Hi Kenneth,

Scientists think that the energy in solar flares comes from the Sun's magnetic field. The plasma at the equator moves around the Sun faster than the plasma at the poles. It takes 27 days for the equatorial plasma to round the Sun once versus 34 days at the poles. This causes the magnetic field to get twisted. A simple analogy is twisting a rubber band. As you twist it you store energy in it. When you let go, the energy is released. In a solar flare the energy in the twisted magnetic field gets released. When this happens the energy goes into heating the plasma and into accelerating electrons and ions. When you see the really cool movies of solar flares you are looking at plasma that has been heated by the flare.

Hazel