Solar+Technology

Solar Technology Jason Kitzmiller TEM 194 Spring 2012

Many organisms harness the suns power and turn it into energy, which makes sunlight one of the world oldest energy sources. It also makes sunlight one of the most abundant energy sources on the plant too. That is during the day, sunlight is everywhere. Solar Power generation happens when the suns energy is converted in useable power. The two most common ways sunlight is turned into energy is directly through Photovoltaic (PV) or indirectly through Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). Photovoltaic is when sunlight radiation is turned directly into electrical current. This is done when semiconductors transform sunlight into electricity through the photoelectric process. The second form of solar power is when electricity is created from sunlight indirectly. This is normally done through Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) or Concentrated Solar Thermal power. The process takes a large area of solar energy and focuses it on a concentrated area. This area then normally produces energy through heat or steam that allows turbines engines to turn. When the turbines spin, they produce electricity.
 * Introduction to Solar**

Many scientists throughout history have been fascinated with the sun’s energy. Whether it was trying to create heat in houses during the winter or to create fires by harnessing the sun’s light through magnification, humans have been fascinated by the suns energy for thousands of years. But many count the first solar event as 1890, when French scientist Henry Becquerel observed the production of electricity through the photovoltaic effect. After this date many other inventors started developing solar products and technologies which lead to the building of the first solar powered office building in 1950 to use solar power for interior heat, designed by Architect Frank Bridge in Albuquerque New Mexico. In 1954, Bell Labs then created the first Photovoltaic Cells (PV) capable of creating enough energy to run electrical equipment. In 2005 the global production of PV cells reached 1,256 Megawatts and in 2010 it reached almost 25 GWp.
 * History**

Global PV power Generation grew from 5.4 GWp in 2005 to 67.4 GWp in 2011. Although the production and installation of solar technologies has dramatically expanded over the last 10 years, the total effects of the global energy markets are still relatively small. In 2011, the consumption of power generated by solar power represented less than .005% of all the power consumed in the world. Looking forward, Solar Power has plenty of room for growth.

In order for Solar to compete with traditional power and become a main stream produce, it needs to become a cost effective solution for the end user. In order for that to happen today, many governments are forced to subsidize the industry to help with the initial cost of buying a solar system. Without government subsidize, the solar industry would have a difficult time competing on price with traditional power sources. Today power can be delivered by traditional power sources for as little as .03 to .05 per kWh, for on grid applications. That compares to Solar PV costs in the best locations of around .20 to .25 per kWh. Although there is still a large price difference between solar power and traditional power, the prices have become much closer in recent years. There is also the cost of installing a solar systems and the payback period for the installation costs.
 * Economics**

One of the largest contributors to the expansion of solar power is the development of new cost effective and more effect solar products. In recent years the efficiency of solar technology has grown dramatically and on Febuary 1, 2012, North Carolina’s Semprius Inc, has announced a new technology for solar power where the prototype converts 33.9% of the sun’s rays into electricity. Traditional PV solar cells only convert around 16% of the suns energy into electricity. In a study by Forbes.com on 12/28/2011 they rated the efficiency of the top 10 solar producers in the industry.
 * Upcoming trends Technologies**

Module efficiency: 16.00% Module efficiency: 15.70% Module efficiency: 15.67% Module efficiency: 15.63% Module efficiency: 15.54% Module efficiency: 15.50% Module efficiency: 15.40% Module efficiency: 15.30% Module efficiency: 15.29% Module efficiency: 15.24%
 * 1) 1 – [|Solland Solar]
 * 1) 2 – [|Siliken]
 * 1) 3 – [|LDK Solar]
 * 1) 4 – [|Vikram]
 * 1) 5 – [|Wiosun]
 * 1) 6 – [|A2peak]
 * 1) 7 – [|CNPV Solar]
 * 1) 8 – [|Latitude Solar]
 * 1) 9 – [|JA Solar]
 * 1) 10 – [|China Sunergy]

16% efficiency from Solland Solar was the highest. If the industry is about to raise the efficiency of solar cells by double, it would mean that solar cells would be able to produce more electricity per square foot or per hours of sunlight. That would might that users of solar power would be able to buy smaller systems or that they would be able to generate larger amounts of electricity during short sunlight exposure.

If that is the case, the cost of solar power should drop by more than half. If that trend continues, solar power with become even more competitive to traditional power sources. Allowing it to take a greater market share in the future.