Solar energy

File:Sun920607.jpg
At the equator, the Sun provides approximately 1000 watts per square meter on Earth's surface.
File:Insolation.png
The top diagram shows how the strength of sunlight is less nearer the Earth's poles. The lower map shows how much solar energy hits the Earth's surface after clouds and dust must have reflected and absorbed some solar energy.
File:SolarGIS-Solar-map-Europe-en.png
Solar Radiation Map: Global Horizontal Irradiation in Europe

Š transformation is the energy that comes from the sun. It has been used for thousands of years in many different ways by people all over the world. As well as its traditional human uses in heating, cooking, and drying, it is used today to make electricity where other power supplies are absent, such as in remote places and in space. It is becoming cheaper to make electricity from solar energy and in many situations it is now competitive energy from coal or oil. A solar cooker can be used for cooking food

Energy uses

Solar energy is used today in a number of ways:

Energy from the Sun

After passing through the Earth's atmosphere, most of the Sun's energy is in the form of visible light and infrared light radiation. Plants convert the energy in sunlight into chemical energy (sugars and starches) through the process of photosynthesis. Humans regularly use this store of energy in various ways, as when they burn wood or fossil fuels, or when simply eating plants, fish and animals.

Solar radiation reaches the Earth's upper atmosphere with the power of 1366 watts per square meter (W/m2). Since the Earth is round, the surface nearer its poles is angled away from the Sun and receives much less solar energy than the surface nearer the equator.

At present, solar cell panels convert, at best, about 15% of the sunlight hitting them into electricity.[1] The dark disks in the third diagram on the right are imaginary examples of the amount of land that, if covered with 8% efficient solar panels, would produce slightly more energy in the form of electricity than the world needed in 2003. [2]

Types of technologies

File:PV Soundless Freising.jpg
Solar energy absorbing panels on the sound barrier next to the Munich airport.

Many technologies have been developed to make use of solar radiation. Some of these technologies make direct use of the solar energy (e.g. to provide light, heat, etc.), while others produce electricity.

Solar power plants

Solar power plants convert sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaics converts light into electric current using the photoelectric effect.[3]

Photovoltaics

World's largest photovoltaic power stations
Photovoltaic power station Country Site co-ordinates Nominal
power 		Production
(Annual
GW·h) 		Notes and references
Topaz Solar Farm[4] USA Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
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Template:R from template shortcut || || installed capacity as of June 2019.

Desert Sunlight Solar Farm USA Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
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Template:R from template shortcut || || Commissioned since November 2013 toward final capacity 550 MW

Longyangxia Dam Solar Park[5] China Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
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Template:R from template shortcut || || Completed December 2013

Solar Star I and II[6] USA
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Template:R from template shortcut || || Under construction, 579MW when completed[7]

California Valley Solar Ranch[8] USA Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
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Template:R from template shortcut[9][10] || 399 || First 130MW connected Feb 2013.[11]

Agua Caliente Solar Project[12] USA Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
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Template:R from template shortcut[13][14] || 626 || completed April 2014[15]

Antelope Valley Solar Ranch[12][16][17] USA Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.
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Template:R from template shortcut[18] || || 230 MWAC. Has received government loan guarantee

Concentrated solar thermal

Rank

Rank Station Country Location Capacity (MW) Ref
1 Ivanpah 23x15px United States Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 377 [19]
2 SEGS 23x15px United States Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 354 [20]
3 Solana 23x15px United States Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 280 [21]
4 Genesis 23x15px United States Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 250 [22]
5 Solaben 23x15px Spain Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 200
6 Solnova 23x15px Spain Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 150
6 Andasol 23x15px Spain Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 150 [23][24]
6 Extresol 23x15px Spain Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 150 [25][26]
9 Palma del Rio 23x15px Spain Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 100 [25]
9 Manchasol 23x15px Spain Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 100 [25]
9 Valle 23x15px Spain Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 100 [25][27]
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View of Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System from Yates Well Road, San Bernardino County, California. The Clark Mountain Range can be seen in the distance.
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Solar cooker

File:Cuisson-solaire.jpg
Solar cooking

Solar cooking uses the Sun as the source of energy instead of standard cooking fuels such as charcoal, coal or gas. Solar cookers are an inexpensive and environmentally sound alternative to traditional ovens. They are becoming widely used in areas of the developing world where deforestation is an issue, financial resources to purchase fuel are limited, and where open flames would pose a serious risk to people and the environment. Solar cookers are covered with a glass plate. They achieve a higher temperature by using mirrors to focus the rays of the sun.

