Solar

Solar Basics

Energy from the sun

The sun has produced energy for billions of years and is the ultimate source for all of the energy sources and fuels that we use today. People have used the sun's rays (solar radiation) for thousands of years for warmth and to dry meat, fruit, and grains. Over time, people developed devices (technologies) to collect solar energy for heat and to convert it into electricity.

Collecting and using solar thermal (heat) energy

An example of an early solar energy collection device is the solar oven (a box for collecting and absorbing sunlight). In the 1830's, British astronomer John Herschel used a solar oven to cook food during an expedition to Africa. People now use many different technologies for collecting and converting solar radiation into useful heat energy for a variety of purposes.

We use solar thermal energy systems to

• heat water for use in homes, buildings, or swimming pools
• heat the inside of homes, greenhouses, and other buildings
• heat fluids to high temperatures in solar thermal power plants

Solar photovoltaic systems convert sunlight into electricity

Solar photovoltaic (PV) devices, or solar cells, change sunlight directly into electricity. Small PV cells can power calculators, watches, and other small electronic devices. Arrangements of many solar cells in PV panels and arrangements of multiple PV panels in PV arrays can produce electricity for an entire house. Some PV power plants have large arrays that cover many acres to produce electricity for thousands of homes.

Solar energy has benefits and some limitations

The two main benefits of using solar energy are

• Solar energy systems do not produce air pollutants or carbon dioxide.
• Solar energy systems on buildings have minimal impact on the environment.

The main limitations of solar energy are

• The amount of sunlight that arrives at the earth's surface is not constant. The amount of sunlight varies depending on location, time of day, season of the year, and weather conditions.
• The amount of sunlight reaching a square foot of the earth's surface is relatively small, so a large surface area is necessary to absorb or collect a useful amount of energy.

Where Solar is Found

Solar energy is sunshine

The amount of solar energy that the earth receives each day is many times greater than the total amount of all energy that people consume. However, on the surface of the earth, solar energy is a variable and intermittent energy source. The amount of sunlight and the intensity of sunlight varies by time of day and location. Weather and climate conditions affect the availability of sunlight on a daily and seasonal basis. The type and size of a solar energy collection and conversion system determines how much of the available solar energy we can convert into useful energy.

Solar thermal collectors

Low-temperature solar thermal collectors absorb the sun's heat energy to heat water or to heat homes, offices, and other buildings.

Concentrating collectors

Concentrating solar energy technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that absorb solar energy and convert it to heat. We use this thermal energy for heating homes and buildings or to produce electricity with a steam turbine or a heat engine that drives a generator.

Photovoltaic systems

Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert sunlight directly into electricity. PV systems can range from systems that provide tiny amounts of electricity for watches and calculators to systems that provide the amount of electricity that hundreds of homes use.

Millions of houses and buildings around the world have PV systems on their roofs. Many multi-megawatt PV power plants have also been built. Covering 4% of the world's desert areas with photovoltaics could supply the equivalent of all of the world's daily electricity use.

Solar Photovoltaic

Photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity

A photovoltaic (PV) cell, commonly called a solar cell, is a nonmechanical device that converts sunlight directly into electricity. Some PV cells can convert artificial light into electricity.

Photons carry solar energy

Sunlight is composed of photons, or particles of solar energy. These photons contain varying amounts of energy that correspond to the different wavelengths of the solar spectrum.

A PV cell is made of semiconductor material. When photons strike a PV cell, they may reflect off the cell, pass through the cell, or be absorbed by the semiconductor material. Only the absorbed photons provide energy to generate electricity. When the semiconductor material absorbs enough sunlight (solar energy), electrons are dislodged from the material's atoms. Special treatment of the material surface during manufacturing makes the front surface of the cell more receptive to the dislodged, or free, electrons so the that the electrons naturally migrate to the surface of the cell.

