat water, which is also a form of clean energy storage.
Solar power in the UK
The UK isn’t an especially sunny country. Even so, UK government targets suggest that solar could generate just over a fifth of electricity. This is around 70% of what homes need, although some of it would need to be stored for when the sun isn’t shining.
Solar power in the UK a valuable complement to wind power.
The UK government has in recent years been blocking solar power on land – for example on farms. They claim it might affect food production. But the UK uses productive agricultural land for lots of other non-food things like biofuels.
And solar farms are often compatible with farming. For example, grazing sheep are known to fare better on land with solar panels. The sheep also help keep the grass and solar panels free of weeds. The solar energy produced can also help farmers’ incomes, and help with UK energy security.
Greenpeace is campaigning to get solar panels onto more roofs across the country. This might be by making sure all new buildings are built with solar panels as standard, or government tax rewards for companies installing solar power.
Solar panel production and recycling
To be a cheap, clean and accessible solution to climate change, the world is going to need a lot of solar panels. Solar panels are made from a variety of materials, including glass, silicon and metals like aluminium and copper.
The energy that comes from solar is clean and the cheapest available. But sourcing these materials and producing solar panels does require mining, which can be harmful to the environment and workers.
To avoid these harms, the solar panel industry needs to be well-regulated – including mining and production. Recycling old solar panels can help avoid mining more than necessary.
