General Outlook

Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar
energy to generate thermal or electrical energy for use in industry, and in the residential and
commercial sectors. The first installation of solar thermal energy equipment occurred in
the Sahara Desert approximately in 1910 when a steam engine was run on steam produced
by sunlight. Because liquid fuel engines were developed and found more convenient, the
Sahara project was abandoned, only to be revisited several decades later.
Solar thermal energy systems known as Concentrating Solar Thermal or CST systems
- are versatile, reliable and flexible. Solar thermal delivers power to meet peak electricity
demand, it can include thermal energy storage to deliver power day or night, it can be
coupled with other fuels such as gas and biomass for fully dispatch able electricity supply.
And solar thermal can also reduce coal consumption in coal-fired electricity plants, by
delivering solar generated steam to augment existing steam systems.
Solar thermal energy harnesses the suns heat to generate power. Reflectors concentrate
the suns energy onto a thermal receiver; a fluid (such as water, oil or molten salt) or a gas
passes through the receiver where the concentrated solar energy heats it to very high
temperatures from 350C to over 1,000C depending on the system. The fluid or gas is
referred to as a heat transfer medium HTF.
Where the HTF is a fluid, the fluid is used to boil water to create super-heated steam, which
in turn drives a highly efficient traditional steam turbine, the same as those used in coal-fired
power stations. Where the HTF is a gas, the turbine is like an aircraft jet engine, or the
turbines used in gas-fired power stations this is known as a Brayton cycle system.
There are four types of CST design:

Linear Fresnel design, which uses modular flat reflectors to focus the sun's heat onto
elevated receivers containing water; the concentrated sunlight boils the water in the tubes,
generating high-pressure steam for direct use in power generation and industrial steam
applications .

Central receiver or power tower design, where many individual heliostats (tracking
mirrors) reflect the sun onto a thermal receiver sitting at the top of a tower. Power towers
can drive Carnot (steam turbine) systems, or Brayton cycle (air turbine) systems.

Parabolic trough design, where a series of large dish-shaped troughs reflects the
suns rays onto an inline receiver tube running along the centre of the trough arrays. The
receiver tube can contain water, oil or molten salts, and drive a Carnot (steam turbine)
system.

Parabolic dish, which focuses the suns rays onto a thermal receiver or Stirling
engine located at the focal point of the parabola.

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Each has particular strengths and efficiencies which make it well-suited to particular
electricity generation or industrial steam applications.
Solar thermal energy is radiant light and heat. Each year the earth receives many times
more energy than all the people in the world can consume, and more than the total energy
reserves on earth. The sun irradiates 174 peta Watts or approx. 8,000 times more energy to
the Earth's surface than the total human need for energy. Approximately 30% of the solar
energy is reflected back into space while 70% is absorbed by clouds, oceans and land
surfaces. The solar irradiation through the atmosphere is 1400 W / m at maximum and the
solar energy at the Earth's surface depend on the location and number of hours with
sunshine in the form of clear weather without clouds, also named solar hours.
Solar thermal energy is also referred to as solar heating, thermal solar energy, solar energy
from solar collectors, energy from solar thermal energy systems or concentrated solar
thermal energy. When the sun shines on to a solar collector, the solar energy is converted
into heat. Both light and heat from the sun accumulates in the collector so that the
temperature increases and high temperatures can be transmitted as energy that you can
utilize. Solar radiation includes both light and heat. Unlike solar cells that use sunlight to
produce a voltage and electricity, solar collectors use an absorbent surface that can absorb
as much solar energy as possible. A portion of the visible sunlight is heat. That is, approx.
52% of the visible sunlight is radiation in the form of heat that a solar collector can utilize.
The bulk of the solar radiation is radiant energy waves that we do not see and which are
ultraviolet or infrared. Ultraviolet rays have little value to a solar collector because they
contain a very limited amount of energy in terms of heat. Infrared rays, however, is pure heat
and solar energy that we try to utilize the most efficient way possible, so that we accumulate
as much energy as possible while the energy loss in the collector is minimized. We use pure
water for the heat transfer because water has the highest heat capacity. This means, water
is the liquid that has the ability to receive the highest amount of energy in terms of volume
and temperature (except mercury). Water, for example, has almost 10 times the heat
capacity of steel and 5 times the heat capacity of sand. In addition to using pure water, our
collectors use a patented form of energy transformation where solar energy is accumulated
in the boundary layer adjacent to the water to be heated. This allows direct transfer of solar
energy to the water and the highest possible efficiency.
The consumption of non-renewable sources like oil, gas and coal is increasing at an
alarming rate. The time has finally come to look after some other renewable sources of
energy i.e. solar, wind and geothermal energy. Although many countries have started
utilizing solar energy extensively but still they have to go a long way to exploit this energy to
fulfill their daily demand for energy. Here are few facts on solar energy that can help you
assess the potential of solar energy to meet global requirements.Solar energy refers to
energy from the sun. The sun has produced energy for billions of years. It is the most
important source of energy for life forms.

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It is a renewable source of energy unlike non- renewable sources such as fossil fuels.
Solar energy technologies use the suns energy to light homes, produce hot water, heat
homes and electricity.
The main benefit of solar energy is that it does not produce any pollutants and is one of the
cleanest sources of energy. It is a renewable source of energy, requires low maintenance
and are easy to install. The only limitation that solar energy possess is that it cannot be used
at night and amount of sunlight that is received on earth is depends on location, time of day,
time of year, and weather conditions.

