Solar Power — Photo Gallery — National Geographic Magazine

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Plugging Into the Sun

Sunlight bathes us in far more energy than we could ever need—if we could just catch enough.

/2009/09/solar-rays/img/01-edison-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-01.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256512 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/02-suncatcher-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-02.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256526 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/03-mirror-shards-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-03.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford Retro Solar The energy of the future has a past. Shards of old mirrors lie under their replacements at California's 25-year-old SEGS I, the first commercial solar thermal plant in the United States.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256516 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/04-oil-solar-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-04.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford Concentrating Solar At Nevada Solar One near Las Vegas, oil piped down long rows of reflectors soaks up focused sunlight, becoming hot enough to make steam and run a 64-megawatt power plant. Utilities often favor such systems, also called solar thermal, over costlier PV.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256517 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/05-moonrise-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-05.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256518 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/06-power-tower-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-06.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256519 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/07-spain-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-07.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256520 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/08-photovolt-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-08.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford Photovoltaic Power Solar panels like these on roofs at a Bavarian farm produce electricity when light jars electrons loose in a semiconductor, often silicon. Unlike concentrating solar, the other strategy for generating solar electricity, PV systems can operate efficiently on a small scale.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256521 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/09-germany-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-09.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256527 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/10-new-solarpark-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-10.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford /2009/09/solar-rays/img/11-inverter-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-11.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256528 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/12-autobahn-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-12.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256529 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/13-gas-station-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-13.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford Solar 24/7 Power after dark remains a challenge for the solar home. But a cheap, self-renewing catalyst discovered by MIT researcher Daniel Nocera might allow water to act as a storage medium, keeping the lights on at night and even refueling an electric or hydrogen car. "Your house becomes a power plant," Nocera says. "It becomes a gas station."]]> /2009/09/solar-rays/img/14-massive-warehouse-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-14.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1256530 /2009/09/solar-rays/img/15-la-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-15.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford /2009/09/solar-rays/img/16-photosynthesis-714.jpg /2009/09/solar-rays/img/solar-60-16.jpg Photograph by Michael Melford