Energy Information » Solar

Solar Energy Profile: Straight from the Source

budianto — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:34:14 +0000

Every day, the Earth receives more energy from the sun than mankind uses in a year. Still, solar energy remains a tiny sliver in the global energy mix. Falling prices and better efficiency could change this, but can it happen fast enough?When it comes to meeting energy needs, humanity has not been able to eliminate the middle man. The energy we use today comes from the sun, but we get it indirectly. Sunrays fed countless generations of plants and organisms millions of years ago, which we now use to burn to produce electricity, heat our homes, and run our cars. Its heat also strikes up the winds that we use to sail ships and run turbines. Despite our dependence on the sun, mankind has still not fully realized the potential of harnessing the sun?s vast energy directly. Worldwide Importance and Future TrendsEven with steady annual growth, the International Energy Agency says solar energy – combined with wind and geothermal power – still only supplies less than one percent of the world?s energy. In Germany, the global solar market leader, solar supplies around 0. 3 percent of national electricity demand; in the United States, it supplies less than 0. 1 percent. The UN?s annual “Global Trends in Sustainable Development” report said that the solar sector attracted 16 percent of the 70 billion U. S. dollars invested in renewable technology in 2006 – behind wind (38 percent) and biofuels (26 percent). According to the World Energy Council, solar water heating market is growing at a rate of around 20 percent a year, and solar PV at 35 percent. If the costs of solar technology continue to drop, it has a chance to compete with other forms of energy production. In places like sunny California, solar has already reached “grid parity,” which means the costs of producing solar power are now competitive with conventional energy production even without government subsidies. Sinking production costs would allow solar power to eventually join or even replace coal, gas, and oil as a primary energy source by the end of the century, which some experts say is possible. Global Resources and ProducersThe amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth?s surface every 20 days exceeds the energy trapped up in all of the planet?s coal, oil, and natural gas reserves. The trick is finding cost-effective and efficient ways of converting this abundant resource into usable energy. Currently, there are two main ways of doing so. Photovoltaic (PV) panels, thin pieces of crystalline silicon, transfer sunlight directly into electricity. Solar thermal collectors, on the other hand, are used to heat water for domestic or industrial use and to run steam power plants. Germany is the world?s leading producer of PV and solar heating technology and energy. In 2006 alone, 968 Megawatts (MW) of PV was installed in Germany. Japan, which added 292 MW last year, is also an important market and exporter of PV technology. China is aggressively adding solar systems to its energy mix. The country already consumes half of all solar-heated water in the world, and aims to increase solar water heater coverage by 50 percent by 2010. China is also emerging as an important producer and consumer of PV cells, which the government is integrating in remote and urban area. Energy OutputThe energy output of photovoltaic and solar heating depends on the size location of the system. Most areas receive ample sunlight, but deserts that seldom get cloud cover are better suited for solar energy production. Standard PV cells have an energy conversion rate of 6 to 8 percent, meaning that 6 to 8 percent of all solar power absorbed is turned into energy. Some prototypes have already achieved conversion rates of more than 40 percent, but are still too expensive for mass-market production. Solar heaters utilize solar collectors that are significantly more efficient. Current collectors turn between 60 to 70 percent of absorbed sunlight into heat. Concentrated solar thermal systems use mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a tower, producing extremely hot temperatures to boil water or other fluids and produce steam to drive a thermal power plant. An 11 MW concentrating solar power plant was completed near Seville, Spain in March 2007. A 154 MW facility is planned in Australia, and a 500 MW system in California?s Mojave Desert. Environmental Impact and DrawbacksManufacturing and installing solar systems requires energy, and as with almost any industrial activity, involves handling hazardous materials, such as arsenic and cadmium. Mass production of PV cells is sometimes marred by shortages of quality silicon. Large-scale solar power plants also take up lots of land. Overall, however, the environmental impacts of switching to solar energy are positive. Solar heaters require significantly less fossil energy input than natural gas and electric systems. PV systems are cleaner energy producers compared to coal and oil. Greenhouse gas emissions of solar PV plant including production and installation are eight times less than that of a coal-fired plant. The initial costs of solar heating and PV systems, however, prevent many homeowners from installing them. But falling costs and subsidies have helped sustain market growth in some countries. Like with wind turbines, another technical problem is effectively storing solar energy to provide power throughout nights and cloudy days.

http://solarpanelgreenenergy. com

Germany’S Bid For Solar Excellence Scuppered By Geothermal?

