Solar Power Generation
By Paul Breeze
()
About this ebook
Solar Power Generation is a concise, up-to-date, and readable guide providing an introduction to the leading renewable power generation technology. It includes detailed descriptions of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal generation systems, and demystifies the relevant solar energy technology functions in practice while also exploring economic and environmental risk factors. Engineers, managers, policymakers, and those involved in planning and delivering energy resources will find this reference a valuable guide to help establish a reliable power supply to address social and economic objectives.
- Focuses on the evolution and developments in solar energy generation
- Evaluates the economic and environmental viability of the systems with concise diagrams and accessible explanations
- Demystifies the relevant solar energy technology functions in practice
- Explores economic and environmental risk factors
Paul Breeze
Paul Breeze is a journalist and freelance science and technology writer and consultant in the United Kingdom. He has specialised in power generation technology for the past 30 years. In addition to writing Power Generation Technologies, Second Edition, he has contributed to journals and newspapers such as The Financial Times and The Economist and has written a range of technical management reports covering all the aspects of power generation, transmission and distribution.
Read more from Paul Breeze
Hydropower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Combined Heat and Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gas-Turbine Power Generation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Power System Energy Storage Technologies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWind Power Generation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fuel Cells Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPiston Engine-Based Power Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Energy from Waste Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cost of Electricity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPower Generation Technologies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Coal-Fired Generation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElectricity Generation and the Environment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNuclear Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Renewable Energy Focus e-Mega Handbook Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Solar Power Generation
Related ebooks
Solar Energy Engineering: Processes and Systems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Energy Systems: With Special Focus on Photovoltaic Systems Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Power Generation Technologies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Renewable Energy System Design Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Fundamentals of Renewable Energy Processes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Engineering Energy Storage Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Designing of a PV/Wind/Diesel Hybrid Energy System Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Renewable Energy: Physics, Engineering, Environmental Impacts, Economics and Planning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Standalone Photovoltaic (PV) Systems for Disaster Relief and Remote Areas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRenewable Energy Focus e-Mega Handbook Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Integration of Distributed Energy Resources in Power Systems: Implementation, Operation and Control Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solar Photovoltaic Cells: Photons to Electricity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDecoding the Installation of Solar Panels: 1st Edition: How to Create and Calculate Your Photovoltaic Systems for Any Application Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsValuing Wind Generation on Integrated Power Systems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solar Power for Sustainable Living: What to Consider Before Going the Do It Yourself Solar Route Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Power from the Sun: Achieving Energy Independence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Solar Hybrid Systems: Design and Application Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSustainable Power Generation: Current Status, Future Challenges, and Perspectives Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSubmerged and Floating Photovoltaic Systems: Modelling, Design and Case Studies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRenewable energy conversion systems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cost of Electricity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRenewable Energy Sources - Wind, Solar and Hydro Energy Edition : Environment Books for Kids | Children's Environment Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElectricity Generation and the Environment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFloating PV Plants Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFundamentals of Wind Farm Aerodynamic Layout Design Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSolar Photovoltaic Technology Production: Potential Environmental Impacts and Implications for Governance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Power Resources For You
Handbook on Battery Energy Storage System Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Surface Process, Transportation, and Storage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElectric Motors and Drives: Fundamentals, Types and Applications Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Electronics All-in-One For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Homeowner's DIY Guide to Electrical Wiring Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Electric Motor Control: DC, AC, and BLDC Motors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Solar Power Demystified: The Beginners Guide To Solar Power, Energy Independence And Lower Bills Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Distribution of Electrical Power: Lecture Notes of Distribution of Electrical Power Course Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDIY Lithium Battery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Off Grid Solar: A handbook for Photovoltaics with Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion batteries Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ultimate Solar Power Design Guide Less Theory More Practice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Photovoltaic Design and Installation For Dummies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5DIY Free Home Energy Solutions: How to Design and Build Your own Domestic Free Energy Solution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Do Electric Motors Work? Physics Books for Kids | Children's Physics Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSolar Power Your Home For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Electric Vehicle Battery Systems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorld Film Locations: Las Vegas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSolar Electricity Basics: Powering Your Home or Office with Solar Energy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Energy: A Beginner's Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Geo Power: Stay Warm, Keep Cool and Save Money with Geothermal Heating & Cooling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Big Switch: Australia’s Electric Future Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Distribution of Electrical Power: Lecture Notes of Distribution of Electric Power Course Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTemporary Stages II: Critically Oriented Drama Education Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Reflexive Teaching Artist: Collected Wisdom from the Drama/Theatre Field Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmergency Preparedness and Off-Grid Communication Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnergy: A Human History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thermal Solar Desalination: Methods and Systems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOperational Amplifier Circuits: Analysis and Design Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Oil: A Beginner's Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Solar Power Generation
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Solar Power Generation - Paul Breeze
India
Chapter 1
An Introduction to Solar Power
Abstract
Solar power is the Earth’s most important source of energy. It is responsible for the biomass on the Earth and the fossil fuels within it, as well for driving the weather systems responsible for rain and wind. The Sun can be used to generate electricity in two ways, either by using its heat as a heat source, or by utilizing its light in a solar cell. Solar power is an intermittent source of energy and cannot alone provide a continuous source of electrical power. The development of both solar cells and solar thermal power generation can be traced back to the 19th century. At the end of 2014 there were close to 180 GW of solar generating capacity around the world.
