Geography
Solar Power
Solar power refers to the conversion of sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic cells or solar thermal systems. It is a renewable energy source that is harnessed through solar panels, which capture the sun's energy and convert it into usable electricity. Solar power is a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional fossil fuels, contributing to efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change.
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8 Key excerpts on "Solar Power"
- Sanjay Kumar, Suraj Kumar Singh, Shruti Kanga, Gowhar Meraj, Majid Farooq, M. S. Nathawat(Authors)
- 2024(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Scrivener(Publisher)
Solar energy is abundant, offers significant opportunities for climate change mitigation, and the energy potential of solar energy is enormous and is an important energy resource compared to the various renewable energy options; it is also clean, inexhaustible, and eco-friendly, and can be used to meet a variety of energy ser- vice requirements. Solar energy activities depend on the available potential of any given geographical location because it has been limited to certain areas due to higher insolation requirements (Pomares et al., 2017; Tarai & Kale, 2016; Firozjaei et al., 2019). Over the last few decades, advances in solar energy technology have made it possible to produce power by substituting carbonaceous fuels with high temperature thermal energy from the sun (Tlhalerwa & Mulalu, 2019; Ziuku, 2014). The operating efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells depends on local meteorological conditions, which vary significantly through- out the large territories (Simioni & Schaeffer, 2019). Therefore, prior to installation of Solar Power plants at any location for these activities, assessment of solar potential is very important due to costly technologies (Singh et al., 2023b; Sud et al., 2023; Upadhyay et al., 2023). In energy planning problems, site identification for the installation of a solar PV power plant is a difficulty that also confuse decision makers or planners. In the case of solar photovoltaic system (SPVS), the highest solar resources are not always a viable factor, they are a range of factors that depend on site selection of the SPVS (Settou et al., 2020; Chiemelu et al., 2021). Methodology and results for a geographical information system (GIS) analysis are used to identify the locations of the most suitable lands for concentrating solar thermal power (Kanga et al., 2022a).
eBook - PDF- Anco S. Blazev(Author)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- River Publishers(Publisher)
It would be irresponsible to continue relying on the old finite and polluting energy sources. It would be also stupid of us to not use the progress science and technology have made, which allows us to create the best materials, processes and devices needed to capture and convert sunlight into useful energy. Figure 1-1 shows the sunlight’s potential to provide most, if not all, of our energy needs. Consider the universities, hi-tech companies, R&D and other organizations around the world, working full-Figure 1-1. How little land is needed to provide power to the world. (Not to scale) time on developing new solar materials and processes. Today’s discoveries and developments are the most prolific ever. Some of the work done lately is on the verge of break-ing the established limits of efficiency and performance. And this is just the beginning. We owe future generations more than exhausted oil wells, empty mineral mines, air, soil, and water contamina-tion; we must work harder at preparing the foundation for new energy technologies that new generations can build on—agreeing on the basics of the most abundant, clean and free energy source—sunlight. Solar Power GENERATION BASICS Solar Power generation devices are characterized by the type and amount of energy generated by exposing them to the sun’s rays and collecting the produced power. According to their principle of operation and design, Solar Power generation equipment and installations can be divided into three major categories: 1. Thermal (T), 2. Photovoltaic (PV), and 1 2 Solar Technologies for the 21st Century 3. Hybrid (PV-T and CPV-T), which are a combination of the other two. Thermal Solar Power generating equipment produces heat of some sort, while photovoltaic power generating equipment generates DC or AC electric power. Hybrid equipment is a combination of T and PV components and could produce either or both types of energy. Solar Power generation equipment is evaluated on the basis of its: 1.
eBook - PDF- Alan F. Arbogast(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
In the Northern Hemisphere, windows are oriented south to allow low-angle winter Sun to warm living areas. Cross- circulation within the home carries warm air upstairs. In the summer, high-angle Sun is blocked by overhang to keep the house cool. Human Interactions: Solar Energy Production 71 devices such as lighted road signs that are not connected to the electrical grid. On a much larger scale, Solar Power plants con- tain a number of mirrors, or heliostats, that indirectly generate electricity because they redirect sunlight into a fluid that warms and produces steam. This steam, in turn, is used to power gen- erators. These reflecting mirror systems are designed to turn to follow the Sun over the course of the day so that they con- stantly collect energy. The use of Solar Power has distinct pros and cons. On the one hand, Solar Power is a clean and sustainable energy source that does not produce greenhouse emissions and thus does not contribute to global climate change. Also, these systems can produce electricity wherever the Sun shines. On the other hand, the current technology is inefficient in producing an ade- quate supply. Most photovoltaic modules, for example, convert only about 10% of sunlight to electricity. Solar Power plants are inefficient, too, which is why they typically contain dozens (or even hundreds) of collectors that funnel solar energy into a common focal point. Perhaps the biggest problem associated with cap- turing solar energy is the simple fact that the Sun does not shine everywhere on a consistent basis (Figure 4.29). The Great Lakes region of North America, for example, is cloudy much of the time and is thus a poor place to produce solar energy on a large scale. In contrast, the best place in the United States for solar energy production is the desert region of the Southwest where the Sun shines twice as much as in other parts of the country.
