Solar energy vs. solar power: what's the difference?

Often used synonymously with solar energy, solar power is what you've got once the sun's energy has been converted to electricity. This can be done one of two ways: heating a liquid to produce steam and spin a generator, or through photovolatics (but that's another post). For now, we'll concentrate on how to use the massive and largely untapped potential that exists with solar energy. But first, some basics.

What is solar energy?

Short answer: the light and heat provided by the sun. A slightly longer answer: after running the gauntlet from an average of 93 million miles away, through the various layers of atmosphere and atmospheric conditions (clouds, pollutants, dust and the like), about half of the solar energy is absorbed by water and land, with the other half reflected and re-radiated back into space. The half that makes it is absorbed by oceans, land masses and plants; in the ocean, the energy drives heat and wind-driven currents (like the Gulf Stream); on land, the energy is absorbed and creates heat, and the little bit that's left is absorbed by plants and converted to chemical energy through a process we all know as photosynthesis.