budianto — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:33:56 +0000

In 1991, a quiet but effective revolution began in Germany. It consisted of 5 paragraphs and didn’t even provide any future promises (or funding), but it gave something to the average citizen that he didn’t have before. . . commercial access to the grid. The law was entitled Stromeinspeisungsgesetz (commonly known in the U. S. as the Energy Feed-in Law). From 1991, all suppliers of electricity, including private citizens, were granted access to the electrical grid and, by law, would be compensated at an unprecedented premium for all energy sent into the network. By far, the highest commissions were paid to the suppliers of solar power, starting a race to go solar in Deutschland. ? The law was revised in 2000 and now called the Renewable Energy Sources Act to include energy supplied by geothermal derivations such as geysers, natural steam, geopressurized reservoirs, etc. Perhaps not something the average person has access to, but certainly of interest on a corporate level. Ironically, most geothermal energy is not very “renewable” as it is mined faster that it can regenerate, but it is clean and efficient. There is no mistaking that this addition was added, in fact, to attract new business to the clean energy market. More importantly, the 2000 version set a time frame for new investors to 20 years. What that achieved was the insurance and reassurance that people needed before such a huge commitment to their individual projects. On the negative side, the 20 years came with decreased tariffs over time. Why decrease the tariffs? Simply put, the government had set a ceiling of 5% total energy production by the methods outlined in the original Stromeinspeisungsgesetz. Solar panels were going up all over Germany faster that you can say “sauerbraten”. Although not funded directly by the government, budget considerations still had to be weighed as the electricity consumer picked up the tab for the subsidies. The tariff reductions simply mitigated the government’s set budget for the project. In addition, the newer law put Germany in line with the EU’s energy regulations requiring frequent review, rates reflective of overall cost, different rates based on type, different rates based on size of facility, and a generally degressively mobile payment structure. The goal of this bill was to reduce carbon emissions by 3% by 2010 and enable green electricity to become 10% of the overall energy supply by the same year. This goal was surpassed in 2007, at which point 12. 5% of total energy was green energy. ? In keeping with the EU’s standard of “frequent performance review,” the law was once again revised in 2004. This time, no great name change. It became the 2004 Renewable Energy Sources Act. Since reaching goals set in 2000 so early, this revision raises to bar to 27% by 2020. These enterprising ambitions and the tools implemented to achieve these agendas have put Germany forward as a renewable energy pioneer in terms of sheer scale. The newer law accounted for up and coming market developments and rewards for innovation in sustainable sources of power. Since the initiation of the Renewable Energy Sources Act, tariffs paid out to suppliers have been more finely tuned, promoting photovoltaic, geothermal, and biomass overall. However, payouts under this bill were dynamic with new developments and technologies. Wind power payments under the 2004 act, for example, were reduced due to a reduction in overall costs secondary to technological advances. By degressing fees paid to suppliers, the government hopes to ignite creative stream-lining innovations, which, based on fluctuating payments, rewards the design model, but saves on the long term. Another aspect of the 2004 legislation is the fixed tariff scheme. Suppliers could “lock in” a rate based on the year of initiation. The rate would be good for 20 years plus the year of commencement. Once again, this is a call to action. The sooner you’re in, the more profit you can extract. Producers of electricity are protected from future changes to the law by this key piece of the legislation. ? As of 2008, amendments in the Energy Act, or EEG (Erneubare Energien Gesetz) lessen the focus on solar production by reducing the tariff for rooftop solar panels by 8% in 2009 and 2010 and then 9% annually after that. Ground level solar parks will suffer a 10% reduction in compensation in 2009 and 2010 (a decrease of 3. 5%). Wind energy promotion is the focus of the latest revisions set forth by the governing body. So, is wind the new King of Renewables? Solar power is perhaps less heavily promoted than in the past, but one must see that as a sign of success of the program. Falling subsidies indicate that the industry is healthy and has less need for gross promotion. Is wind the next “big thing” in Germany? Don’t count out geothermals just yet. Although the “renewability” of geothermal power is in debate, geothermal drilling goes on and was given an early boost in 2000 and further support in 2004. There are currently 150 geothermal plants in the development stage held back at the moment due to the cost of the drilling equipment necessary. Not to be daunted, German manufacturing plants are expanding drill production for the sector. Six geothermal plants are in the process of opening this year (2009) and into 2010. So, what does this mean for the rest of us? Well, look at it this way. A country with relatively moderate sun exposure and no volcanic activity in 7,500 years is actually a leader in producing solar power and geothermal energy. To say that Germany is inspiring is a vast understatement. If the U. S. made a serious attempt to duplicate Germany’s success, the impact on the environment would be staggering. U. S. representative Jay Inslee from Washington state introduced the Renewable Energy Jobs and Security Act in June of 2008, but it stalled. On a brighter note, Gainesville, FL just passed a law (March 2009) to compensate providers of solar electricity at a premium rate through net metering. City officials passed this bill unanimously after studying the success in Germany. Hawaii isn’t far behind and will likely have a similar plan in effect by the end of the year. I think that this is how we are going to achieve results in the U. S. : one state at a time until the job is done. 15-Mar-09 ?

