Solar Energy & The World
Jennaca Guldenpfennig
What is Solar Energy?
“sources of energy that can be directly
attributed to the light of the sun or the
heat that sunlight generates.”
-Travis Bradford, Solar Revolution
Types of Solar Energy
• Photovoltaic (PV)-direct conversion of
energy given off by the sun into
electricity
• Thermal-use of the sun’s energy to heat
other mediums often used in the
generation of electricity
Photovoltaic (PV) Cells
• The technology of photovoltaics was not discovered until
the 20th century.
• Solar panels consist of solar cells which are composed of
semi-conductive material, often silicon or a silicon-blend.
• The sun’s light contains photons which hit the surface of
the panel causing electrons to shift from a positivelycharged layer to a negatively-charged layer.
• This movement of electrons creates an electrical current
which is converted from a direct current to an alternating
current by a converter box
Diagrams of How
Solar Panels Work
Solar Thermal
• The way solar thermal power plants work is by
harnessing the sun’s heat and light to superheat
water. This water is then converted into steam, which
powers a steam engine that generates thermal
electricity (Bradford 92).
• Solar thermal systems can be used to heat a house,
purify water, extract salt from ocean water by
evaporation, and many other useful applications.
• Not all solar thermal applications generate electricity;
in home applications, the sun’s heat is often
harnessed to heat water that is used in the heating of
the house.
Diagrams of a Few Solar Thermal
Applications
Passive Solar Thermal Applications
FREE Heat
History of Solar Energy
• Solar energy has been utilized since the
prehistoric ages.
• The modern technologies that we now
enjoy however, were only recently
discovered.
• Many civilizations throughout history
have harnessed the sun’s energy for a
variety of purposes.
Pioneer Inventors
• 1767: Swiss scientist Horace de
Saussare created first solar collector
used in refrigeration and locomotive
applications
• Late 1800s: William Adams developed
a solar cooker and boiler
• 1861: Augustin Mouchot invented a
solar steam engine
• 1891: Clarence Kemp patented the
first commercial solar water heater.
• 1954: Bell Labs unveiled the first
official PV cell
Interesting Solar
History Facts/Myths
• Mythical stories say Archimedes incinerated
Roman ships through the use of mirrors and the
sun.
• Leonardo Da Vinci designed a gigantic solar bowl
mirror for commercial use.
• President Carter, a big supporter of solar energy
research, had a solar water heater installed in the
white house.
• President Reagan ordered the removal of Carter’s
solar system and dramatically cut solar research
funds.
What’s Important About the
History?
• While solar energy has existed since the beginning
of civilization, the solar energy technologies we
now enjoy have only recently been discovered. It
is important to note, that solar energy has always
existed, and the fascination of the sun’s power
have led many scientists and researchers to
develop ways to harness this energy. When solar
energy has proper support and government
funding, major breakthroughs are possible and
inevitable in such a largely unknown field.
Energy Capability
• “the sun provides enough energy every hour to
meet world demand for a year”
• “in one hour, the sun provides more energy to the
earth than the world consumes in a year”
• “every day the sun beams down upon Earth
several thousand times as much energy as we use”
• These stats and figures all sound encouraging, but
what’s the catch? The catch is that we have yet to
discover a way to harness and store this energy
efficiently.
Future of Energy
• There are obvious advantages and
disadvantages with all energy resources,
and solar energy is no different.
• The energy source with advantages that far
outweigh its disadvantages or whose
disadvantages have the possibility of
disappearing or decreasing in importance
that will ultimately sustain us in the future.
A Few Advantages
• Solar energy is considered to be “free” (there is no
price for enjoying/harnessing the sun’s energy,
yet)
• The actual production of electricity from solar
technologies is non-polluting.
• Solar energy, unlike the fossil fuels we rely on
today, is renewable.
• The ability to supply remote areas with electricity.
Advantages Continued
• Electricity bill savings and in some areas even
profit from selling excess electricity back to the
energy companies.
• Initial investment pays off after a few years, and
the energy you enjoy is “free”.
• Cost-effective in remote areas (i.e. rugged
terrain or mountainous regions).
• Easy, rooftop installation and the generation of
electricity is quiet in comparison to other
renewables.
