Exploiting this renewable resource can be difficult however, with collection, conversion and storage still being quite costly. Although much of the solar energy is lost as it travels to the surface of the Earth, this energy still equals around 200,000 times the daily total electricity generating capacity of the world.
As a result, the sunlight that reaches the ground is around 50% visible light and 45% infrared radiation with the rest being made up of small amounts of ultraviolet and other types of electromagnetic radiation. More of this sunlight is lost in the Earth’s atmosphere and due to clouds, which between them scatter as much as 54% of the incoming light.
Sunlight is the largest energy source to reach the Earth but, despite this, the intensity of the energy that reaches the Earth’s surface is relatively low due to the radial spreading of solar radiation as it travels from the distant Sun. National Structural Integrity Research Centre.Structural Integrity Research Foundation.