Solar energy is a completely free source of energy and it is found in abundance. Though the
sun is 90 million miles from the earth, it takes less than 10 minutes for light to travel from
that much of distance. Solar energy which comprises of radiant heat and light from the sun
can be harnessed with some modern technology like photo-voltaic, solar heating, artificial
photosynthesis, solar architecture and solar thermal electricity. The solar technology can be
distinguished into active and passive. Photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors which
harness solar energy are examples of active solar technology. Passive technology includes
constructing rooms to improve air circulation, orienting space to favorably use sunlight. The
earth gets 174 Petawatts of incoming solar radiation in the upper atmosphere. About 30% is
reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed by oceans, clouds and land masses. The
water cycle is an important result of solar insulation. The earth, oceans and atmosphere
absorb solar radiation and their temperature rises. Warm air rises from the oceans causing
convection. When this air rises to high altitudes, clouds are created by condensation of
water vapor. These clouds cause rains that bring water back to the earths surface which
completes the water cycle. Solar energy has also another use. By means of
photosynthesis, solar energy is converted by green plants into chemical energy which
creates the bio mass that makes up the fossil fuels.
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Horticulture and agriculture seek to make the maximum use of solar energy.
These include techniques like timing of planting cycles and mixing of plant varieties. Green
houses are also used to convert light into heat to promote year round cultivation of special
crops.
Solar powered hot water systems utilize solar energy to heat water. In certain areas, 60 to
70% of water used domestically for temperatures as high as 60 degree Celsius can be
made available by solar heating. Solar chimneys are passive solar ventilation systems.
Shafts connect the interior and exterior of the building. The functioning can be improved by
glazing and using thermal mass materials.
Solar energy can also be used for making potable, brackish or saline water. Without using
electricity or chemicals, waste water can be treated. Creating salt from sea water is also one
of the oldest uses of solar energy. Clothes can be dried in the sun using clothes lines, cloth
racks etc. Food can be cooked, dried or pasteurized using solar energy. Solar power is the
most exciting use of solar energy. It is how solar energy is converted into electricity by using
either photo-voltaic (direct method) or concentrated solar power (Indirect). Large beams of
sunlight are focused into a small beam using mirrors or lenses in the case of concentrated
solar power. Photoelectric effect is used by Photo voltaic to convert solar energy into electric
energy. Solar chemical processes replace fossil fuels as a source for chemical energy and
can make solar energy storable and transportable. Photosynthesis can create a variety of
fuels. Technology for producing Hydrogen is a major area of solar chemical research.
Thermal storage systems can store solar energy in the form of heat by using common
materials with high specific heat such as stone, earth and water. Solar energy can be stored
also in molten salts. The oil crisis of 1970 revealed the delicate nature of fossil fuels as a
source of energy for the world. As such research in alternative, renewable energy
technology like that of solar and wind energy gained momentum. Solar energy is being
recognized as the future of alternative energy sources as it is non polluting and helps
combat the Greenhouse effect on global climate created by use of fossils fuels. Common
domestic use of solar energy is from solar panels which absorb solar energy to use for
cooking and heating water. Solar energy produces no pollution, has no environmental
effects and is ecologically acceptable.
Solar energy is one of the most widely used renewable sources of energy. One can use
renewable energy technologies to convert solar energy into electricity.

Space missions by various countries use solar energy to power their spaceships. Solar
energy is very reliable source of energy. With new advancements in scientific researches,
solar energy could be more affordable in future with decreasing costs and increasing
efficiency. Solar energy could prove to be the major source of renewable energy because of
its massive potential and long-term advantages. The earth receives about 1,366 watts of
direct solar radiation per square meter. The largest solar power plant in the world is located
in the Mojave Desert in California, covering 1000 acres.
Solar energy is the preferred mode of creating power where the need is temporary. For e.g.:
temporary fairs, mining sites, Olympics. Solar energy can also be used to power calculators.
Solar panels are virtually maintenance free since the batteries require no water or other
regular service and will last for years. Once, solar panels are installed, there are no recurring
costs. Solar power can significantly reduce the electricity bills. Moreover, there are many tax
incentives and rebate programs designed to spur the use of solar, and save home owners
money at the same time. Solar power is noise pollution free. It has no moving parts, and
does not require any additional fuel, other than sunlight, to produce power. A home solar
panel system consists of several solar panels, an inverter, a battery, a charge regulator,
wiring, and support materials. Sunlight is absorbed by the solar panels and is converted to
electricity by the installed system. The battery stores electricity that can be used at a later
time, like cloudy days or during the evening. By relying on battery backup, solar energy can
even provide electricity 247, even on cloudy days and at night. Solar Energy is measured
in kilowatt-hour. 1 kilowatt = 1000 watts.
Though solar energy is used on a wide scale, it only provides a small fraction of the worlds
energy supply. Solar energy is used in many applications including Electricity, Evaporation,
Biomass, Heating water and buildings and even for transport. Large investment is one the
primary reason why solar energy is still not used by many people all over the world.
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Solar energy has been used for over 2700 years. In 700 BC, glass lenses were used to
make fire by magnifying the suns rays.
The sun is also the main source of non-renewable fossil fuels (coal, gas and petroleum)
which began life as plants and animals millions of years ago. Clouds and pollution prevent
the suns rays from reaching the earth.
Every year the sun beams to the earth energy to sustain global needs of energy for the
entire year. Solar energy is a technology used to convert solar energy into other forms like
electrical energy to meet global requirements. As of now only one tenth of global energy
needs is supplied by solar energy but the potential for the future is mind boggling.
Solar energy is a completely free source of energy and it is found in abundance. Though the
sun is 90 million miles from the earth, it takes less than 10 minutes for light to travel from
that much of distance. Solar energy which comprises of radiant heat and light from the sun
can be harnessed with some modern technology like photo-voltaic, solar heating, artificial
photosynthesis, solar architecture and solar thermal electricity.
Various Technology Employed (Equipment and Process)
Solar thermal technology uses the suns energy, rather than fossil fuels, to generate lowcost, environmentally friendly thermal energy. This energy is used to heat water or other
fluids, and can also power solar cooling systems. Solar thermal systems differ from solar
photovoltaic (PV) systems, which generate electricity rather than heat.
Solar thermal systems drive business value by providing:

Reduced Utility Bills: Businesses that require large quantities of hot water or other
fluids must pay for the fuel required to heat those fluids. Solar thermal systems use solar
energy to heat fluids, reducing utility bills by up to 70%.

