Title: Solar Power
Course: Critical Infrastructure: An Overview > Section: Course Content

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Solar power is power or heat that is collected from the Sun and harnessed to create heat or electricity. Sometimes solar is utilized as a method for heating water. This water can be used for bathing and laundry or even to supply warm water to swimming pools (in place of electrical hot water heaters). Solar heated water can also be used as a source of heat for homes or businesses [7]. Solar energy is also harnessed for the sole purpose of creating electricity; this process is achieved by photovoltaic conversion. The word Photovoltaics comes from the Greek word photo meaning light and the word volt meaning electricity. Photovoltaics were created to mimic the photosynthesis process that plants use to create energy using the energy from the Sun. Sometimes photovoltaics is shortened to PV.  Photovoltaics create direct current electricity, the most popular forms of photovoltaics use solar panels that contain solar cells. The DC electricity can then be converted to AC with an inverter. PV systems can be utilized on a small scale for things like calculators, slightly larger applications like portable traffic warning signs, and for powering water pumps for farming [8]. Solar panels are used all around the world atop houses and businesses to reduce the power bills of their owners.

As the United States more fully implements the smart grid[i], it will become easier for customers to collect the Sun’s energy and to sell extra energy to their utility company. Work is being done to overcome the limitations that are natural to solar energy. Cloudy days and night skies cause challenges to using solar power alone. The addition of storage capability to the country’s smart grid would help offset these challenges. The use of solar in combination with other renewable energy sources is also used and will continue to grow as a method for overcoming its challenges.

Solar power is a bit different than other power sources since without solar power geothermal power, tidal hydropower, and wind energy would not be possible. In fact, life on Earth is fully dependent on our sun.

[i] Smart grid is a name for the updated version of the traditional power grid. It makes use of digital and automation technologies to provide more communication, better reliability, and the possibility of more efficient use of power [11].