Solar heater

File:Jablunkov, dům se solárními panely.JPG
House with solar panels for heating and other needs in Jablunkov, Czech Republic.
The Sun may be used to heat water instead of electricity or gas. There are two basic types of active solar heating systems based on the type of fluid — either liquid or air — that is heated in the solar energy collectors. (The collector is the device in which a fluid is heated by the Sun.)

Liquid-based systems heat water or an antifreeze solution in a "hydronic" collector, whereas air-based systems heat air in an "air collector."[28] Both air and liquid systems can supplement forced air systems.

Solar cells

File:4inchcell.jpg
Photo of 4 inch by 4 inch cell.

Solar cells can be used to generate electricity from sunlight. It is a device that converts light energy into electrical energy. Sometimes the term solar cell is reserved for devices intended specifically to capture energy from sunlight, while the term photovoltaic cell is used when the light source is unspecified.

Solar cells have many applications. They have long been used in situations where electrical power from the grid is unavailable, such as in remote area power systems, Earth-orbiting satellites and space probes, consumer systems, e.g. handheld calculators or wrist watches, remote radiotelephones and water pumping applications. A large no. of solar cells are combined in an arrangement called solar cell panel that can deliver enough electricity for practical use. Electricity produced by solar panels can be stored in rechargeable solar batteries, which is then drawn upon when required.[29]

Related pages

References

  1. ↑ A solar panel in the contiguous United States on average delivers 19 to 56 W/m² or 0.45 - 1.35 (kW·h/m²)/day."us_pv_annual_may2004.jpg". National Renewable Energy Laboratory, US. Retrieved 2006-09-04.
  2. ↑ International Energy Agency - Homepage
  3. ↑ Technologies: From silicon to the solar cell.
  4. ↑ The Tribune: California Valley's Topaz Solar Farm now producing electricity
  5. ↑ SolarServer: CPI completes massive hybrid solar PV/hydro plant in Western China
  6. ↑ Solar Star Project, Japan DG Demand Drive SunPower's Q3, Forbes, 10/31/2014
  7. ↑ [1]
  8. ↑ Energy Division Resolution E-4229
  9. ↑ U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013, IREC, July 2014
  10. ↑ Meza, Edgar (27 June 2013). "NRG Energy completes 250 MW California Valley Solar Ranch". Solar Energy Industry Association. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "130MW energized". California Valley Solar Ranch. Retrieved Feb 2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 RPS Project Status Table - February Update
  13. ↑ World's Largest Operational Solar PV Project, Agua Caliente, Achieves 250 Megawatts of Grid-Connected Power
  14. ↑ "First Solar Stops Installation at Agua Caliente Project". Bloomberg.
  15. ↑ World’s Biggest Solar PV Plant a Feather in DOE’s Cap, Pete Danko, greentechmedia, May 2, 2014
  16. ↑ "AV Solar Ranch One". NextLight Renewable Power LLC. 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
  17. ↑ Project Overview
  18. ↑ Hill, Joshua (22 Feb 2013). "Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One Achieves 100 Megawatt Milestone". Clean Technica. Retrieved Feb 2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ↑ Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, retrieved 2014-02-18
  20. ↑ SEGS Power Stations, retrieved 2010-03-20
  21. ↑ Abengoa Solar: Abengoa’s Solana, the US’s first large-scale solar plant with thermal energy storage system, begins commercial operation
  22. ↑ CSP World
  23. ↑ Andasol Solar Power Station, retrieved 2010-03-20
  24. ↑ Andasol Solar Power Station, retrieved 2010-03-20
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 (Spanish) Lokalizacion de Centrales Termosolares en Espana
  26. ↑ ACS LAUNCHES THE OPERATION PHASE OF ITS THIRD DISPATCHABLE 50 MW THERMAL POWER PLANT IN SPAIN, EXTRESOL-1
  27. ↑ VALLE 1 and VALLE 2
  28. ↑ Active Solar Heating
  29. ↑ "Solar Batteries | Natural Solar". Natural Solar. Retrieved 2018-11-01.

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