The flow of electricity

The movement of electrons, each carrying a negative charge, toward the front surface of the cell creates an imbalance of electrical charge between the cell's front and back surfaces. This imbalance, in turn, creates a voltage potential like the negative and positive terminals of a battery. Electrical conductors on the cell absorb the electrons. When the conductors are connected in an electrical circuit to an external load, such as a battery, electricity flows in the circuit.

The efficiency of photovoltaic systems varies by the type of photovoltaic technology

The efficiency at which PV cells convert sunlight to electricity varies by the type of semiconductor material and PV cell technology. The efficiency of most commercially available PV modules ranges from 5% to 15%. Researchers around the world are trying to achieve higher efficiencies.

How photovoltaic systems operate

The PV cell is the basic building block of a PV system. Individual cells can vary in size from about 0.5 inches to about 4 inches across. However, one cell only produces 1 or 2 Watts, which is only enough electricity for small uses.

PV cells are electrically connected in a packaged, weather-tight PV module or panel. PV modules vary in size and in the amount of electricity they can produce. PV module electricity generating capacity increases with the number of cells in the module or in the surface area of the module. PV modules can be connected in groups to form a PV array. A PV array can be composed of two or hundreds of PV modules. The number of PV modules connected in a PV array determines the total amount of electricity that the array can generate.

Photovoltaic cells generate direct current (DC) electricity. This DC electricity can be used to charge batteries that, in turn, power devices that use direct current electricity. Nearly all electricity is supplied as alternating current (AC) in electricity transmission and distribution systems. Devices called inverters are used on PV modules or in arrays to convert the DC electricity to AC electricity.

PV cells and modules will produce the largest amount of electricity when they are directly facing the sun. PV modules and arrays can use tracking systems that move the modules to constantly face the sun, but these systems are expensive. Most PV systems have modules in a fixed position with the modules facing directly south (in the northern hemisphere—directly north in the southern hemisphere) and at an angle that optimizes the physical and economic performance of the system.

Applications of photovoltaic systems

The smallest photovoltaic systems power calculators and wrist watches. Larger systems can provide electricity to pump water, to power communications equipment, to supply electricity for a single home or business, or to form large arrays that supply electricity to thousands of electricity consumers.

Some advantages of PV systems are

• PV systems can supply electricity in locations where electricity distribution systems (power lines) do not exist, and they can also supply electricity to an electric power grid.
• PV arrays can be installed quickly and can be any size.
• The environmental impact of PV systems is minimal.

History of photovoltaics

The first practical PV cell was developed in 1954 by Bell Telephone researchers. Beginning in the late 1950s, PV cells were used to power U.S. space satellites. Then, they were widely used for small consumer electronics like calculators and watches. By the late 1970s, PV panels were providing electricity in remote or off-grid locations that did not have electric power lines. Since 2004, most of the PV panels installed in the United States have been in grid-connected systems on homes, buildings, and central-station power facilities. Technological advances, lower costs for PV systems, and various financial incentives and government policies have helped to greatly expand PV use since the mid-1990s. Hundreds of thousands of grid-connected PV systems are now installed in the United States.

Solar Thermal Power Plants

Solar thermal power systems use concentrated solar energy

Solar thermal power generation systems collect and concentrate sunlight to produce the high temperature heat needed to generate electricity. All solar thermal power systems have solar energy collectors with two main components: reflectors (mirrors) that capture and focus sunlight onto a receiver. In most types of systems, a heat-transfer fluid is heated and circulated in the receiver and used to produce steam. The steam is converted into mechanical energy in a turbine, which powers a generator to produce electricity. Solar thermal power systems have tracking systems that keep sunlight focused onto the receiver throughout the day as the sun changes position in the sky.

Solar thermal power systems may also have a thermal energy storage system component that allows the solar collector system to heat an energy storage system during the day, and the heat from the storage system is used to produce electricity in the evening or during cloudy weather. Solar thermal power plants may also be hybrid systems that use other fuels (usually natural gas) to supplement energy from the sun during periods of low solar radiation.