Judy Collins is the author of several articles on environmental issues and green consciousness-raising.
http://www. projectearthnow. com
http://blog. projectearthnow. com

Solar Panels For My House – Blueprints DIY Solar Energy

budianto — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 07:36:44 +0000

Fortunately, more householders are also beginning to see the advantages of using green energy. I will even show you in this article how replaceable solar panels for my house have shot down my electrical bill. Normally it is determined that a typical family spends more than $1,300 on heat and electricity each year, according to the Office of Energy. I’m certain that you have recently seen some form solar panel, particularly those than run on solar panel powered calculators. With a touch more effort, they can be built cost effectively to generate sufficient electrical energy to run most households even my house! They’re capable of soaking up daylight and move to the semi-conductors for the electrons to be damaged. The cells are called photovoltaic and work to convert sunlight into electric power that may be employed to run the household appliances. How Does the Earth4Energy solar power at Home System Work and What Are Its Benefits? It harnesses the widely available sun energy to free the house owner from ever having to depend on the power company for electricity. It might be running our houses and companies in the future. Does my DIY solar panels energy for my house actually work? The panels truly work by breaking loose the electrons and moving them in a certain way which generates an electric current output. This is truly one of the best ways to generate energy in your home while going green and saving a bunch of money.

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Solar Power Electricity Generation-Tips for Solar Power Electricity Generation

budianto — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:06:16 +0000

The best thing about solar power is that it has an unlimited potential. Discover the easiest method of solar power electricity generation so that you can easily go solar and save $1000?s on utility bills forever. You just need to know how to make your own renewable energy source and today I am going to tell you exactly how to generate solar electric power. If you want to learn solar power electricity generation, you’ll need to learn some basics on how exactly do solar panels work. This way, the entire procedure will be much easier to handle. The process starts with solar modules. They are the main components exposed directly to sunlight. Their main function is to convert the sun’s energy into usable electrical power for your home appliances. To get them correctly installed, solar modules are to be mounted on a steel frame and positioned on your roof top. Power produced by the solar modules is converted from Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC) through a inverter. Usually, Alternating Current (AC) is the usable electrical power that we need to power the home appliances. Next, the electrical power transfers from the inverter to the electrical service panel. The electrical service panel is used for distributing the electrical power to different parts of your house or office for use. The unused electrical power produced by the solar panels will then be brought into the grid all the way through the utility electric meter. As a result, the meter will be made to spin backwards and this establishes a credit with the utility company in offsetting future usage. This method is known as Net Metering and is completely approved by State Level Electricity Policy. Solar power electricity generation isn’t really a difficult task. You don’t require many skills beyond being able to handle wiring & basic tools with care and safety measures. The components needed for building solar panels include:-1. ??? Solar Cells2. ??? Sheet Plywood3. ??? Copper Wire4. ??? General Tools (Drills, screwdrivers, woodwork glue etc)5. ??? Clear PVC SheetingAll these components can be easily picked up by you from the local hardware store. Photovoltaic cell is the only component that you might have to search online and it can be found easily on eBay. Quality directions that are easy to follow are vital to find when trying to generate solar power. This will make the building process less stressful and make you happier that you made the choice to do it yourself. Online is just one of the places you are able to find some of these manuals. We have reviewed the best guides available to help you to learn how to build your own solar panel system for electricity. Go ahead and check them out NOW??learn solar power electricity generation and STOP paying for electricity?FOREVER!

Stop paying your energy bills and throwing money out of the window. Learn solar power electricity generation, easily and save $1000?s on utility bills forever! Learn how thousands of people worldwide have slashed their electric bills by 80% and at times completely eliminated them by using the Best DIY Solar Power Guides on the planet, that have step by step instructions and videos that even a novice teenager can follow to do solar power electricity generation.

