Major technologies

Five major technologies using solar energy are being developed are

1.       The heat content of solar radiation is used to provide moderate temperature heat for space comfort conditioning of buildings, moderate and high temperature heat for industrial process and high temperature heat for generating electricity

2.       Photovoltaic convert solar energy directly into electricity.

3.       Biomass technology exploits the chemical energy produced through photosynthesis to produce energy rich fuels and chemicals and to provide direct heat for many uses.

4.       Wind energy systems generate mechanical energy, primarily for conversion of electric power

5.       Finally a number of ocean energy applications are being pursued; the most advanced is ocean thermal energy conversion, which uses temperature differences between warm ocean surface water and cooler deep eater to produce electricity.