Solar power

Solar power

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). 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.

Industry: Energy

Add a new term

Contributors in Solar power

Become a Contributors

Solar power

n-type

Energy; Solar power

Negative semiconductor material in which there are more electrons than holes; current is carried through it by the flow of electrons.

n-type semiconductor

Energy; Solar power

A semiconductor produced by doping an intrinsic semiconductor with an electron-donor impurity (e.g., phosphorus in silicon).

n-type silicon

Energy; Solar power

Silicon material that has been doped with a material that has more electrons in its atomic structure than does silicon.

ohm

Energy; Solar power

A measure of the electrical resistance of a material equal to the resistance of a circuit in which the potential difference of 1 volt produces a current of 1 ampere.

one-axis tracking

Energy; Solar power

A system capable of rotating about one axis.

open-circuit voltage (VOC)

Energy; Solar power

The maximum possible voltage across a photovoltaic cell; the voltage across the cell in sunlight when no current is flowing.

operating point

Energy; Solar power

The current and voltage that a photovoltaic module or array produces when connected to a load. The operating point is dependent on the load or the batteries connected to the output terminals of the ...