A RENEWABLE ENERGY PRIMER

Solar Power is considered renewable because the nuclear (fusion) reactions that power the Sun are expected to keep generating sunlight for many billions of years to come. The energy from sunlight that falls on White Sands Missile Range (see small white square below) is roughly equivalent to that used by the entire United States!

http://www.nmsea.org/Curriculum/Primer/from_oil_wells_to_solar_cells.htm