The How and Why of Solar Energy

budianto — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:45:33 +0000

More and more people are becoming conscious about the environment and going for natural energy options. Solar energy is one such option that is simple and economical. Learnt more how to use solar energy from the points mentioned below. The solar panels located on the house roof capture sun rays. This sets off another panel located on the other side of the home which converts the electricity or current from direct to alternating. This leads to creating of electricity in all the outlets that are there in the house. In case the residents of the house fail to use it immediately, the current is stored for future use. Using solar energy has benefits on two fronts ? financial and environmental. Financial benefits are created through the reduction of energy bills. People can also garner credits from the local electrical authority. Using solar energy is also said to enhance the real estate value of a residence. Environmental benefits are created through the reduction of problems related to global warming. It also leads to conservation of fossil fuels. Pollution is also reduced leading to a cleaner air and water. Ensure that you go through quality instructions while installing solar panels on your own. This will relieve you of stress and also make you feel pleasant about your DIY project. Internet is a good place to start searching for DIY manuals. We have gone through several guides to present you a good way of building your very own solar panels for energy. Do not hesitate and acquaint yourselves with how to generate solar energy and reduce your energy bills.

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Renewable solar energy

budianto — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:34:08 +0000

Did you know that earth receives and incredible amount of solar energy from sun which is a star that has been burning from past 4 billion years. It can supply enough energy within a minute that the planet earth would need for the entire year?s consumption. The solar radiations that hit the earth in a period of three days are equivalent the energy that can be generated from the existing fossil fuel reserves of earth. It is a myth that solar energy is not practical in populated areas. It is just as practical in the populated areas as it is in the rural areas. An average home has enough space on roof to create electricity for the entire home?s supply. Solar energy is not only free but an inexhaustible source. The renewable solar energy was first discovered in 1767 and then in 1839, a French physicist, Edmund Becqueral discovered the ?photovoltaic effect?. Even though solar energy had great potential, it was left behind whenever the mention of fossil fuels came up. But ever since the Gulf War, solar energy development took place at large scale and considering the fact that the first practical solar cell was made some 30 years ago, we have come a long way. In the present scenario, you can find many websites offering the technology to generate your own electricity at very cheap prices. There are eBooks which can be downloaded within minutes of payment and with the help of their step by step guidance you can easily construct your own solar panels and harness the renewable solar energy. Solar energy is sought after in many developing countries and is one of the fastest growing segments. Governments across the world are able to fill the electric needs of their villages. It is more practical than expanding the extending the wires, which are expensive, in the remote locations.

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Green Energy – Biofuels, the Real Solar Power

budianto — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:34:01 +0000

We live in a world eager for new resources of energy. But despite the huge progress and development of green energy and renewable resources, we did not yet reach the goal of good fossil fuels replacements.

There are several directions of research for new energy sources, but all of them cannot supply enough energy to make a real change. The real ?green? resources are wind, waves, hydro and geothermal power, which are good resources, but certainly not sufficient to supply the demands.

The more promising sources of energy are:

1. Solar energy ? which is for now very inefficient and expensive.

2. Hydrogen – which is hard to produce right now.

3. biofuels ? that can compromise our food supply.

The question is ? what is the most promising? ? in what resource we should invest?

Before we all start to walk in the solar power road, we first must understand that for now, biofuels are the real solar power supply.

why is that? well, our solar harvesting devices are very insufficient comparing to engines using fossil fuels. but from where these fuels came from? well, these fuels come from ancient plants and animals that were much more efficient in term of harvesting the sun?s energy. I am talking about photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is one of the most efficient processes on earth, maybe the most competent. Cyanobacteria, algae and plants can use almost 100% of the sun?s energy to produce chemical energy. nearly hundred percents of the light captured buy the photosynthesis apparatus, is transformed to electric currents and then to chmical energy stored in sugars and fats. these sugars and fats turn to be our fuels millions of years later.

But today?s plats and algae can still produce this solar energy as good as they did millions of years ago, and we use this energy in our foods to maintain our lives. Agriculture was the driving force that first let humans to control this enormous energy supply, and probably was the main trigger for the development of the human society.

In order the satisfy the ever growing demand for energy in the modern and post-modern society, we must increase a little beat our agricultural skills. Why we need to re-invent new ways to harvest the sun?s fruit, when evolution already sis it for us, and created an amazing machinery in plants?

