Solar power can be used to run your washing machine, heat water for a bath, and light your home. More and more households around the UK are looking to solar power to reduce their carbon foot print and annual utility bills.
Solar energy is being embraced on a huge scale around the world, with solar farms capable of powering whole cities becoming increasingly common.
Plans have now been made to harness the power of the sun in one of the hottest places on earth – the Qatari desert. Qatar is to host the World Cup in 2022 and with temperatures soaring up to 40 degrees Celsius all stadiums will need to be air conditioned.
There are to be 12 stadiums in all and this will be the first time that solar power has been utilised to keep an entire stadium cool.
Qatar 2022's bid book director, Yasir Al Jamal, said: "Stadium seats will be cooled using air pumped at the spectator ankle zone at a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius.
"The same air will also be projected from the back and neck area of the seats, ensuring that each seating row of each stadium provides maximum comfort and enjoyment to fans."
The first stadium equipped with this technology has been given an estimated completion date of 2015.
Qatar is aiming to generate an impressive 16 per cent of its overall energy from solar power by 2018 according to Fahad Bin Mohammed al-Attiya, chairman of the organizers of the climate change conference in Doha.
He commented: "It makes sense for us. We will also have a feed-in tariff system so that people can put solar systems on their roof and contribute to the grid.
"All these measures have been applied now because solar prices are becoming reasonable and competitive. With the amount of solar hours we have it is economically feasible."
With such a huge demand for solar in Qatar, and the installation of panels on 12 stadiums, the country could well become a world leader in the sector.