Click on image to see interactive features and read the entire article.
Click on image to view video from Department of Energy and to read the full article.
"Solar power is energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy. Solar energy is the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy source available, and the U.S. has some of the richest solar resources in the world. Solar technologies can harness this energy for a variety of uses, including generating electricity, providing light or a comfortable interior environment, and heating water for domestic, commercial, or industrial use."
There are three primary technologies by which solar energy is harnessed: photovoltaics (PV), which directly convert light to electricity; concentrating solar power (CSP), which uses heat from the sun (thermal energy) to drive utility-scale, electric turbines; and solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems, which collect thermal energy to provide hot water and air heating or conditioning.
From the SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association) website
"Solar thermal-electric power systems collect and concentrate sunlight to produce the high temperatures needed to generate electricity. All solar thermal power systems have solar energy collectors with two main components: reflectors (mirrors) that capture and focus sunlight onto a receiver. In most types of systems, a heat-transfer fluid is heated and circulated in the receiver and used to produce steam. The steam is converted into mechanical energy in a turbine, which powers a generator to produce electricity."
From the U.S. Energy Information Administration website
The map below shows total annual solar electricity generation in each state from utility-scale solar power plants:
Click map for more information
From the U.S. Energy Information Administration: Solar Explained
"Wind power is a form of renewable energy. As portions of the earth are heated by the sun, the heated air rises, and air rushes to fill low-pressure areas, creating wind. The wind is slowed as it brushes the ground so it may not feel windy at ground level. The power in the wind might be five times greater at the height of the blade tip on a large, modern wind turbine." (Collin & Fincher, 2011, p. 1680)
"Wind generates electricity as it moves the blades of a windmill or wind turbine. In a modern, large-scale wind turbine, the wind is converted to rotational motion by a rotor, which is a three-bladed assembly at the top of the wind turbine. The rotor turns a shaft that enters a gearbox that greatly increases the rotational shaft speed. The output shaft is connected to a generator that converts the rotational movement into electricity." (Collin & Fincher, 2011, p. 1680)
Proponents of this type of energy say that it is nonpolluting, plentiful, and renewable form of energy that can meet the energy needs of the world. With the amount of wind flowing across the United States, it could theoretically meet all our electricity needs using today's technology to harness Others argue that the noise the turbines create can cause headaches in some people and even death in some animals, including goats and wildlife. (Collin & Fincher, 2011)
Historically, wind power in the form of windmills has been used for centuries for such tasks as grinding grain and pumping water. More recently, wind turbines in the United States were the source of about 7.3% of total U.S. utility-scale (facilities with at least one megawatt of electricity generation capacity) electricity generation in 2019. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, "In 2022, 42 states had utility-scale1 wind power projects, which together produced about 10% (435 billion kilowatthours [kWh]) of total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation. The five states with the most electricity generation from wind in 2022 were Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois. These states combined produced about 57% of total U.S. wind electricity generation in 2022."
Click image for more information.
From the U.S. Energy Information Administration: Wind Explained
The solar and wind stations are scheduled for the next phase of the Sustainability Learning Lab. This page will be updated when they are built.
The coming of age of solar and wind power by 
How solar energy became cheap: A model for low-carbon innovation by 
Taming the sun: Innovations to harness solar energy and power the planet by 
Wind energy; Renewable energy and the environment by 
The age of wind energy: Progress and future directions from a global perspective by 
Bioenergy: Principles and technologies: Volume 2.1 by 
Dawn of the solar age: An end to global warming and to fear by 
Let it shine: The 6,000-year story of solar energy by 
Our energy future: Introduction to renewable energy and biofuels by 
Photovoltaic and wind energy conversion systems by 
Power from the wind: A practical guide to small-scale energy production by 
Solar energy application in houses, smart cities and micogrids by 
Solar energy in agriculture: Principles and applications by 
Solar power: Innovation, sustainability, and environmental justice by 
Wind energy modeling and simulation: Atmosphere and plant, volume 1 by 
Wind energy modeling and simulation: Turbine and system, volume 2 by 
Wind turbine airfoils and blades: Optimization design theory by Videos from Library Databases
Online Videos
