Solar power works by converting sunlight into electricity through either photovoltaic cells or concentrated solar power systems. Large solar power plants discussed in the document include the Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park in Spain which produces 60 megawatts, the Puertollano Photovoltaic Park in Spain which produces 50 megawatts, and the Waldpolenz Solar Park in Germany which uses thin film technology to produce 40 megawatts. While New Zealand does not have large utility-scale solar power plants, many homes use rooftop solar panels for electricity generation.

1. Solar Power

2. How does it work
• Solar power is the conversion of Sun light into electricity. Either
directly using photovoltaic (PV), or indirectly using concentrated
solar power (CSP). A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device
that converts light into electric current using the Photovoltaic
effect(In the photoelectric effect, electrons are emitted from matter
(metals and non-metallic solids, liquids or gases) as a consequence
of their absorption of energy from electromagnetic radiation of very
short wavelength, such as visible or ultraviolet radiation).
Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and
tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam.
The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a
conventional power plant .
photoelectric effect

3. Where around the world is solar power
being used?
• Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park, Spain .
• The Olmedilla Photovoltaic (PV) Park uses 162,000 flat solar photovoltaic panels to deliver 60
megawatts of electricity on a sunny day. The entire plant was completed in 15 months at a cost of about
$530 million at current exchange rates. Olmedilla was built with conventional solar panels, which are
made with silicon and tend to be heavy and expensive.
• Puertollano Photovoltaic Park, Spain
• Renovalia developed this power station in Puertollano, Ciudad Real, housing an energy park with an
installed capacity of 50 megawatts (MW). The power generated here is equivalent to the annual
domestic consumption of electricity of about 39,000 households. The energy produced here will replace
a theoretical discharge of 84,000 tons of CO2/year or, 2.1 million tons of CO2 over the 25 years during
it’s production.

4. Where around the world is solar power
being used?
• Waldpolenz Solar Park, Germany
Waldpolenz Solar Park, which is the world’s largest thin-film photovoltaic (PV) power system, is built
in on military air base to the east of Leipzig in Germany. The power plant is a 40-megawatt solar
power system using state-of-the-art thin film technology. 550,000 First Solar thin-film modules are
used, which supplies 40,000 MWh of electricity per year. The investment cost for the Waldpolenz
solar park amounts to some Euro 130 million.

5. Are there any other places where Solar power is in
process of being built or proposed?
• Solar power is all around the world now, most countries have solar
power plants. These are countries that are in the process of building
solar power plants:
• Spain
• France
• USA
• Israel
• China
• UAE

6. How much energy can you get from a
typical solar power station ?
Large Solar Power plants can pump out between 150mw to 400mw .The solar
thermal power industry is growing rapidly, with about 1.17 gigawatts (GW) of
concentrating solar power (CSP) plants online as of 2011. 582 megawatts of
them are located in Spain, and the United States has 507 MW of capacity.
About 17 GW of CSP projects are under development worldwide, and the
United States leads with about 8 GW. Spain ranks second with 4.46 GW in
development, followed by China with 2.5 GW.

7. Are there any solar power stations in NZ, where
are they and how many homes do they power?
• There are no solar power plants in New Zealand, because we do not have
the right climate or a place with enough sun hours to sustain a large power
station. But we do have many houses that run off solar power because they
have their own solar panels.

8. What are the negative sides to
solar electricity generation?
• Very diffuse source means low energy
production--large numbers of solar panels (and
thus large land areas) are required to produce
useful amounts of heat or electricity.
• Only areas of the world with lots of sunlight are
suitable for solar power generation.
• Costs a lot to build.

9. What are the positive sides to this
type of electricity generation?
• Inexhaustible fuel source
• No pollution
• Often an excellent supplement to other
renewable sources
• Versatile--is used for powering items as diverse
as solar cars and satellites