Compliance with Sustainability Mandates: Many commercial building owners face

mandates requiring them to implement renewable energy technologies. Solar thermal
systems can help meet these requirements while also providing solid ROI.

Reduced Carbon Footprint: By utilizing solar energy instead of fossil fuels, solar
thermal systems reduce the amount of site-generated, carbon-based greenhouse gases a
business emits into the atmosphere.

How a Solar Water-Heating System Works

1. Solar thermal collectors (panels) on a roof, shade structure or other location absorb
solar energy.
2. Solar fluid circulated through the collectors by a low-energy pump delivers heat to
a water storage tank.
3. When users need hot water, the solar-heated water in the storage tank pre-feeds the
primary water-heating system.
4. When pre-fed with the solar hot water, the boiler or water heater is either not
activated, or activated for less time than if there were no solar hot water system.
5. Each month, building owners pay a lower bill for energy to heat water.

Solar Thermal System Types

Solar thermal technology comes in many shapes and sizes, and is used in a wide variety of
commercial applications. Commonly seen types of solar thermal systems include:
Domestic Hot Water Systems
These include active and passive glycol systems (both closed and open loop), as
well as drain back systems.
Swimming Pool Systems
There are closed loop glycol and drain back varieties
Space Heating System
Usually attached to a DHW system
Combi Systems
Combination of any of the above

Most techniques for generating electricity from heat need high temperatures to achieve
reasonable efficiencies. The output temperatures of non-concentrating solar collectors are
limited to temperatures below 200C. Therefore, concentrating systems must be used to
produce higher temperatures. Due to their high costs, lenses and burning glasses are not
usually used for large-scale power plants, and more cost-effective alternatives are used,
including reflecting concentrators.
The reflector, which concentrates the sunlight to a focal line or focal point, has a parabolic
shape; such a reflector must always be tracked. In general terms, a distinction can be made
between one-axis and two-axis tracking: one-axis tracking systems concentrate the sunlight
onto an absorber tube in the focal line, while two-axis tracking systems do so onto a
relatively small absorber surface near the focal point (see Figure 1).
7

FIGURE 1. Concentration of sunlight using (a) parabolic trough collector (b) linear
Fresnel collector (c) central receiver system with dish collector and (d) central
receiver system with distributed reflectors
The theoretical maximum concentration factor is 46,211. It is finite because the sun is not
really a point radiation source. The maximum theoretical concentration temperature that can
be achieved is the suns surface temperature of 5500C; if the concentration ratio is lower,
the maximum achievable temperature decreases. However, real systems do not reach these
theoretical maxima. This is because, on the one hand, it is not possible to build an
absolutely exact system, and on the other, the technical systems which transport heat to the
user also reduce the receiver temperatures. If the heat transfer process stops, though, the
receiver can reach critically high temperatures.
Parabolic Trough Power Plants
Parabolic trough power plants are the only type of solar thermal power plant technology with
existing commercial operating systems until 2008.
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In capacity terms, 354 MWe of electrical power are installed in California, and a plenty of
new plants are currently in the planning process in other locations.
The parabolic trough collector consists of large curved mirrors, which concentrate the
sunlight by a factor of 80 or more to a focal line. Parallel collectors build up a 300600 metre
long collector row, and a multitude of parallel rows form the solar collector field. The oneaxis tracked collectors follow the sun.
The collector field can also be formed from very long rows of parallel Fresnel collectors. In
the focal line of these is a metal absorber tube, which is usually embedded in an evacuated
glass tube that reduces heat losses. A special high-temperature, resistive selective coating
additionally reduces radiation heat losses.
In the Californian systems, thermo oil flows through the absorber tube. This tube heats up
the oil to nearly 400C, and a heat exchanger transfers the heat of the thermal oil to a water
steam cycle (also called Rankine cycle). A feedwater pump then puts the water under
pressure. Finally, an economizer, vaporizer and superheater together produce superheated
steam. This steam expands in a two-stage turbine; between the high-pressure and lowpressure parts of this turbine is a reheater, which heats the steam again. The turbine itself
drives an electrical generator that converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy; the
condenser behind the turbine condenses the steam back to water, which closes the cycle at
the feedwater pump.
It is also possible to produce superheated steam directly using solar collectors. This makes
the thermo oil unnecessary, and also reduces costs because the relatively expensive thermo
oil and the heat exchangers are no longer needed. However, direct solar steam generation
is still in the prototype stage.
Guaranteed Capacity
In contrast to photovoltaic systems, solar thermal power plants can guarantee capacity (see
Figure 2). During periods of bad weather or during the night, a parallel, fossil fuel burner can
produce steam; this parallel burner can also be fired by climate-compatible fuels such as
biomass, or hydrogen produced by renewable. With thermal storage, the solar thermal
power plant can also generate electricity even if there is no solar energy available.

FIGURE 2. Typical output of a solar thermal power plant with two-hour thermal
storage and backup heater to guarantee capacity
A proven form of storage system operates with two tanks. The storage medium for hightemperature heat storage is molten salt. The excess heat of the solar collector field heats up
the molten salt, which is pumped from the cold to the hot tank. If the solar collector field
cannot produce enough heat to drive the turbine, the molten salt is pumped back from the
hot to the cold tank, and heats up the heat transfer fluid. Figure 3 shows the principle of the
parabolic trough power plant with thermal storage.

