Solar technology is constantly evolving. It is clear now that for the near future, it is the the most viable method to generate clean, renewable energy.
Billions of dollars in investments go into scientific research of solar technologies. Still,almost all commercial and residential systems use one of 3 technologies: Thin-film P.V. (Photovoltaic) , Silicon P.V., and concentrating solar.The two P.V. technologies compete against each other as a solution for residential customers, while P.V. solar panels and concentrating solar compete for large scale, commercial installations.
Photovoltaic - Silicon
The first P.V. panels built from solar cells technology used silicon to generate electricity. When light from thesun hits a silicon atom inside the cell, an electron is emitted (photoelectric effect) . When enough sunlight hits enough silicon atoms, an electric current is generated. Today, most installed solar panels use Silicon to generate electricity.
The problem with Silicon is that it is expansive. It isthe same Silicon used in modern computer CPUs. Additionally, manufacturing processes arehighly complicated and expansive. Silicon is not very effective in converting sunlight to electricity - only about15% of sunlight is converted.
Photovoltaic - Thin film
As P.V. solar panels gained popularity, it wasclear that using Silicon as thesubstrate might limit widespread adoption of solar technology, due to the highcosts of Silicon and the panels' production. The solution - thin film cells.
Thin film cells operate the same way as their silicon counterparts(the photoelectric effect), but their manufacturing process is cheaper, and the materials used in the process(glass, stainless still, glass) are much cheaper than Silicon.
The tradeoff for the price advantages over Silicon based P.V.is efficiency - only about 10%.
Concentrating solar
The most intriguing, and some argue, the most viable technology in use today is concentrating solar. Concentrating solar plants can generate enough energy to power tens of thousands of homes. These huge solar fields are made of thousands of mirrors, who concentrate sun light onto a fluid. That fluid heats up, generating steam, which is than converted into electricity using a steam turbine.
These plants are usually built in desert areas, where sunlight is abundant. Building these plants can costbillionsof dollars, but they have one amazing characteristics: their efficiency in converting sunlight to electricity canbe as high as60% (as oppose to 10-15% for P.V. technology).
There are many variations of the 3 technologies presented here, and as more research becomes production, the prices of solar energy system will drop, while efficiency will rise.
Joseph H. Ben is the founder of ThetaNoon - the global solar energy systems directory,available at : http://thetanoon.appspot.com/ Thetanoon provides anyone interested in solar energy unique insight into real world solar energy systems - solar panels, water heaters and other technology. Each system in the directory is monitored and electricity output and CO2 savings are estimated.Users' experience, images and location related information make ThetaNoon the best resource on the net for anyone investing into solar technology. To learn more about real-world solar systems, visit: http://thetanoon.appspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment