Why use fossil fuels when you can tap the sun’s energy directly?
Photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity, and are already widely used to power small electronic devices, like calculators. Solar panels are added to roofs in certain parts of the country, for heating homes or providing hot water.
Solar energy is relatively cheap and clean, and it’s renewable as long as the sun shines, which should be for billions of years to come.
The downside to solar energy is that it is most effectively used in sunny areas, and large-scale use of solar power requires many acres of land for the solar collectors. Still, advances in solar cell research and technology forecast a (ahem) bright future for solar power.
Photo: array of solar panels, from http://is.njit.edu/competition/2009/Cat2_2_Winner_Group142/
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