eBook - PDF- Gregory T Haugan(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Auerbach Publications(Publisher)
Solar Power • 247 © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC SUSTAINABILITY ANALYSIS: Solar Power At present, the amount of Solar Power used to support the world econo-mies is very small in proportion to the overall energy usage. It is expected to remain a small source as shown in Figure 21.3, but it is growing rap-idly. On a local level, home installations should be encouraged and will assist in moving toward sustainability goals. Major power installations are not competitive with other sources of power, so new installations will be limited in number. It is important that efforts continue in improving the technology. A breakthrough in low-cost, large-scale storage of elec-tricity could greatly improve the prospects for solar (and wind) electric-ity generation. However, a larger breakthrough is really needed to take advantage of the large amount of distributed solar energy that reaches the surface of the Earth every day. The problem is to focus the energy via some currently unknown technology, and distribute it to the energy users. Tainter, in his study of the collapse of societies [15], indicates that in order for our society not to collapse, “The capital and technology available must instead be directed toward some new and more abundant source of energy. Technological innovation and increasing productivity can fore-stall marginal returns only so long. A new energy subsidy will at some point be essential” (p. 215). ENDNOTES [1] Brian Palmer, “Solar Energy Offers a Vast Supply of Power but Harnessing It Is a Challenge,” Washington Post , June 22, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/21/AR2010062104075.html (accessed June 22, 2010). [2] National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Facts, The Balance of Power in the Earth-Sun System , Report FS-2005-9-074-GSFC, 1, http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/ 135642main_balance_trifold21.pdf [3] U.S.
eBook - PDFRenewable Energy
Volumes 1 – 3
- Richard A Dunlap(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Springer(Publisher)
3.4 SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY 64 3. RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES Concentrating Solar Collector Sunlight Circulation Solar Reflection Cold water/fluid recirculated from use Hot water/ fluid to use 2 3 1 Figure 3.19: A concentrating solar collector. Based on https://www.epa.gov/rhc/solar-heating-and-cool- ing-technologies. Source: EPA. As indicated above, the amount of available solar energy is basically unlimited (compared with our needs) and is renewable indefinitely. The direct utilization of thermal energy derived from solar radiation is, however, generally limited to local installations, in most cases for residential ap- plications for space heating and hot water. In general, the implementation of solar thermal energy has few, if any, adverse effects. Although the lifetime of equipment may be limited, maintenance costs are typically minimal. Operational cost, i.e., electricity for pumps or blowers to circulate the working fluid or air, respectively, are generally small compared to the energy acquired. From an economic standpoint, individual users need to assess infrastructure and maintenance/operational costs in terms of energy savings to determine if the resulting payback period is acceptable. 3.5 SOLAR THERMAL ELECTRICITY Although electricity produced from solar energy may, in some cases, be used in stand-alone residen- tial systems, its main contribution to renewable energy is in the form of large-scale, grid-connected facilities. As discussed below, production of electricity from solar energy takes one of two basic approaches: thermal generation or photovoltaics. Most commonly the generation of electricity from solar thermal energy utilizes concen- trating solar collectors, although experimental facilities using some other approaches have been constructed, including, solar ponds and solar updraft towers. The discussion here will deal with concentrating collectors.
