Photovoltaics (PV), the solar power, which was nothing a few years ago, is the world leader in clean and sustainable energy today. It has become low-cost and affordable for everybody: Millions of people have already invested in it. This book reports on the euphoria resulting from solar PV that started about half a century ago in the United States, followed by Japan. By the turn of the century was triggered the first PV market explosion in Germany, followed by the great financial and industrial turmoil ending up with China’s leadership. Today, the solar euphoria has embraced the whole world, with hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in millions of PV plants on buildings or on the ground. The book is a guide to investing while helping to save the environment. It tells everything about solar power.

Originally published in 1979, Solar Energy provides a tour of the world of solar energy and asks two key questions: is solar energy the key to the future of our energy needs, and what are the facts and potential of this source of renewable power. The book examines solar energy from the past, to modern plans for designing domestic solar housing, and looks at the sites and the technology applied to harness the Sun's power, such as the energy potential of windmills and the equatorial oceans. Behrman reports on the progress of scientists and manufacturers in making solar energy a viable competitor in the energy market, and studies the projections of a future energy crop for energy plantations.

Worldwide attention to environmental issues combined with the energy crisis force us to reduce greenhouse emissions and increase the usage of renewable energy sources as a solution to providing an efficient environment. This book addresses the current issues of sustainable growth and applications in renewable energy sources. The fifteen chapters of the book have been divided into two sections to organize the information accessible to readers. The book provides a variety of material, for instance on policies aiming at the promotion of sustainable development and implementation aspects of RES.