Source 19: Image of solar power

Portugal solar power plant (APimages.ap.org, 3/28/07, Serpa Portugal)

Summary:

This is an image of the world’s largest solar power plant in Portugal taken by an Associated Press photographer.

Topic:

Should the Obama administration allocate large amounts of money ($150 billion) in this time of economic crisis to alternative energy sources?

Category:

Journalistic image- mainstream

What is it?

This is a picture from the Associated Press’s photo archive accessed through the University of Oregon’s online library.

Photographer:

Antonio Carrapato

Accessed:

2/26/09

Support:

This image is of the world’s largest power plant in Portugal.   From this picture we can see just how large this power plant is.  The solar panels seem to be endless.  The sky above it is filled with sunlight showing the vast amount of energy that could be absorbed by the panels.  The caption below the pic tells us that this was a $78.5 million project and it was partially funded by General Electric.

Audience and Agenda:

The Associated Press is a non-profit American organization funded by subscriptions from news outlets around the world.  The photo library consist of more than 10,000 images.  AssociatedPress.com has approximately 11,300 hits per month in the US alone.  This image is used to show the huge investment in solar power that is being made through this project in Portugal.

Usefulness:

This picture shows a ideal depiction of solar power.  It could be used to show the beauty that a solar future could provide.  From this picture we can see how expansive this project is and how much land is being used.  It is a good example to show to anyone who might be interested in what a solar power plant looks like.  However, by showing an ideal day, it leaves out a potential problem with solar energy.  If this picture had been taken on an overcast or dreary day, it would not have the same positive impact on the observers view of solar energy.  Taking this picture at night would be a good way to show one of the obstacle of solar power.

Works Cited:

About Associated Press:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press

http://www.quantcast.com/associatedpress.com#traffic

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