Solar energy

📖 In short

Solar energy is the energy that reaches us from the Sun as light and heat. The Sun is a huge source of energy that never runs out, sending the Earth enough energy in about an hour and a half for everyone in the world for a whole year! Today people turn it into clean electricity.

🤩 Did you know?

In 1954 engineers made an efficient solar cell that turns light into electricity.
The first modern flat-plate solar water heater was made in California in 1909.
Many satellites run on solar panels.
Arab countries are among the sunniest in the world, so they're very well suited to solar energy.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Solar panels

The blue or black solar panels we see on roofs have special cells that make electricity directly when sunlight falls on them, with no noise or smoke.

🔍 Solar water heaters

On the roofs of many homes in Arab countries there are solar water heaters, with black tubes that soak up the sun's heat and warm water for washing.

💡 Giant power stations

Countries build huge solar power stations in deserts, with thousands of panels or mirrors that gather sunlight. Morocco, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have some of the biggest solar power stations in the world.

🎯 Pros and cons

Solar energy is clean, doesn't pollute the air and never runs out, but it doesn't work at night and weakens on cloudy days, so electricity is stored in big batteries.