Solar power is especially useful for people in some remote areas of the world. Here, there may be no power stations and no network of gas or oil pipes to provide fuel for electricity.
This village in Angola, Africa, runs on solar power.
Solar energy is helping this village recover from the effects of war. Solar power provides street lighting and lighting for community buildings, such as the school and medical centre. It provides power for a freshwater pumping system and for hospital fridges that contain important medicines that need to be kept cool.
Computers can be powered by solar cells.
You probably use computers at school and at home. But in some parts of the world, there is no electrical supply to power computers. Solar-powered computers make it possible for more people there to use computers.
The Sun’s energy can cook a meal.
The Sun’s rays can be focused to create intense heat for cooking. A mirror or solar box cooker traps the Sun’s heat. The trapped heat cooks the food. Solar cookers mean that people do not have to collect and use up firewood for cooking.