Types of Solar Power

Photovoltaic

A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is a device that converts light into electric current using the photovoltaic effect.

Photovoltaic (PV) systems use solar panels, either on rooftops or in ground-mounted solar farms, converting sunlight directly into electric power. As of 2022 over 90% of the market is made from crystalline silicon. The array of a photovoltaic system, or PV system, produces direct current (DC) power which fluctuates with the sunlight's intensity. For practical use this usually requires conversion to alternating current (AC), through the use of inverters. Multiple solar cells are connected inside panels. Panels are wired together to form arrays, then tied to an inverter, which produces power at the desired voltage, and for AC, the desired frequency/phase.

Other types of Photovoltaic systems are Thin-film solar cells and Perovskite solar cells.

Concentrated solar power

Concentrated solar power (CSP), also called "concentrated solar thermal", uses lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to concentrate sunlight, then use the resulting heat to generate electricity from conventional steam-driven turbines.

A wide range of concentrating technologies exists among the best known are the parabolic trough, the compact linear Fresnel reflector, the dish Stirling and the solar power tower. Various techniques are used to track the sun and focus light. In all of these systems a working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight and is then used for power generation or energy storage. Thermal storage efficiently allows overnight electricity generation, thus complementing PV. CSP generates a very small share of solar power and in 2022 the IEA said that CSP should be better paid for its storage.

As of 2021 the levelized cost of electricity from CSP is over twice that of PV. However, their very high temperatures may prove useful to help decarbonize industries (perhaps via hydrogen) which need to be hotter than electricity can provide.

Hybrid Power

A hybrid system combines solar with energy storage and/or one or more other forms of generation. Hydro, wind and batteries are commonly combined with solar. The combined generation may enable the system to vary power output with demand, or at least smooth the solar power fluctuation. There is a lot of hydro worldwide, and adding solar panels on or around existing hydro reservoirs is particularly useful, because hydro is usually more flexible than wind and cheaper at scale than batteries, and existing power lines can sometimes be used.