Working solar panel vs. idling panel-what changes at panel?

I like this answer

Now what do you do with the electron-hole pair:


- You can do nothing: It recombines, emitting infrared (which is absorbed and becomes heat in the panel)

- You can use it to drive an electron through the wiring: Some of the energy goes into the load, some in to the panel resistance, and some into the electron-hole anihalation when a returning electron falls into the hole (across a much lower energy gap).