Solar power is the switch
of sunlight into electrical energy, either directly using photovoltaics, or
indirectly using concentrated solar power. Concentrated solar power systems use
lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a
small beam. Photovoltaics convert light into electric current using the
photoelectric effect.
Almost all of Australia's
solar energy comes from the roofs of private homes. There's no shortage of
sunlight, but to develop solar power, a storage solution is needed.
Vast solar power
plants may be usual in Germany, but in Australia the turn to renewable
energy has largely taken place on an entity basis. More than one million
Australian homes now have solar panels, but how to store that energy for when
it's needed is emerging as the next challenge.
Australia's recently
elected alliance government has wasted no time in taking measures to halt
the expansion of renewable energy. It has passed legislation to repeal the
previous government's carbon price mechanism, closed the Climate Change
Commission and slashed funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.