How solar could spark a clean-energy transition through transformative innovation—creative financing, revolutionary technologies, and flexible energy systems. Solar energy, once a niche application for a limited market, has become the cheapest and fastest-growing power source on earth. What's more, its potential is nearly limitless—every hour the sun beams down more energy than the world uses in a year. But in Taming the Sun, energy expert Varun Sivaram warns that the world is not yet equipped to harness erratic sunshine to meet most of its energy needs. And if solar's current surge peters out, prospects for replacing fossil fuels and averting catastrophic climate change will dim. Innovation can brighten those prospects, Sivaram explains, drawing on firsthand experience and original research spanning science, business, and government. Financial innovation is already enticing deep-pocketed investors to fund solar projects around the world, from the sunniest deserts to the poorest villages. Technological innovation could replace today's solar panels with coatings as cheap as paint and employ artificial photosynthesis to store intermittent sunshine as convenient fuels. And systemic innovation could add flexibility to the world's power grids and other energy systems so they can dependably channel the sun's unreliable energy. Unleashing all this innovation will require visionary public policy: funding researchers developing next-generation solar technologies, refashioning energy systems and economic markets, and putting together a diverse clean energy portfolio. Although solar can't power the planet by itself, it can be the centerpiece of a global clean energy revolution. A Council on Foreign Relations Book

The endless and enormous power of the sun provides life to all organisms on Earth, from the smallest plant to the largest animal. This awesome power is being used today to provide a rich and abundant source of energy in many parts of the world, and to operate machinery and heat and light buildings. Discover how the sun is powering our planet, the technology used to harness it, and what the future of solar power could be.

In an effort to move away from our dependence on fossil fuels, scientists and engineers have discovered ways to harness the power of the sun to create electricity. This fact-filled book explores solar energy through a STEM perspective. Students will learn how energy from the sun travels millions of miles through space to power our lives here on Earth. The pros and cons of using solar energy are discussed in detail. Dazzling full-color photographs encourage students to make connections with the text and will keep even reluctant readers engaged.

"This book details the history, current uses, and potential future applications of solar energy."--

Kid inventors Nick and Tesla Holt have outsmarted crooks, spies, and kidnappers. Now they have to crack their biggest mystery yet: Where the heck are their parents? To outwit the criminal mastermind who’s holding their parents hostage, the twins will need all their brainpower, the help of their eccentric Uncle Newt, and an assortment of homemade solar gadgets. Will the Holt family be reunited at last? Or will a hijacked solar satellite beam down doom from the skies? The adventure includes instructions for creating a solar-powered hot-dog cooker, alarm, secret listening device, and model car, plus a nighttime signal cannon that fires illuminated ping-pong balls.

"America, as well as the rest of the world, is on the brink of an energy revolution that can save the planet, and increase peace and prosperity, by harnessing the unlimited power of the sun ... the technology now exists to replace our dangerous addiction to fossil fuels with cheap, clean solar energy ... Neville Williams has been on the leading edge of this revolution for decades and knows from firsthand experience how sun power can transform lives and communities for the better. For more than twenty years, he has traveled the globe, bringing solar-generated electricity to struggling communities throughout Asia, Africa, India, and the developing world ... Williams has worked to introduce sun power to even the most off-the-grid reaches of the planet--and then brought that knowledge and experience back to America, where he founded one of the country's fastest-growing solar companies"--Back cover.

Recent advances in harnessing energy from the wind, sun, and tides are explored. People are encouraged to seek resources beyond fossil fuels.