How expensive is solar energy to produce?

How expensive is solar energy to produce? What does a solar energy power plant look like and how do they work? What are the hidden costs to society and the world? ( pollution, etc)

Public Comments

1. There are several types of solar energy collectors, depending on what you want to do. You can preheat water for the house water heater, or heat living space, or make electricity, for example. Here's a couple of pages that deal with these
2. solar energy is just taking the sun's energy and converting it into usable sources for our needs they are really expensive, usually you need open space for the panels to collect i don't know about the hidden costs
3. You do not produce solar energy; it is free from the sun. However it can be converted to electricity using solar panels. If you check a picture of a satellite or the space station in orbit, you will see large solar panels to produce electricity to run the machines. One environmental problem could be the disposal of old and derelict panels.