Solar Energy
Solar Energy
Solar Energy
org
Seminar
On
Solar Energy
Passive Solar
Trombe Wall
Passively heated
home in Colorado
Heating Living Spaces
A passively heated home uses about 60-75% of
the solar energy that hits its walls and windows.
The Center for Renewable Resources estimates
that in almost any climate, a well-designed
passive solar home can reduce energy bills by
75% with an added construction cost of only 5-
10%.
About 25% of energy is used for water and
space heating.
Major factor discouraging solar heating is low
energy prices.
Solar-Thermal Electricity:
Power Towers
General idea is to collect the light from many reflectors
spread over a large area at one central point to achieve high
temperature.
Example is the 10-MW solar power plant in Barstow, CA.
1900 heliostats, each 20 ft by 20 ft
a central 295 ft tower
An energy storage system allows it to generate 7 MW of
electric power without sunlight.
Capital cost is greater than coal fired power plant, despite
the no cost for fuel, ash disposal, and stack emissions.
Capital costs are expected to decline as more and more
power towers are built with greater technological advances.
One way to reduce cost is to use the waste steam from the
turbine for space heating or other industrial processes.
Solar-Thermal Electricity:
Parabolic Dishes and Troughs
Focus sunlight on a smaller receiver for each device; the
heated liquid drives a steam engine to generate electricity.
The first of these Solar Electric Generating Stations
(SEGS) was installed in CA by an Israeli company, Luz
International.
Output was 13.8 MW; cost was $6,000/peak kW and overall
efficiency was 25%.
Through federal and state tax credits, Luz was able to build
more SEGS, and improved reduced costs to $3,000/peak
kW and the cost of electricity from 25 cents to 8 cents per
kWh, barely more than the cost of nuclear or coal-fired
facilities.
The more recent facilities converted a remarkable 22% of
sunlight into electricity.
Direct Conversion into Electricity
Photovoltaic cells are capable of
directly converting sunlight into
electricity.
A simple wafer of silicon with
wires attached to the layers.
Current is produced based on
types of silicon (n- and p-types)
used for the layers. Each cell=0.5
volts.
Battery needed as storage
No moving partsdo no wear
out, but because they are exposed
to the weather, their lifespan is
about 20 years.
Solar Panels in Use
Because of their current costs, only
rural and other customers far away
from power lines use solar panels
because it is more cost effective than
extending power lines.
Note that utility companies are
already purchasing, installing, and
maintaining PV-home systems
(Idaho Power Co.).
Largest solar plant in US, sponsored
by the DOE, served the Sacramento
area, producing 2195 MWh of
electric energy, making it cost
competitive with fossil fuel plants.
Advantages of Solar Energy
Solar Energy is pollution-free and causes no
greenhouse gases to be emitted after installation
Reduced dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels
Renewable clean power that is available every day of
the year, even cloudy days produce some power
Return on investment unlike paying for utility bills
Virtually no maintenance as solar panels last over 30
years
Disadvantages of Solar Energy
Needs lots of space as efficiency is not 100% yet
No solar power at night so there is a need for a large battery
bank
Some people think they are ugly (I am definitely not one of
those!)
Devices that run on DC power directly are more expensive
Depending on geographical location the size of the solar
panels vary for the same power generation
Cloudy days do not produce as much energy
Solar panels are not being massed produced due to a lack of
material and technology to lower the cost enough to be more
affordable (this is starting to change)
Conclusion
Using a combination of Passive solar energy and
photovoltaic cells can lessen pollution.
Concerns with use of Cadmium in PV cells is
exaggerated when compared to electricity produced
from coal
More research is needed and being done
Cost of Solar system will come down in price when
production increases
References
www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.studymafia.org
Thanks