"75 to 90 kilowatts of power is provided to the space station from their solar array panels. The solar array surface could cover the US senate chamber 3 times over" For more on the International Space Station http://www.nasa.gov/missi...cts_and_figures.html

The ISS certainly does use solar power. If you see a photo of the ISS, the very large, black "wing" like structures are its solar panels. In fact, solar power is used in almost all space-based technologies. If we use regular batteries like you might on Earth, when the batteries run out, there is no way to replace them. Solar power on the other hand, will always be available (provided the solar panels are pointed at the Sun). Claire