Disadvantages
• Initial start-up cost is expensive (from $10,000$50,000 or higher).
• Harsh/cloudy weather can effect the efficiency of
your solar energy system.
• When the sun is not shining, consumers must rely
on traditional energy from the grid, or rely on
batteries that are charged by solar energy during
the day (inefficient storage techniques).
Solar Energy Across the Globe
• More and more developed countries are
researching alternative energy sources, and as
more large, developing nations industrialize, the
need for alternatives to fossil fuels accelerates.
• The world supply of oil is nearing empty, so we
are all in the same situation.
• There has been a dramatic increase in solar energy
demand, cost and installation across the globe.
• 2003, 2004-Europe’s PV market saw a 50%
annual increase in domestic production.
Germany
• 100,000 solar roofs program
– 50 eurocent/kWh feed-in tariff
• Use various subsidies to boost domestic solar
industry
• Accounts for 80% of the PV installs in
Europe
• Phasing out coal and nuclear power plants
– Last German nuclear power plant set to close near
2020
Cloudy Germany is
the leader in solar
energy in Europe.
Japan
• Largest PV market
• Government 70,000 Roofs Program 19962005
– Offered subsidy that cut the cost of grid-tied PV
installations in half.
– Program ended once PV was able to compete
with conventional electricity costs
• PV manufacturers have expanded production
and increased their exports.
Japan has created a growing
solar energy industry.
Sharp, Kyocera, Mitsubishi and Sanyo
are among the top ten world solar-cell
producers as of 2004.
United States
• Subsidies for photovoltaics left
to state governments traditionally.
• U.S. was leader in PV capacity installation up until
1998.
• Rebates the main incentive in some states.
• 2005-Washington state employed a feed-in tariff
similar to those in Europe.
• California regulations only allow you to break even
when sending energy back through the grid, cannot
make a profit like countries in Europe.
U.S. Electricity vs. PV Electricity
California Solar Energy Over
Time
Over time, solar energy will become a more affordable and
viable energy resource. Over the past decade, the leader in
U.S. solar energy efforts, California has seen a boom in solar
photovoltaic production, installation, and an increase in new
solar energy companies manufacturing components or
specializing in installation.
http://solar.coolerplanet.com/Content/
california-solar-history.aspx
Germany, Japan, and the U.S.
• The major component that separates
the top three solar energy countries is
government funding. The U.S.
government is starting to step up its
research funding and solar
incentives, even if for the wrong
reasons. Japan and Germany solar
industries have accelerated due
mostly to government subsidies and
other incentives aimed at building
and sustaining a solar industry.
Solar Energy In the News
• Triumph International Japan, in an effort to promote
environmental awareness, created the solar bra (left) in hopes of
getting people to think more about our energy future.
• Another interesting solar current event involves PG&E,
California, and space.
• Solaren Corp, a California-based firm, hopes to launch a
satellite built with solar panels into space and convert the nearconstant energy supply from the sun into radio waves which
will be sent back down to Fresno where antennae will collect
the energy to be converted into electricity to be fed into the grid.
• PG&E has agreed to buy up this electricity from Solaren.
• This new concept of harnessing the sun’s energy in space to be
converted into electricity down on earth is capable of solving
the intermittency solar energy technologies on Earth now face.
Sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/16/solarpower-spacetechnology
http://eastwindupchronicle.com/finally-the-solar-power-bra/
The Solution
• The need for a cheap and reliable source of energy
is here, and solar energy’s relatively large area for
research and role throughout history make it a
fitting candidate for the world’s energy future.
• Solar energy has the greatest capacity for electricity
generation and a great capacity for growth and
development.
• Solar energy lacks only the research necessary to
sustain the world’s energy demands. Increased
research and government incentives will lower cost
and increase efficiency.
• The age of cheap, dirty oil has long passed us by.
We must remember…
"The kind of thinking that has gotten us
into this situation is not the kind of
thinking that will get us out of it."
-Albert Einstein
“I'd put my money on the sun and
solar energy. What a source of
power! I hope we don't have to wait
'til oil and coal run out before we
tackle that.”
Thomas Edison (1847–1931)