This is photosynthesis. Light energy is collected and passed to a complex that contains an electron able to absorb the energy. The energy carried by the electron is then used to make ATP (via an electron transport chain and H+ gradient) or NADPH (via an enzyme-in this case the electron itself is also added to NADP). The production of ATP and NADPH powered by light energy is sometimes called the "light reactions" of photosynthesis.
The chemical energy of ATP and NADPH (and particularly the excited electron it carries) is then used to make bonds between carbon atoms in the Calvin cycle (or "Dark reactions") of photosynthesis. During this process, carbon from the atmosphere is "fixed" by the enzyme RUBISCO, becoming part of an organic molecule. This organic molecule, G-3-P, can either be combined with another G-3-P molecule to form glucose, or be broken down by glycolysis and the TCA cycle to produce chemical energy to maintain life.
Via plants, we are all solar-powered.
