What is Solar Renewable Energy?

Solar renewable energy is the renewable radiant energy that comes from the sun's cosmic rays. Typically, it is converted to electrical energy and used for any purpose that requires electricity. While it is difficult to efficiently harness solar renewable energy, the technology that makes it possible is constantly improving. Unlike fossil fuels, which are limited resources and tend to contribute heavily to pollution, solar energy is renewable and clean.

The Sun has been powering processes on the earth for billions of years. Early plants took energy from the constant light of the Sun. The radiant energy provided a constant supply of energy for the chemical reactions that allowed such plants to sustain themselves. Now, plants that take solar renewable energy from the Sun are, generally speaking, at the bottom of the food pyramid and provide energy to all other living organism. This means that the Sun's energy is indirectly responsible for powering all of the organisms of the earth.

The direct use of solar renewable energy by humans is a more recent development. People first used solar energy for heat to prepare food or to keep themselves warm. Now, solar panels allow people to convert the sun's energy to electrical energy that can be used to power anything requiring electricity, such as household appliances or industrial machinery. People everywhere rely on the sun's energy, both because it is essential for the production of almost all food and heat and because of its recent application of generating electricity.

There are many advantages to solar renewable energy that make it a very appealing energy source. Its renewable nature means that people won't run out of it until the sun itself can no longer function, and at that point, solar energy will be the least of anyone's problems. At some point, the supply of the fossil fuels that are used to power so many process will be depleted. Effective utilization of renewable forms of energy is essential to the sustainability of human interests on Earth.

Solar renewable energy, however, is not perfect and there are many obstacles that prevent a perfect and complete conversion to this nearly-limitless energy source. The cost of setting up solar panels can be quite high, and maintenance can be expensive. Also, solar panels cannot collect energy at all hours of the day. At night, they are essentially useless as they produce electricity from the radiant energy of the sun. Additionally, clouds or other adverse weather conditions can prevent the efficient collection of solar energy.