Concentrated refers to the solar power plants that generate heat from the sunlight by concentrating it at one spot, in the tubes. And later the thermal energy is used to produce electricity. On the other hand, the normal solar panels are Photovoltaic Solar Panels, like the ones installed in Rajasthan. They directly convert sunlight into electrical charges. To meet the global electricity requirements we won’t even need to completely cover the Sahara desert with solar panels.
So much solar energy reaches the Earth, that it’s unimaginable. At all times, 173,000 terra watts of solar energy reaches the Earth. This is more than 10,000 times the global electricity requirement. It is estimated that the sunlight reaching the Earth in 1.5 hours Can meet the annual global energy consumption. It means that even if solar panels are installed in a relatively smaller area, it can meet the global requirements.
It was estimated by Nadine May, in her research thesis in 2005. She said that if you zoom in on North Africa, in the small area depicted by the red square, by installing solar panels here the electricity requirements of Europe can be met. In a slightly larger square, with sides of 254 km, solar panels installed here would be enough to meet the global electricity requirements. It was done in 2005.