FIGURE 3. Schematic of a concentrated solar thermal trough power

plant with thermal storage
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Trough Power Plant Efficiencies

The efficiency of a solar thermal power plant is the product of the collector efficiency, field
efficiency and steam-cycle efficiency. The collector efficiency depends on the angle of
incidence of the sunlight and the temperature in the absorber tube, and can reach values up
to 75%. Field losses are usually below 10%. Altogether, solar thermal trough power plants
can reach annual efficiencies of about 15%; the steam-cycle efficiency of about 35% has the
most significant influence. Central receiver systems such as solar thermal tower plants can
reach higher temperatures and therefore achieve higher efficiencies.
Solar Thermal Tower Power Plants
In solar thermal tower power plants, hundreds or even thousands of large two-axis tracked
mirrors are installed around a tower. These slightly curved mirrors are also called heliostats;
a computer calculates the ideal position for each of these, and a motor drive moves them
into the sun. The system must be very precise in order to ensure that sunlight is really
focused on the top of the tower. It is here that the absorber is located, and this is heated up
to temperatures of 1000C or more. Hot air or molten salt then transports the heat from the
absorber to a steam generator; superheated water steam is produced there, which drives a
turbine and electrical generator, as described above for the parabolic trough power plants.
Only two types of solar tower concepts will be described here in greater detail.
Open Volumetric Air Receiver Concept
The first type of solar tower is the open volumetric receiver concept (see Figure 4a). A
blower transports ambient air through the receiver, which is heated up by the reflected
sunlight. The receiver consists of wire mesh or ceramic or metallic materials in a honeycomb
structure, and air is drawn through this and heated up to temperatures between 650C and
850C. On the front side, cold, incoming air cools down the receiver surface. Therefore, the
volumetric structure produces the highest temperatures inside the receiver material,
reducing the heat radiation losses on the receiver surface. Next, the air reaches the heat
boiler, where steam is produced. A duct burner and thermal storage can also guarantee
capacity with this type of solar thermal power plant.
Pressurized Air Receiver Concept
The volumetric pressurized receiver concept (see Figure 4b) offers totally new opportunities
for solar thermal tower plants. A compressor pressurizes air to about 15 bar; a transparent
glass dome covers the receiver and separates the absorber from the environment. Inside
the pressurized receiver, the air is heated to temperatures of up to 1100C, and the hot air
drives a gas turbine.

11

This turbine is connected to the compressor and a generator that produces electricity.
The waste heat of the gas turbine goes to a heat boiler and in addition to this drives a
steam-cycle process. The combined gas and steam turbine process can reach efficiencies
of over 50%, whereas the efficiency of a simple steam turbine cycle is only 35%. Therefore,
solar system efficiencies of over 20% are possible.

FIGURE 4. Schematic of two types of solar thermal tower power plant, showing (a) an
open volumetric receiver with steam turbine cycle and (b) a pressurized receiver with
combined gas and steam turbine cycle
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Comparing Trough and Tower

In contrast to the parabolic trough power plants, no commercial tower power plant exists at
present. However, prototype systems in Almera, Spain, in Barstow, California, US, and in
Rehovot, Israel have proven the functionality of various tower power plant concepts.
The minimum size of parabolic trough and solar tower power plants is in the range of 10
MWe. Below this capacity, installation and O&M costs increase and the system efficiency
decreases so much that smaller systems cannot usually operate economically. In terms of
costs, the optimal system size is in the range of 50200 MWe.
Dish-Stirling Systems
So-called DishStirling systems can be used to generate electricity in the kilowatts range. A
parabolic concave mirror (the dish) concentrates sunlight; the two-axis tracked mirror must
follow the sun with a high degree of accuracy in order to achieve high efficiencies. In the
focus is a receiver which is heated up to 650C. The absorbed heat drives a Stirling motor,
which converts the heat into motive energy and drives a generator to produce electricity. If
sufficient sunlight is not available, combustion heat from either fossil fuels or biofuels can
also drive the Stirling engine and generate electricity. The system efficiency of DishStirling
systems can reach 20% or more. Some DishStirling system prototypes have been
successfully tested in a number of countries. However, the electricity generation costs of
these systems are much higher than those for trough or tower power plants, and only series
production can achieve further significant cost reductions for DishStirling systems.
Solar Chimney Power Plants
All three technologies described above can only use direct normal irradiance. However,
another solar thermal power plant concept the solar chimney power plant converts
global irradiance into electricity. Since chimneys are often associated negatively with
exhaust gases, this concept is also known as the solar power tower plant, although it is
totally different from the tower concepts described above. A solar chimney power plant has a
high chimney (tower), with a height of up to 1000 metres, and this is surrounded by a large
collector roof, up to 130 metres in diameter, that consists of glass or resistive plastic
supported on a framework (see artists impression). Towards its centre, the roof curves
upwards to join the chimney, creating a funnel.
The sun heats up the ground and the air underneath the collector roof, and the heated air
follows the upward incline of the roof until it reaches the chimney. There, it flows at high
speed through the chimney and drives wind generators at its bottom. The ground under the
collector roof behaves as a storage medium, and can even heat up the air for a significant
time after sunset. The efficiency of the solar chimney power plant is below 2%, and depends
mainly on the height of the tower, and so these power plants can only be constructed on
land which is very cheap or free.
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Such areas are usually situated in desert regions.

However, the whole power plant is not without other uses, as the outer area under the
collector roof can also be utilized as a greenhouse for agricultural purposes. As with trough
and tower plants, the minimum economical size of solar chimney power plants is also in the
multi-megawatt range.
Solar Technology
Solar energy is the cleanest, most abundant renewable energy source available. The U.S.
has some of the worlds richest solar resources. Today's technology allows us to harness
this resource in several ways, giving the public and commercial entities flexible ways to
employ both the light and heat of the sun.
There are three primary technologies by which solar energy is commonly harnessed:
photovoltaics (PV), which directly convert light to electricity; concentrating solar power
(CSP), which uses heat from the sun (thermal energy) to drive utility-scale, electric turbines;
and heating and cooling systems, which collect thermal energy to provide hot water and air
conditioning.
Solar energy can be deployed through distributed generation (DG), whereby the equipment
is located on rooftops or ground-mounted arrays close to where the energy is used.
Some solar technologies can also be built at utility-scale to produce energy as a central
power plant.

Photovoltaic (PV)

These solar technologies directly produce electricity which can be used, stored, or converted
for long-distance transmission. PV panels can be manufactured using a variety of materials
and processes and are widely-used for solar projects around the world.

