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Photovoltaic Energy (Solar Energy)
With all the issues that burning fossil fuels cause, things need to change. Burning fossil fuels not only contributes to climate change, but causes health issues by letting harmful gases into the air. Slowly, people are turning to newer, cleaner power sources such as solar power. So, everyone's heard about solar power, but what is it, really? Solar power is a form of energy used by capturing the sun's light and converting it into electricity. The energy is converted through one of two types of panels: photovoltaic cells or photoelectrochemical cell, better known as solar panels. Solar power is a renewable resource, meaning that humans are not using up the resource faster than it can be produced. Using it is cleaner because is doesn't burn a harmful chemical to convert energy to electricity. But, using solar power does have a catch: the cost of solar panels. The panels, or cells, are very expensive, however, the money saved over time on electric bills will help even out the cost. Solar power technology is also advancing, and as it does the price is lowering, so that maybe one day solar power will be a widely used resource.

Pictures:

Solar panels on the roof of a building:

Annie and Lindsey's billboard!



Bibliography:

Arms, Karen. __Environmental Science__. Austin, Texas: Holt, 2008.

Bryan, Harvey. "Solar energy." //World Book Student //. World Book, 2009. 2 Dec. 2009. <[]>.

"Graphics 2." //William Chrisman Computer Science //. 2008. 02 Dec. 2009. <[]>.

"How Solar Panels Work." //Solar Panels Guide//. 2009. Web. 03 Dec. 2009. <[]>.