The large magnitude of solar energy available makes it a highly appealing source of electricity. The United Nations Development Programme in its 2000 World Energy Assessment found that the annual potential of solar energy was 1575 – 49387 EJ. This is larger than the total world energy consumption (the total energy consumed by the world within a year) in 2012, which was 559.8 EJ.

Solar panel refers to a panel designed to absorb the sun’s rays as a source of energy for generating electricity or heating.