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Solar Heating & Cooling (SHC)

These technologies generate thermal (heat) energy for water & pool heating and space
heating. Some people are surprised to learn that SHC technology can also be used for
cooling. Solar heating technologies are cost-effective for customers in a variety of climates.

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)

Using reflective materials like mirrors and lenses, these systems concentrate sunlight to
generate thermal energy, which is in turn used to generate electricity. Similar to traditional
power plants, many CSP plants are hundreds of megawatts (MW) in size and some can
continue to provide power after sunset.

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Sources and Origin
The sun is probably the most important source of renewable energy available today.
Traditionally, the sun has provided energy for practically all living creatures on earth, through
the process of photosynthesis, in which plants absorb solar radiation and convert it into
stored energy for growth and development. Scientists and engineers today seek to utilize
solar radiation directly by converting it into useful heat or electricity.
Two main types of solar energy systems are in use today: photovoltaics, and thermal
systems. There is a great deal of opportunity for using these systems in the state of
Pennsylvania, and ongoing work at Penn State is seeking to improve the available
technology and increase the utilization of solar energy systems in the keystone state.
Solar photovoltaics
Photovoltaic systems convert solar radiation to electricity via a variety of methods. The most
common approach is to use silicon panels, which generate an electrical current when light
shines upon it. Penn State University is involved in several projects to demonstrate and

encourage the use of solar energy at appropriate locations within Pennsylvania. Solar
photovoltaics are especially valuable for remote rural applications where it would be
prohibitively expensive to supply electricity from a utility line.
In the last two decades, photovoltaics (PV), also known as solar PV, has evolved from a
pure niche market of small scale applications towards becoming a mainstream electricity
source. A solar cell is a device that converts light directly into electricity using the
photoelectric effect. The first solar cell was constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s. In
1931 a German engineer, Dr Bruno Lange, developed a photo cell using silver selenide in
place of copper oxide.]Although the prototype selenium cells converted less than 1% of
incident light into electricity, both Ernst Werner von Siemens and James Clerk
Maxwell recognized the importance of this discovery. Following the work of Russell Ohl in
the 1940s, researchers Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin created
the crystalline silicon solar cell in 1954. These early solar cells cost 286 USD/watt and
reached efficiencies of 4.56%. By 2012 available efficiencies exceed 20% and the
maximum efficiency of research photovoltaics is over 40%
Solar thermal systems
Solar Thermal Systems seek to store heat from the sun that can be used for a variety of
purposes. Many different approaches can be employed here, including active systems, such
as solar hot water heaters, and passive systems, in which careful engineering design results
in a building that automatically stores and utilizes solar energy. Greenhouses are a prime
candidate for passive solar design, in which they collect solar energy on sunny days in
winter and utilize it to keep the house warm at night.
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The main advantages of solar energy are that it is clean, able to operate independently or in
conjunction with traditional energy sources, and is remarkably renewable. The main
disadvantages are that it is currently more expensive than traditional energy, and the
availability of solar radiation varies from day to day, and from season to season. In fact,
some parts of Pennsylvania are among the cloudiest spots in the United States. In spite of
this, there is still opportunity for using solar energy effectively in Pennsylvania.
Solar power is energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy.
Solar energy is the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy source available, and the
U.S. has some of the richest solar resources in the world. Modern technology can harness
this energy for a variety of uses, including generating electricity, providing light or a
comfortable interior environment, and heating water for domestic, commercial, or industrial
use.

The U.S. solar market faces both challenges and opportunities; the industry is working to
scale up the production of solar technology, and drive down manufacturing and installation
costs.
There are several ways to harness solar energy: photovoltaics (also called solar
electric), solar heating & cooling, concentrating solar power (typically built at utility-scale),
and passive solar.
The first three are active solar systems, which use mechanical or electrical devices that
convert the sun's heat or light to another form of usable energy. Passive solar buildings are
designed and oriented to collect, store, and distribute the heat energy from sunlight to
maintain the comfort of the occupants without the use of moving parts or electronics.
Solar energy is a flexible energy technology: solar power plants can be built as distributed
generation (located at or near the point of use) or as a central-station, utility-scale solar
power plant (similar to traditional power plants). Some utility-scale solar plants can store the
energy they produce for use after the sun sets.
Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly
usingphotovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). CSP systems
use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small
beam. PV converts light into electric current using thephotoelectric effect.
Solar power is anticipated to become the world's largest source of electricity by 2050, with
solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power contributing 16 and 11 percent to the
global overall consumption, respectively.
Commercial CSP plants were first developed in the 1980s. Since 1985 the eventually 354
MW SEGS CSP installation, in the Mojave Desert of California, is the largest solar power
plant in the world. Other large CSP plants include the 150 MW Solnova Solar Power
Station and the 100 MW Andasol solar power station, both in Spain. The 250 MW Agua
Caliente Solar Project, in the United States, and the 221 MW Charanka Solar Park in India,
are the worlds largestphotovoltaic plants.
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Solar projects exceeding 1 GW are being developed, but most of the deployed
photovoltaics are in small rooftop arrays of less than 5 kW, which are grid connected using
net metering and/or a feed-in tariff.[53] In 2013 solar generated less than 1% of the worlds
total grid electricity.
Concentrated solar power
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to
focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a

heat source for a conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies
exists; the most developed are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear fresnel
reflector, the Stirling dish and the solar power tower. Various techniques are used to track
the Sun and focus light. In all of these systems a working fluid is heated by the concentrated
sunlight, and is then used for power generation or energy storage.
Current Availability
Already, the suns contribution to human energy needs is substantial worldwide, solar
electricity generation is a growing, multibillion dollar industry. But solars share of the total
energy market remains rather small, well below 1 percent of total energy consumption,
compared with roughly 85 percent from oil, natural gas, and coal.
Those fossil fuels cannot remain the dominant sources of energy forever. Whatever the
precise timetable for their depletion, oil and gas supplies will not keep up with growing
energy demands. Coal is available in abundance, but its use exacerbates air and water
pollution problems, and coal contributes even more substantially than the other fossil fuels
to the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
For a long-term, sustainable energy source, solar power offers an attractive alternative. Its
availability far exceeds any conceivable future energy demands. It is environmentally clean,
and its energy is transmitted from the sun to the Earth free of charge. But exploiting the
suns power is not without challenges. Overcoming the barriers to widespread solar power
generation will require engineering innovations in several arenas for capturing the suns
energy, converting it to useful forms, and storing it for use when the sun itself is obscured.
Many of the technologies to address these issues are already in hand. Dishes can
concentrate the suns rays to heat fluids that drive engines and produce power, a possible
approach to solar electricity generation. Another popular avenue is direct production of
electric current from captured sunlight, which has long been possible with solar photovoltaic
cells.