Types of concentrating solar thermal power plants

There are three main types of concentrating solar thermal power systems:

• Linear concentrating systems, which include parabolic troughs and linear Fresnel reflectors
• Solar power towers
• Solar dish/engine systems

Linear concentrating systems

Linear concentrating systems collect the sun's energy using long, rectangular, curved (U-shaped) mirrors. The mirrors focus sunlight onto receivers (tubes) that run the length of the mirrors. The concentrated sunlight heats a fluid flowing through the tubes. The fluid is sent to a heat exchanger to boil water in a conventional steam-turbine generator to produce electricity. There are two major types of linear concentrator systems: parabolic trough systems, where receiver tubes are positioned along the focal line of each parabolic mirror, and linear Fresnel reflector systems, where one receiver tube is positioned above several mirrors to allow the mirrors greater mobility in tracking the sun.

A linear concentrating collector power plant has a large number, or field, of collectors in parallel rows that are typically aligned in a north-south orientation to maximize solar energy collection. This configuration enables the mirrors to track the sun from east to west during the day and concentrate sunlight continuously onto the receiver tubes.

Parabolic troughs

A parabolic trough collector has a long parabolic-shaped reflector that focuses the sun's rays on a receiver pipe located at the focus of the parabola. The collector tilts with the sun to keep sunlight focused on the receiver as the sun moves from east to west during the day.

Because of its parabolic shape, a trough can focus the sunlight from 30 times to 100 times its normal intensity (concentration ratio) on the receiver pipe, located along the focal line of the trough, achieving operating temperatures higher than 750°F.

Parabolic trough linear concentrating systems are used in the longest operating solar thermal power facility in the world, the Solar Energy Generating System (SEGS), which has nine separate plants and is located in the Mojave Desert in California. The first plant, SEGS 1, has operated since 1984, and the last SEGS plant that was built, SEGS IX, began operation in 1990. With a combined electricity generation capacity of 354 megawatts (MW), the SEGS facility is one of the largest solar thermal electric power plants in the world.

In addition to the SEGS, many other parabolic trough solar power projects operate in the United States and around the world. The three largest projects in the United States after SEGS are

• Mojave Solar Project: a 280 MW project in Barstow, California
• Solana Generating Station: a 280 MW project in Gila Bend, Arizona
• Genesis Solar Energy Project: a 250 MW project in Blythe, California

Linear Fresnel reflectors

Linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) systems are similar to parabolic trough systems in that mirrors (reflectors) concentrate sunlight onto a receiver located above the mirrors. These reflectors use the Fresnel lens effect, which allows for a concentrating mirror with a large aperture and short focal length. These systems are capable of concentrating the sun's energy to approximately 30 times its normal intensity. The only operating linear Fresnel reflector system in the United States is a compact linear Fresnel reflector (CLFR)—also referred to as a concentrating linear Fresnel reflector—a type of LFR technology that has multiple absorbers within the vicinity of the mirrors. Multiple receivers allow the mirrors to change their inclination to minimize how much they block adjacent reflectors' access to sunlight. This positioning improves system efficiency and reduces material requirements and costs.

Solar power towers

A solar power tower system uses a large field of flat, sun-tracking mirrors called heliostats to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver on the top of a tower. Sunlight can be concentrated as much as 1,500 times. Some power towers use water as the heat-transfer fluid. Advanced designs are experimenting with molten nitrate salt because of its superior heat transfer and energy storage capabilities. The thermal energy-storage capability allows the system to produce electricity during cloudy weather or at night.

The U.S. Department of Energy, along with several electric utilities, built and operated the first demonstration solar power tower near Barstow, California, during the 1980s and 1990s. Three solar power tower projects now operate in the United States:Learn more about the history of solar power in the Solar Timeline.