The real goal of the people who seek for new energy sources should be dramatically increasing the yield of the agricultural production, in order to be able to use plants sugars and fats to produce ethanol, biodiesel and other bio-fuels to use in the modern industry and transportation.

Let change our investments from traditional engineering approaches to bio-engineering, guiding our research toward more proficient production of biodiesel and ethanol, the easily accessible solar power.

Expert Biochemist work on plant sciences research. Green energy now

Going Green with Solar Energy

budianto — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:20:27 +0000

Solar Energy is a green way of producing electrical energy. As the source is renewable it is one of the most effective methods to generate power for household as well as commercial uses. Solar energy can be obtained as two types. These are active and passive energies. Active solar energy is a combination of the heat and light of the sun. The technology involved in this process is same as those photovoltaic cells. These cells convert sunlight into DC electricity. It can be used in any climate if sunlight is available. Active solar energy which uses the photovoltaic cells have very little carbon footprints. This power can be used to create electricity or heat water. Passive Solar Energy is the energy obtained by the use of only the heat energy from the sun. This direct heat energy can be used to dry out clay bricks, groceries, clothes, and for other day to day activities. Passive solar energy can be utilized well in homes which are constructed in an environment friendly manner. Use of heat absorbing materials in the home keeps the rooms warm and cozy. Ventilating the house properly and installing glass instead of wooden window shields can bring in more sunlight and thus save on electricity bills. Passive Solar Energy also has no carbon footprints. So you can make use of the solar energy to save on electricity bills as well as live an environment friendly life. To produce active solar energy you will have to install solar panels.

The author has been into saving energy from past 5 years and now he invites you to understand how to save energy at home, at his website Renewable Energy 4 Earth. If you save energy, then you indirectly save money apart from reducing expenditures. Read more about the this concept, by visiting the renewableenergy4earth. com today.