18
How efficient is solar energy technology?
But todays commercial solar cells, most often made from silicon, typically convert sunlight
into electricity with an efficiency of only 10 percent to 20 percent, although some test cells
do a little better. Given their manufacturing costs, modules of todays cells incorporated in
the power grid would produce electricity at a cost roughly 3 to 6 times higher than current
prices, or 18-30 cents per kilowatt hour [Solar Energy Technologies Program]. To make solar

economically competitive, engineers must find ways to improve the efficiency of the cells
and to lower their manufacturing costs.
Prospects for improving solar efficiency are promising. Current standard cells have a
theoretical maximum efficiency of 31 percent because of the electronic properties of the
silicon material. But new materials, arranged in novel ways, can evade that limit, with some
multilayer cells reaching 34 percent efficiency. Experimental cells have exceeded 40 percent
efficiency.
Another idea for enhancing efficiency involves developments in nanotechnology, the
engineering of structures on sizes comparable to those of atoms and molecules, measured
in nanometers (one nanometer is a billionth of a meter).
Recent experiments have reported intriguing advances in the use of nanocrystals made
from the elements lead and selenium In standard cells, the impact of a particle of light (a
photon) releases an electron to carry electric charge, but it also produces some useless
excess heat. Lead-selenium nanocrystals enhance the chance of releasing a second
electron rather than the heat, boosting the electric current output. Other experiments
suggest this phenomenon can occur in silicon as well.
Theoretically the nanocrystal approach could reach efficiencies of 60 percent or higher,
though it may be smaller in practice. Engineering advances will be required to find ways of
integrating such nanocrystal cells into a system that can transmit the energy into a circuit.
How do you make solar energy more economical?
Other new materials for solar cells may help reduce fabrication costs. This area is where
breakthroughs in the science and technology of solar cell materials can give the greatest
impact on the cost and widespread implementation of solar electricity, Caltech chemist
Nathan Lewis writes in Science.
A key issue is material purity. Current solar cell designs require high-purity, and therefore
expensive, materials, because impurities block the flow of electric charge. That problem
would be diminished if charges had to travel only a short distance, through a thin layer of
material. But thin layers would not absorb as much sunlight to begin with.
19
One way around that dilemma would be to use materials thick in one dimension, for
absorbing sunlight, and thin in another direction, through which charges could travel.
One such strategy envisions cells made with tiny cylinders, or nanorods. Light could be
absorbed down the length of the rods, while charges could travel across the rods narrow
width. Another approach involves a combination of dye molecules to absorb sunlight with

titanium dioxide molecules to collect electric charges. But large improvements in efficiency
will be needed to make such systems competitive.
How do you store solar energy?
However advanced solar cells become at generating electricity cheaply and efficiently, a
major barrier to widespread use of the suns energy remains: the need for storage. Cloudy
weather and nighttime darkness interrupt solar energys availability. At times and locations
where sunlight is plentiful, its energy must be captured and stored for use at other times and
places.
Many technologies offer mass-storage opportunities. Pumping water (for recovery as
hydroelectric power) or large banks of batteries are proven methods of energy storage, but
they face serious problems when scaled up to power-grid proportions. New materials could
greatly enhance the effectiveness of capacitors, superconducting magnets, or flyweels, all of
which could provide convenient power storage in many applications.
Another possible solution to the storage problem would mimic the biological capture of
sunshine by photosynthesis in plants, which stores the suns energy in the chemical bonds
of molecules that can be used as food. The plants way of using sunlight to produce food
could be duplicated by people to produce fuel.
For example, sunlight could power the electrolysis of water, generating hydrogen as a fuel.
Hydrogen could then power fuel cells, electricity-generating devices that produce virtually no
polluting byproducts, as the hydrogen combines with oxygen to produce water again. But
splitting water efficiently will require advances in chemical reaction efficiencies, perhaps
through engineering new catalysts. Natures catalysts, enzymes, can produce hydrogen
from water with a much higher efficiency than current industrial catalysts. Developing
catalysts that can match those found in living cells would dramatically enhance the
attractiveness of a solar production-fuel cell storage system for a solar energy economy.
Fuel cells have other advantages. They could be distributed widely, avoiding the
vulnerabilities of centralized power generation.If the engineering challenges can be met for
improving solar cells, reducing their costs, and providing efficient ways to use their electricity
to create storable fuel, solar power will assert its superiority to fossil fuels as a sustainable
motive force for civilizations continued prosperity.
20
Solar Power by Country
Many industrialized nations have installed significant solar power capacity into their grids to
supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources while an increasing
number of less developed nations have turned to solar to reduce dependence on expensive

imported fuels. Long distance transmission allows remote renewable energy resources to
displace fossil fuel consumption. Solar power plants use one of two technologies:

Photovoltaic (PV) systems use solar panels, either on rooftops or in groundmounted solar farms, converting sunlight directly into electric power.

Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as "concentrated solar thermal") plants
use solar thermal energy to make steam, that is thereafter converted into electricity by a
turbine.