eBook - PDFTechnology Transfer and Change in the Arab World
The Proceedings of a Seminar of the United Nations Economic Commission for Western Asia organized by the Natural Resources, Science and Technology Division, Beirut, 9-14 October 1977
- A. B. Zahlan(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Pergamon(Publisher)
This estimate provides a useful guide even where conversion is to heat or to fuel rather than to electric power. The Arab lands have high insolation, access to oil and gas for the near-term, and an incompletely developed energy-distribution system. These characteristics argue for a serious evaluation of the solar option in any plans for their future. However, historic opportunity knocks impatiently at the gates, and prudent choices demand that distinctions be made not only between hopes and proven technologies, but also between decisions that must be made immediately and those that can be deferred until the basis of our hopes can be explored. Before attempting this task, I call attention 404 J. B. Goodenough to one additional facet of the problem: the Arab lands will be importers of nuclear technology. This need not be true of solar technology. SOLAR TECHNOLOGY: INTRODUCTION The utilization of solar energy is not a new idea. Traditionally, natural solar-energy collectors have been exploited. Plants have converted sunlight to food and fuel by photosynthesis since the origin of life on earth; only in the last century has the availability of liquid fuel enabled us to reap this harvest by other than labor-intensive means. Differential heating of the surface of the earth produces wind, which has driven windmills and sailboats for centuries. Evaporation of water by solar energy produces fresh water from the sea, and hence irrigation for life on land and hydropower for industry. Man has used solar dehydration to produce salt, to preserve fruits, to dry his textiles. The use of fossil fuels for transport, for industrial power, and for home heating is a relatively recent phenomenon. Yet the social revolution produced by the advent of convenient fossil fuels does not permit a return to total reliance on traditional technologies.
eBook - PDFPower for the World
The Emergence of Electricity from the Sun
- Wolfgang Palz(Author)
- 2010(Publication Date)
- Jenny Stanford Publishing(Publisher)
This has already been demonstrated in Germany, where plants in differ ent parts of the country connected via the national grid were run in "harmony"; they were managed in such a way that permanent supply was available as needed at any time. How much solar PV power capacity will make it into the world market in the long run can only be a matter of speculation at this stage. Twenty percent of global electricity generation, corresponding to an installed power capacity of 8000 GW distributed across every continent within 50 or 60 years is not an unreasonable projection. In practice, what we have achieved at best today in 2010 is a 2 percent electricity contribution in Germany coming from 10 GW of PV, i.e., 10 percent of the national power capacity installed. Another Solar Power option different from PV should also be mentioned in this section. Plants harnessing solar thermal power (usually called concentrating S o la r P o w er fo r the W orld 6 5 Solar Power, or CSP) employ the concentration of solar radiation via mirrors to produce temperatures of 300°C to 500°C, depending on the type of plant, in a circulating fluid. The fluid drives a turbine, often coupled with a natural gas- driven power generation system. There are more than half a dozen different types of systems, the dominant ones being a tower system surrounded by many reflecting mirrors that concen trate the Sun's rays on a receiver on top of the tower, and another with curved reflecting mirrors in the form of troughs. The first solar tower system in Europe and the world was Eurhelios. It was built at the end of the 1970s in Adrano, south of Mount Etna, in Sicily, by an international consortium under contract with the EU Commission. I was the project manager. The 1-MW plant was eventually commissioned and fed electricity into the Italian national grid. Later, the Commission discontinued its activities in this sector, as the experience gained was not conclusive.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Learning Press(Publisher)
The systems may be used to heat domestic hot water, swimming pool water, or for space heating. The heat can also be used for industrial applications or as an energy input for other uses such as cooling equipment. In many climates, a solar heating system can provide a very high percentage (50 to 75%) of domestic hot water energy. Energy received from the sun by the earth is that of electromagnetic radiation. Light ranges of visible, infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays, and radio waves received by the earth through solar energy. The highest power of radiation comes from visible light. Solar Power is complicated due to changes in seasons and from day to night. Cloud cover can also add to complications of solar energy, and not all radiation from the sun reaches earth because it is absorbed and dispersed due to clouds and gases within the earth's atmospheres. ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ 11 MW Solar Power plant near Serpa, Portugal 38°1′51″N 7°37′22″W / 38.03083°N 7.62278°W In the 1980s and early 1990s, most photovoltaic modules provided remote-area power supply, but from around 1995, industry efforts have focused increasingly on developing building integrated photovoltaics and power plants for grid connected applications. Currently the largest photovoltaic power plant in North America is the Nellis Solar Power Plant (15 MW). There is a proposal to build a Solar Power station in Victoria, Australia, which would be the world's largest PV power station, at 154 MW. Other large photovoltaic power stations include the Girassol Solar Power plant (62 MW), and the Waldpolenz Solar Park (40 MW). Sketch of a Parabolic Trough Collector ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ Some of the second-generation renewables, such as wind power, have high potential and have already realised relatively low production costs.
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