solar power

budianto — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:17:01 +0000

Solar power Renewable energy? ? ? The PS10 concentrates sunlight from a field of heliostats on a central tower. Solar power is by far the Earth’s most available energy source, easily capable of providing many times the total current energy demand. The largest solar power plants, like the 354 MW SEGS, are concentrating solar thermal plants, but recently multi-megawatt photovoltaic plants have been built. Completed in 2008, the 46 MW Moura photovoltaic power station in Portugal and the 40 MW Waldpolenz Solar Park in Germany are characteristic of the trend toward larger photovoltaic power stations. Much larger ones are proposed, such as the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm, and the 600 MW Rancho Cielo Solar Farm. Covering 4% of the world’s desert area with photovoltaics could supply all of the world’s electricity. The Gobi Desert alone could supply almost all of the world’s total energy demand. Solar power is a predictably intermittent energy source, meaning that whilst solar power is not available at all times, we can predict with a very good degree of accuracy when it will and wont be available. Some technologies, such as solar thermal concentrators with an element of thermal storage, have the potential to eliminate the intermittency of solar power, by storing spare solar power in the form of heat; and using this heat overnight or during periods that solar power is not available to produce electricity. This technology has the potential to make solar power “dispatchable”, as the heat source can be used to generate electricity at will. Solar power installations are normally supplemented by storage or another energy source, for example with wind power and hydropower. Applications Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Sunlight can be converted directly into electricity using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly with concentrating solar power (CSP), which normally focuses the sun’s energy to boil water which is then used to provide power, and technologies such as the sterling engine dishes which use a sterling cycle engine to power a generator. Photovoltaics were initially used to power small and medium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to off-grid homes powered by a photovoltaic array. The only significant problem with solar power is installation cost, although cost has been decreasing due to the learning curve. Developing countries have started to build solar power plants, replacing other sources of energy generation. Since solar power is intermittent, it must be combined either with storage or other energy sources to provide continuous power, although for small distributed producer/consumers, net metering makes this transparent to the consumer. A combined power plant has been demonstrated, using 100% renewable energy. One fundamental difference between renewable energy and non-renewable energy is that non-renewable resources can be purchased as they are consumed, whereas with renewable resources, you pay up front for the next twenty years or so of energy. Concentrating solar power Concentrating solar power ? ? Solar troughs are the most widely deployed. A legend claims that Archimedes used polished shields to concentrate sunlight on the invading Roman fleet and repel them from Syracuse. Auguste Mouchout used a parabolic trough to produce steam for the first solar steam engine in 1866. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists; the most developed are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear fresnel reflector, the Stirling dish and the solar power tower. Various techniques are used to track the Sun and focus light. In all of these systems a working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight, and is then used for power generation or energy storage. A parabolic trough consists of a linear parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned along the reflector’s focal line. The receiver is a tube positioned right above the middle of the parabolic mirror and is filled with a working fluid. The reflector is made to follow the Sun during the daylight hours by tracking along a single axis. Parabolic trough systems provide the best land-use factor of any solar technology. The SEGS plants in California and Acciona’s Nevada Solar One near Boulder City, Nevada are representatives of this technology. The Suntrof-Mulk parabolic trough, developed by Melvin Prueitt, uses a technique inspired by Archimedes’ principle to rotate the mirrors. Concentrating linear fresnel reflectors are CSP-plants which use many thin mirror strips instead of parabolic mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto two tubes with working fluid. This has the advantage that flat mirrors can be used which are much cheaper than parabolic mirrors, and that more reflectors can be placed in the same amount of space, allowing more of the available sunlight to be used. Concentrating linear fresnel reflectors can be used in either large or more compact plants. A stirling solar dish, or dish engine system, consists of a stand-alone parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned at the reflector’s focal point. The reflector tracks the Sun along two axes. Parabolic dish systems give the highest efficiency among CSP technologies. The 50?kW Big Dish in Canberra, Australia is an example of this technology. The stirling solar dish combines a parabolic concentrating dish with a stirling heat engine which normally drives an electric generator. The advantages of stirling solar over photovoltaic cells are higher efficiency of converting sunlight into electricity and longer lifetime. A solar power tower uses an array of tracking reflectors (heliostats) to concentrate light on a central receiver atop a tower. Power towers are more cost effective, offer higher efficiency and better energy storage capability among CSP technologies. The Solar Two in Barstow, California and the Planta Solar 10 in Sanlucar la Mayor, in which Spain are the representatives of such technology. Photovoltaics Main article: Photovoltaics ? ? 11 MW Serpa solar power plant in Portugal A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device that converts light into electric current using the photoelectric effect. The first solar cell was constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s. Although the prototype selenium cells converted less than 1% of incident light into electricity, both Ernst Werner von Siemens and James Clerk Maxwell recognized the importance of this discovery. Following the work of Russell Ohl in the 1940s, researchers Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin created the silicon solar cell in 1954 These early solar cells cost 286?USD/watt and reached efficiencies of 4. 5?6% Solar power has great potential, but in 2008 supplied less than 0. 02% of the world’s total energy supply. There are many competing technologies, including fourteen types of photovoltaic cells, such as thin film, monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, and amorphous cells, as well as multiple types of concentrating solar power. It is too early to know which technology will become dominant. The earliest significant application of solar cells was as a back-up power source to the Vanguard I satellite in 1958, which allowed it to continue transmitting for over a year after its chemical battery was exhausted. The successful operation of solar cells on this mission was duplicated in many other Soviet and American satellites, and by the late 1960s, PV had become the established source of power for them. Photovoltaics went on to play an essential part in the success of early commercial satellites such as Telstar, and they remain vital to the telecommunications infrastructure today. The high cost of solar cells limited terrestrial uses throughout the 1960s. This changed in the early 1970s when prices reached levels that made PV generation competitive in remote areas without grid access. Early terrestrial uses included powering telecommunication stations, off-shore oil rigs, navigational buoys and railroad crossings These off-grid applications accounted for over half of worldwide installed capacity until 2004. ? ? Building-integrated photovoltaics cover the roofs of an increasing number of homes. The 1973 oil crisis stimulated a rapid rise in the production of PV during the 1970s and early 1980s. Economies of scale which resulted from increasing production along with improvements in system performance brought the price of PV down from 100?USD/watt in 1971 to 7?USD/watt in 1985. [31] Steadily falling oil prices during the early 1980s led to a reduction in funding for photovoltaic R&D and a discontinuation of the tax credits associated with the Energy Tax Act of 1978. These factors moderated growth to approximately 15% per year from 1984 through 1996. Since the mid-1990s, leadership in the PV sector has shifted from the US to Japan and Europe. Between 1992 and 1994 Japan increased R&D funding, established net metering guidelines, and introduced a subsidy program to encourage the installation of residential PV systems. As a result, PV installations in the country climbed from 31. 2?MW in 1994 to 318?MW in 1999, and worldwide production growth increased to 30% in the late 1990s. Germany became the leading PV market worldwide since revising its Feed-in tariff system as part of the Renewable Energy Sources Act. Installed PV capacity has risen from 100?MW in 2000 to approximately 4,150?MW at the end of 2007. After 2007, Spain became the largest PV market after adopting a similar feed-in tariff structure in 2004, installing almost half of the photovoltaics (45%) in the world, in 2008, while France, Italy, South Korea and the U. S. have seen rapid growth recently due to various incentive programs and local market conditions. The power output of domestic photovoltaic devices is usually described in kilowatt-peak (kWp) units, as most are from 1 to 10 kW. Concentrating photovoltaics are another new method of electricity generation from the sun. Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) systems employ sunlight concentrated onto photovoltaic surfaces for the purpose of electrical power production. Solar concentrators of all varieties may be used, and these are often mounted on a solar tracker in order to keep the focal point upon the cell as the Sun moves across the sky. Tracking is not required for concentrations of less than 2 to 5, but does increase flat panel photovoltaic output by up to 20% in winter, and up to 50% in summer. solar power Experimental This consists of: Solar updraft tower, Thermogenerator, Concentrating photovoltaics, and Space-based solar power ? ? Concentrating photovoltaics in Catalonia, Spain. A solar updraft tower (also known as a solar chimney or solar tower) consists of a large greenhouse that funnels into a central tower. As sunlight shines on the greenhouse, the air inside is heated, and expands. The expanding air flows toward the central tower, where a turbine converts the air flow into electricity. A 50?kW prototype was constructed in Ciudad Real, Spain and operated for eight years before decommissioning in 1989. Thermoelectric, or “thermovoltaic” devices convert a temperature difference between dissimilar materials into an electric current. First proposed as a method to store solar energy by solar pioneer Mouchout in the 1800s, thermoelectrics reemerged in the Soviet Union during the 1930s. Under the direction of Soviet scientist Abram Ioffe a concentrating system was used to thermoelectrically generate power for a 1?hp engine. Thermogenerators were later used in the US space program as an energy conversion technology for powering deep space missions such as Cassini, Galileo and Viking. Research in this area is focused on raising the efficiency of these devices from 7?8% to 15?20%. Finally, Space-based solar power is a theoretical design for the collection of solar power in space, for use on Earth. SBSP differs from the usual method of solar power collection in that the solar panels used to collect the energy would reside on a satellite in orbit, often referred to as a solar power satellite (SPS), rather than on Earth’s surface. In space, collection of the Sun’s energy is unaffected by the day/night cycle, weather, seasons, or the filtering effect of Earth’s atmospheric gases. Average solar energy per unit area outside Earth’s atmosphere is on the order of ten times that available on Earth’s surface. However, there is no shortage of energy reaching the surface. The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the planet each year is about twice the amount of energy that will be obtained forever from coal, oil, natural gas, and mined Uranium, combined, even using ?http://latestnewscomm. blogspot. com

