• Question: How do we get more energy from the sun?

    Asked by St Cyres Wales to Ceri, Marikka, Matt, Rob, Sally on 15 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Ceri Dare

      Ceri Dare answered on 15 Nov 2014:

      Well, almost all energy on Earth comes from the sun in the end (apart from radioactivity). So we could build lots of solar panels, or grow lots of plants and burn them for energy.

      The energy in coal and oil comes from the sun, but a very long time ago – and burning more fossil fuels will make global warming worse.

    • Photo: Robert Hampson

      Robert Hampson answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      Many forms of energy on Earth originated in a star somewhere (our sun is just one star). Radioactive elements were made in supernova’s a long long time ago. Coal and Oil and Gas were plants which used energy from our sun to grow, they died and were buried and eventually formed these fossil fuels. Wind is caused by the warming of the earth’s atmosphere by the sun. Tidal energy is caused by the orbit of the moon which is held in its orbit with the help of the suns gravity.

      One of the stranger ideas to assist with clean energy production (to try and avoid global warming) was a satellite made of mirrors which could redirect sunlight which would not usually hit the earth at a solar farm on the earths surface. A variation of this idea was a satellite with many solar panels charging large batteries. It could then fire a laser at a target on earth which could convert the laser back to useable energy.

      There are many plans to use the sun’s energy which is already available to us. The EU was planning on manufacturing a massive solar farm in the Sahara Desert which obviously gets a lot of sun! We are also continually trying to make solar panels more efficient and effective.

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