ABSTRACT
This chapter examines two major renewable sources—solar and wind—since they are the most important part of the global energy supply. They also promise to become even more important in the near future, and that makes them eligible for a more detailed look and analysis. The chapter presents the technical specifics and environmental advantages of the truly renewable energy technologies—solar and wind. Renewables provide only 3% of the total energy generation in the US Solar and wind power generation represents only 0.2% of the total energy used in the country, so it will be a long, long time before these catch up with the fossils. Sunlight essentially consists of a range of energy bands, which generally refer to as the solar spectrum. Most of the energy reaching the Earth’s surface from the sun is in the visible part of the spectrum. The visible radiation spans 400 to 700 nm.
