Solar Energy Conversion.(Dept.E)

Abstract

The paper presents a survey for the methods of generating the electric energy from the solar energy , These methods are devided according to the influence of incident light on the different materials into direct and indirect methods. In the first , the solar energy is converted directly to electricity by means of solar cells , without any byproducts and without any moving parts. The indirect conversion of solar energy into electricity is done through intermediate stage , such as thermal , mechanical and chemical . Each of these methods is discussed in details and comparison between them is done regarding the conversion efficiency.