• Ivanpah Solar Power Facility: a 392 MW project located in Ivanpah Dry Lake, California
• Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project: a 110 MW project located in Nevada
• Sierra Sun Tower: a 5 MW two-tower project located in the Mojave Desert in southern California

Solar dish/engines

Solar dish/engine systems use a mirrored dish similar to a very large satellite dish. To reduce costs, the mirrored dish is usually composed of many smaller flat mirrors formed into a dish shape. The dish-shaped surface directs and concentrates sunlight onto a thermal receiver, which absorbs and collects the heat and transfers it to an engine generator. The most common type of heat engine used in dish/engine systems is the Stirling engine. This system uses the fluid heated by the receiver to move pistons and create mechanical power. The mechanical power runs a generator or alternator to produce electricity.

Solar dish/engine systems always point straight at the sun and concentrate the solar energy at the focal point of the dish. A solar dish's concentration ratio is much higher than linear concentrating systems, and it has a working fluid temperature higher than 1,380°F. The power-generating equipment used with a solar dish can be mounted at the focal point of the dish, making it well suited for remote locations, or the energy may be collected from a number of installations and converted into electricity at a central point.

The U.S. Army is developing a 1.5 MW system at the Tooele Army Depot in Utah with 429 Stirling engine solar dishes. The system is scheduled to be fully operational in 2017.

Solar Thermal Collectors

Heating with the sun's energy

People use solar thermal energy to heat water and air. The two general types of solar heating systems are passive systems and active systems.

Passive solar space heating happens when the sun shines through the windows of a building and warms the interior. Building designs that optimize passive solar heating usually have south-facing windows that allow the sun to shine on solar heat-absorbing walls or floors during the winter. The solar energy heats the building by natural radiation and convection. Window overhangs or shades block the sun from entering the windows during the summer to keep the building cool.

Active solar heating systems use a collector and a fluid that absorbs solar radiation. Fans or pumps circulate air or heat-absorbing liquids through collectors and then transfer the heated fluid directly to a room or to a heat storage system. Active water heating systems usually have a tank for storing solar heated water.

Solar collectors are either nonconcentrating or concentrating

Nonconcentrating collectors—The collector area (the area that intercepts the solar radiation) is the same as the absorber area (the area absorbing the radiation). Flat-plate collectors are the most common type of nonconcentrating collectors and are used when temperatures lower than 200°F are sufficient. Solar systems for heating water or air usually have nonconcentrating collectors.

Flat-plate solar collectors have four main components:

• A flat-plate absorber that intercepts and absorbs the solar energy
• A transparent cover that allows solar energy to pass through but reduces heat loss from the absorber
• A heat-transport fluid (air or liquid) flowing through tubes to remove heat from the absorber
• A layer of insulation on the back of the absorber

Concentrating collectors—The area intercepting the solar radiation is greater, sometimes hundreds of times greater, than the absorber area. The collector focuses or concentrates solar energy onto an absorber. The collector usually moves so that it maintains a high degree of concentration on the absorber. Solar thermal power plants use concentrating solar collector systems because they can produce high temperature heat.

Solar Energy & the Environment

Solar energy does not produce air or water pollution or greenhouse gases. However, using solar energy may have some indirect negative impacts on the environment. For example, some toxic materials and chemicals are used to make the photovoltaic (PV) cells that convert sunlight into electricity. Some solar thermal systems use potentially hazardous fluids to transfer heat. U.S. environmental laws regulate the use and disposal of these types of materials.

As with any type of power plant, large solar power plants can affect the environment near their locations. Clearing land for construction and the placement of the power plant may have long-term affects on habitat areas for native plants and animals. Some solar power plants may require water for cleaning solar collectors and concentrators or for cooling turbine generators. Using large volumes of ground water or surface water in some arid locations may affect the ecosystems that depend on these water resources. In addition, the beam of sunlight a solar power tower creates can kill birds and insects that fly into the beam.