Keywords
Solar energy; solar cells; solar thermal power generation; global solar capacity; history of solar power
Solar power is the most important energy resource for life on Earth. The energy in sunlight has driven the evolution of life upon our planet from the earliest tiny organisms through to the plants that have provided food for higher organisms, and eventually for the human race. As a consequence, solar energy is responsible for many of our common energy sources. All the biomass upon the Earth has been created using energy from the Sun to drive photosynthesis, capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and using it to produce organic compounds. The resulting material includes both biomass growing on the Earth today and the fossil fuels that are the remains of ancient biomass buried within the Earth over time, fuels that are now being burned to generate electricity and release the captured carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere.
From the perspective of energy sources, the importance of solar energy is wider still. Sunlight is the heat source that drives the Earth’s weather systems. It evaporates the water that generates rainfall, and is therefore responsible for hydropower. The Sun also provides most of the energy that drives the global winds, so it is responsible for wind power. Wave power, a product of the Earth’s winds, is indirectly a product of solar power too, as is ocean thermal power. In fact, with the exceptions of nuclear, tidal, and geothermal power, all the major sources of electricity on Earth can be directly or indirectly linked back to the Sun.
While solar energy is responsible for all these exploitable forms of energy, sunlight can also be utilized directly to generate electricity. This can be carried out in two ways. The conceptually simplest method is to use the heat energy contained in solar radiation as a heat source, collecting the Sun’s rays and capturing the heat so that it can be used to drive a heat engine such as a steam or gas turbine. This type of power generation has a long history, and today solar thermal power stations are being built in many parts of the world. The second important way of exploiting solar energy to produce electricity is in a solar or photovoltaic cell. The latter is a solid-state device, closely related to the transistor or microchip, that can absorb sunlight and turn the absorbed light energy into electrical energy. Solar cells use a different part of the solar spectrum from solar thermal power stations, relying on higher energy and shorter wavelength radiation, whereas solar thermal plants use longer wavelength infrared and near-infrared light.
The commercial use of solar energy to generate electricity took off slowly during the last three decades of the 20th century. The main stimuli for the development of both solar thermal and solar photovoltaic technologies were the oil crises of the 1970s. Solar cells soon found a use in applications such as powering satellites and providing remote power. Then a number of nations began funding solar rooftop installation programs, beginning in the early 1990s, to promote the use of solar cells although the cost remained high until the first decade of the 21st century. Since then costs have fallen dramatically and solar cells are becoming cost-effective in a much wider range of applications. For the future, solar cells potentially offer the most cost-effective and simple power-generating technology for providing renewable electric power.
Solar thermal technology has developed much more slowly than solar cells. After an initial burst of activity during the late 1980s and early 1990s, commercial application of the technology was virtually abandoned until the first decade of the 21st century. A number of commercial power plants have since been built but costs still remain relatively high. In spite of that, solar thermal technology has the potential to make an important contribution to global energy production.
The Sun provides an intermittent source of energy at any fixed point on the Earth’s surface because it is only available during daylight hours. In addition, the intensity of solar radiation varies with both time of day and atmospheric conditions. As a consequence, solar energy cannot on its own provide a continuous source of electrical power. For small or off-grid applications, solar cells can be backed up with a battery energy storage system that is charged during the day to provide power during hours of darkness. For larger and grid-based solar generation, there is normally an alternative generator available to provide power when solar power is not available.
The amount of electricity generated by solar sources is still relatively small. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar photovoltaic systems generated around 0.85% of global generation in 2013. This was expected to rise to around 1% in 2014. Solar thermal power plants generate about 3% of the amount produced by solar cells, or a further 0.03% of global generation.
The History of Solar Power
The exploitation of solar thermal energy can be traced back at least 29 centuries to the 7th century BC when the use of magnifying glasses was first recorded. This was followed in the 3rd century BC by the use of mirrors to concentrate the rays of the Sun, using the heat generated to light torches, often for religious ceremonies. The Greek scientist Archimedes is reputed, around 214–212 BC, to have used giant mirrors to focus light on the ships of Roman invaders who were attacking his home city of Syracuse in Sicily, apparently setting the wooden vessels on fire. There is no documented proof, but the experiment was recreated in the 1970s when a wood boat was set alight at 50 m. Meanwhile, throughout the last two millennia, architects and communities have used south-facing buildings to provide winter