As we seek ways to reduce our dependency on fossil fuel, with new technological advances and greater environmental awareness, solar power plants and systems will hopefully become commonplace throughout the world. Accumulating the power of the sun and converting it to solar power energy we can use for our every day needs is achieved through several methods.

The two most common are the photovoltaic system and the concentrating solar power system. The Photovoltaic system or PV system, converts sunlight directly into electricity and is the one most commonly used in residential and industrial applications. The Concentrating Solar Power, or CSP system, uses the heat from the sun instead of fossil fuel, to provide the heat to fuel a traditional power plant, generating enough electricity to power a city. A CSP system generates electricity on a large scale using one of three methods, the parabolic-trough system, dish engine system and power tower system.

Solar panel installation costs can vary greatly. For example, you may see higher costs if you plan to install custom solar panels in for a house located in a densely populated area, whereas roof-mounting traditional box-style solar panels on a building located in a remote or sparsely populated area will cost a bit less. If you prefer a more discreet, aesthetically pleasing appearance, building materials are now available with the solar cells built right in. Your roofing, awnings and windows become the solar power energy collectors that provide your power.

If your structure is shaded part of the time, consider mounting the solar panels with ground and pole mounts; adding greater freedom to your design. Additionally, the panels can be rooftop mounted. Special features can be added to solar panels that cause them to follow the sun’s path across the sky, thus increasing their energy output and providing more solar power energy.

Parabolic-trough systems focus the heat of the sun using long mirrors. This heat travels to piping built into the center of the mirror through which oil is pumped to carry the heat away from the mirrors. The heat from the oil is then used to heat water to create steam that powers a generator to create the solar power energy.

Dish-engine systems utilize a reflective parabolic type dish to focus the heat from the sun to heat fluid much like the parabolic-trough system except this fluid expands when heated which make it move large pistons that power an electrical generator for the production of solar power energy.

Solar power energy created by power tower systems use a huge array of mirrors to focus the heat from the sun onto a tower mounted receiver which heats molten salt flowing through the receiver. The heat from the molten salt is then used to heat water to create steam to power a generator.