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Solar energy has created a lot of buzz, all across the US. People throughout the country are thinking about switching to this environment friendly alternate source of energy. The major causes of rousing enthusiasm for solar energy among the masses, other than its eco-friendly attribute is that solar power is far more economical to the consumer and it increases the energy reliability of the country. The buzz for clean solar energy is the loudest in California, which has a huge desert area that receives plenty of sunlight throughout the year. Moreover the excitement to use the new alternative energy from Sun, instead of conventional energy sources is not only limited to the Las Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas of California, but even small counties like Orange and Riverside County are turning to solar power. California primarily uses only two techniques for producing solar energy: thermal process and photovoltaic process. In thermal process, heat from the Sun is concentrated to heat up some liquid and convert it into gaseous state and use it to turn the turbine. The rotating turbine can then be used to generate electricity. This process requires a huge set up which in turn requires large area of open space and huge capital investment. It is primarily employed in Government projects to generate large amount of energy and can be seen in desert areas of the Mojave. Photovoltaic process is the other commonly used method for utilizing energy from the Sun. In this method, photovoltaic solar panels are used to absorb the energy received from the sun. This energy is used to charge the photovoltaic cells. The energy is then stored in the charged cells and can be consumed as per our requirement. The best thing with this process is that it does not require a complex setup. Also, its infrastructure setup costs are far lower than that for the thermal process. This makes photovoltaic method a better alternative for independent consumers, who can easily avail solar energy by installing solar panels on the roofs of their residences. Moreover, panel size and installation cost is directly proportional to the power production, so they can be easily customized according to the power requirement of the individual. The Government too is stressing more on promoting photovoltaic method of solar power, and is offering several financial benefits to encourage people install such panels. Solar panels on residential and commercial buildings can be commonly seen in San Diego and Las Angeles. Even in non-metropolitan areas solar panels are getting increasingly popular, and you can easily find several houses in Orange County have solar panels installed on their roofs.
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Orange County solar, Riverside County solar,
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