Energy from the sun can be harnessed directly, by solar panels, but the sun is also the source for another form of energy.
Heat from the sun sets wind into motion. Wind energy has been harnessed for hundreds of years to power sailing ships and windmills. Sleek, modern wind turbines convert wind energy to electricity, and “wind farms” are cropping up atop ridges and wherever there is a strong, steady wind.
Large-scale production of wind energy requires a lot of wind turbines and therefore a lot of land and some people find the large wind generators noisy or unsightly. We cannot fill our gas tanks directly with wind or sunshine, but these alternative energy sources hold promise for future development.
Photo: a wind turbine from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dopila/files/wind-turbine.jpg
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