Worldwide growth of photovoltaics is extremely dynamic and varies strongly by country. By

the end of 2014, cumulative photovoltaic capacity increased by more than 40 gigawatt (GW)
and reached at least 178 GW, sufficient to supply 1 percent of the world's total electricity
consumption of currently 18,400 TWh. As in the year before, the top installers of 2014
were China, followed by Japan and the United States, while the United Kingdom emerged
as new European leader ahead of Germany and France. Germany remains for one more
year the world's largest producer of solar power with an overall installed capacity of
38.2 GW. The newcomers of the year were Chile and South Africa, which entered straight
into the world's Top 10 ranking of added capacity. There are now 20 countries around the
world with a cumulative PV capacity of more than one gigawatt. Thailand, the Netherlands,
and Switzerland, all crossed the one gigawatt-mark in 2014. The available solar PV capacity
in Italy, Germany and Greece is now sufficient to supply between 7% and 8% of their
respective domestic electricity consumption.
After an almost two decade long hiatus, deployment of CSP resumed in 2007, with
significant growth only in the most recent years. However, the design for several new
projects is being changed to cheaper photovoltaics. Most operational CSP stations are
located in Spain and the United States, while large solar farms using photovoltaics are being
constructed in an expanding list of geographic regions. As of January 2015, the largest solar
power plants in the world are:

for PV, the 550 MW Desert Sunlight Solar Farm and 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm, both
located in southern California

for CSP, the 377 MW Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, located in California's Mojave
Desert

Other large CSP facilities include the 354 megawatt (MW) Solar Energy Generating
Systems power installation in the USA,Solnova Solar Power Station (Spain,
150 MW), Andasol Solar Power Station (Spain, 150 MW) and the first part of Shams solar
power station (United Arab Emirates, 100 MW). Other large PV power stations include the
320 MW Longyangxia Dam Solar Park in China, the 224 MW Charanka Solar Park in India,
and the 166 MW Solarpark Meuro in Germany.

21

Applications
1. Power plants: In conventional power plants non-renewable energy sources are
used to boil water and form stream so that turbines can rotate and water to produce
electricity. But with application of solar energy heat of sun can boil that water to
create steam and rotate turbines. To convert sunlight into electricity solar panels,
photoelectric technologies and thermoelectric technologies etc are used.

2.

Homes: Use of solar energy is increasing in homes as well. Residential appliances

can easily use electricity generated through solar power. Besides this solar energy is
running solar heater to supply hot water in homes.
22

3. Through photovoltaic cell installed on the roof of the house energy is captured and
stored on batteries to use throughout the day at homes for different purposes. In this
ways expenditure on energy is cutting down by home users.
4. Commercial use: on roofs of different buildings we can find glass PV modules or
any other kind of solar panel. These panels are used there to supply electricity to
different offices or other parts of building in a reliable manner. These panels collect
solar energy from sun, convert it into electricity and allow offices to use their own
electrical power for different purposes.
5. Ventilation system: at many places solar energy is used for ventilation purposes. It
helps in running bath fans, floor fans, and ceiling fans in buildings. Fans run almost
every time in a building to control moisture, and smell and in homes to take heat out
of the kitchen. It can add heavy amount on the utility bills, to cut down these bills
solar energy is used for ventilation purposes.
6. Power pump: solar power not just help in improving ventilation system at your
homes but with that it can also help in circulating water in any building. You can
connect power pump with solar power supply unit but you must run it on DC current
so that water circulate throughout your home.
7. Swimming pools: swimming pools are great joy for kids and adults in all seasons.
But during winters it is tough to keep water hot in these pools with minimum power
usage. Solar energy can help many in this matter as well. You can add a solar
blanket in the pool that will keep the water hot with energy generated from sunlight.
Besides this you can install a solar hot water heating system with solar hot water
heating panels.
8. Solar Lighting: these lights are also known as day lighting, and work with help of
solar power. These lights store natural energy of sun in day time and then convert
this energy into electricity to light up in night time. Use of this system is reducing load
form local power plants.
9. Solar Cars: it is an electrical vehicle which is recharged form solar energy or
sunlight. Solar panels are used on this car that absorb light and then convert it into
electrical energy. This electrical energy is stored in batteries used with the car, so
that in night time as well we can drive these vehicles.

10. Remote applications: Remote buildings are taking benefit of solar energy at vast
scale. Remote schools, community halls, and clinics can take solar panel and
batteries with them anywhere to produce and use electric power.
Residential
The number of PV installations on buildings connected to the electricity grid has grown in
recent years. Government subsidy programs (particularly in Germany and Japan) and green
pricing policies of utilities or electricity service providers have stimulated demand. Demand
is also driven by the desire of individuals or companies to obtain their electricity from a
clean, non-polluting, renewable source.
23
These consumers are usually willing to pay only a small premium for renewable energy.
Increasingly, the incentive is an attractive financial return on the investment through the sale
of solar electricity at premium feed-in tariff rates.
In solar systems connected to the electricity grid, the PV system supplies electricity to the
building, and any daytime excess may be exported to the grid. Batteries are not required
because the grid supplies any extra demand. However, to be independent of the grid supply,
battery storage is needed to provide power at night.
Holiday or vacation homes without access to the electricity grid can use solar systems more
cost-effectively than if the grid was extended to reach the location. Remote homes in sunny
locations can obtain reliable electricity to meet basic needs with a simple system comprising
of a PV panel, a rechargeable battery to store the energy captured during daylight hours, a
regulator (or charge controller), and the necessary wiring and switches. Such systems are
often called solar home systems (SHS).
Commercial
On an office building, roof areas can be covered with glass PV modules, which can be semitransparent to provide shaded light. On a factory or warehouse, large roof areas are the best
location for solar modules. If the roof is flat, then arrays can be mounted using techniques
that do not breach the weatherproofed roof membrane. Also, skylights can be partially
covered with PV.
The vertical walls of office buildings provide several opportunities for PV incorporation, as
well as sunshades or balconies incorporating a PV system. Sunshades may have the PV
system mounted externally to the building, or have PV cells specially mounted between
glass sheets comprising the window.

