Did You Know?

In sixty seconds, the Earth absorbs enough sunlight to fulfill the planet’s energy needs for a year! The Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP) seeks to find and develop solar technologies that  are cost-competitive in the market by 2015. The program currently focuses on the research and development of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) as well as system integration and market transformation. Photovoltaics convert sunlight into energy while concentrating solar power uses mirrors to send the solar energy to receivers which convert it into heat which is changed into electricity with steam turbines or other methods.