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Sun shines bright on Solar Energy Panel use

budianto — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:34:25 +0000

Here comes the sun, make the most of the renewable energy. This is a clean and environmentally sound means of gathering solar energy. Solar energy has been used since prehistoric times, but in a most primitive manner. In the coming years it is expected that millions of households in the world will be using solar energy as the trends. Solar energy collected through Do It Yourself solar panels could be used to meet the electricity requirements. Through Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) cells, solar radiation gets converted into DC electricity directly. This electricity could be either used as it is or can be stored in the battery. This stored electrical energy then can be used at night. SPV can be used for a number of applications such as domestic lighting, street lighting, village electrification, water pumping, desalination of salty water, powering of remote telecommunication repeater stations and railway signals. Solar energy or green electricity thus created could be used for Cooking/Heating, Drying/Timber seasoning, Distillation, Electricity/Power generation, Cooling, Refrigeration, Cold storage. Many small time farmers and rural people could benefit by building solar panels at home. This would help them in saving huge cost invested in purchasing readymade Solar Energy Panel. In agrarian country Solar Energy Panels come as a boon. Constructing Solar Energy Panel does not call for expert knowledge. Step-by-Step guides available in the market would provide end to end subject knowledge, about raw materials needed to build a solar energy panel and instruction on construction. They also suggest were the raw materials could be procured.

Home Made Energy – Learn about wind and solar energy www. renewableenergy4earth. com