Harnessing the sun's energy

The sun is a huge reservoir of energy. It shines with the strength of around a kilowatt on every square meter of the Earth’s surface. If this energy were to be technically harnessed without any limitations, the world would probably never face any energy supply problems any more. It could meet the entire global demand for electricity and heating. Today, the sun’s energy is used in a variety of ways – from solar power plants which deliver energy in small amounts such as for solar cookers to gigantic photovoltaic facilities which feed energy into the electricity grid. But the ‘big solar’ race is just heating up.

The Canadian province of Ontario is currently home to the world’s largest solar park. It has a capacity of 80 megawatts even though Canada isn’t exactly known for its sunny weather. But Canada faces stiff competition from the US. California is gearing up to build an even larger solar plant with an installed capacity of 1,000 megawatts, capable of generating as much electricity as a nuclear plant. The Californian facility is expected to deliver electricity to up to 75,000 households as opposed to Canada’s current supply to 12,800 households. California thus hopes to get closer to achieving its ambitious environmental targets. By 2020, the US state plans to meet a third of its energy needs with renewable sources. California’s 1.9-billion-euro solar facility is expected to be up and running by 2013.

Over the past few months, GLOBAL IDEAS has reported about several projects around the world in which solar energy plays a crucial role in the fight against climate change. This dossier provides an overview of all the relevant features, background articles, key words, videos and photo galleries.