Industrial
For many years, solar energy has been the power supply choice for industrial applications,
especially where power is required at remote locations. Because solar systems are highly
reliable and require little maintenance, they are ideal in distant or isolated places.
Solar energy is also frequently used for transportation signaling, such as offshore navigation
buoys, lighthouses, aircraft warning light structures, and increasingly in road traffic warning
signals. Solar is used to power environmental monitoring equipment and corrosion
protection systems for pipelines, well-heads, bridges, and other structures. For larger
electrical loads, it can be cost-effective to configure a hybrid power system that links the PV
with a small diesel generator.

24
Remote Applications
Remote buildings, such as schools, community halls, and clinics, can benefit from solar
energy. In developing regions, central power plants can provide electricity to homes via a
local wired network, or act as a battery charging station where members of the community
can bring batteries to be recharged.
PV systems can be used to pump water in remote areas as part of a portable water supply
system. Specialized solar water pumps are designed for submersible use or to float on open
water. Large-scale desalination plants can also be PV powered using an array of PV
modules with battery storage.
PV systems are sometimes best configured with a small diesel generator in order to meet
heavy power requirements in off-grid locations. With a small diesel generator, the PV system
does not have to be sized to cope with the worst sunlight conditions during the year. The
diesel generator can provide back-up power that is minimized during the sunniest part of the
year by the PV system. This keeps fuel and maintenance costs low.
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP): Concentrating solar power (CSP) plants are utilityscale generators that produce electricity using mirrors or lenses to efficiently concentrate the
suns energy. The four principal CSP technologies are parabolic troughs, dish-Stirling engine
systems, central receivers, and concentrating photovoltaic systems (CPV).
Solar Thermal Electric Power Plants: Solar thermal energy involves harnessing solar
power for practical applications from solar heating to electrical power generation. Solar
thermal collectors, such as solar hot water panels, are commonly used to generate solar hot

water for domestic and light industrial applications. This energy system is also used in
architecture and building design to control heating and ventilation in both active solar and
passive solar designs.
Photovoltaics: Photovoltaic or PV technology employs solar cells or solar photovoltaic
arrays to convert energy from the sun into electricity. Solar cells produce direct current
electricity from the suns rays, which can be used to power equipment or to recharge
batteries. Many pocket calculators incorporate a single solar cell, but for larger applications,
cells are generally grouped together to form PV modules that are in turn arranged in solar
arrays. Solar arrays can be used to power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft, and in
remote areas as a source of power for roadside emergency telephones, remote sensing,
and cathodic protection of pipelines.
Solar Heating Systems: Solar hot water systems use sunlight to heat water. The systems
are composed of solar thermal collectors and a storage tank, and they may be active,
passive or batch systems.
25
Passive Solar Energy: It concerns building design to maintain its environment at a
comfortable temperature through the suns daily and annual cycles. It can be done by (1)
Direct gain or the positioning of windows, skylights, and shutters to control the amount of
direct solar radiation reaching the interior and warming the air and surfaces within a building;
(2) Indirect gain in which solar radiation is captured by a part of the building envelope and
then transmitted indirectly to the building through conduction and convection; and (3)
Isolated gain which involves passively capturing solar heat and then moving it passively into
or out of the building via a liquid or air directly or using a thermal store. Sunspaces,
greenhouses, and solar closets are alternative ways of capturing isolated heat gain from
which warmed air can be taken.
Solar Lighting: Also known as daylighting, this is the use of natural light to provide
illumination to offset energy use in electric lighting systems and reduce the cooling load on
HVAC systems. Daylighting features include building orientation, window orientation, exterior
shading, saw tooth roofs, clerestory windows, light shelves, skylights, and light tubes.
Architectural trends increasingly recognize daylighting as a cornerstone of sustainable
design.
Solar Cars: A solar car is an electric vehicle powered by energy obtained from solar panels
on the surface of the car which convert the suns energy directly into electrical energy. Solar
cars are not currently a practical form of transportation. Although they can operate for limited
distances without sun, the solar cells are generally very fragile. Development teams have
focused their efforts on optimizing the efficiency of the vehicle, but many have only enough
room for one or two people.

Solar Power Satellite: A solar power satellite (SPS) is a proposed satellite built in high
Earth orbit that uses microwave power transmission to beam solar power to a very large
antenna on Earth where it can be used in place of conventional power sources. The
advantage of placing the solar collectors in space is the unobstructed view of the sun,
unaffected by the day/night cycle, weather, or seasons. However, the costs of construction
are very high, and SPSs will not be able to compete with conventional sources unless low
launch costs can be achieved or unless a space-based manufacturing industry develops
and they can be built in orbit from off-earth materials.
Solar Updraft Tower: A solar updraft tower is a proposed type of renewable-energy power
plant. Air is heated in a very large circular greenhouse-like structure, and the resulting
convection causes the air to rise and escape through a tall tower. The moving air drives
turbines, which produce electricity. There are no solar updraft towers in operation at present.
A research prototype operated in Spain in the 1980s, and EnviroMission is proposing to
construct a full-scale power station using this technology in Australia.

26
Renewable Solar Power Systems with Regenerative Fuel Cell Systems: NASA has long
recognized the unique advantages of regenerative fuel cell (RFC) systems to provide energy
storage for solar power systems in space. RFC systems are uniquely qualified to provide the
necessary energy storage for solar surface power systems on the moon or Mars during long
periods of darkness, i.e. during the 14-day lunar night or the12-hour Martian night. The
nature of the RFC and its inherent design flexibility enables it to effectively meet the
requirements of space missions. And in the course of implementing the NASA RFC
Program, researchers recognized that there are numerous applications in government,
industry, transportation, and the military for RFC systems as well.
Past and Present Energy Production

How electricity is generated through solar power

27
Solar panels turn energy from the suns rays directly into useful energy that can be used in
homes and businesses. There are two main types: solar thermal and photovoltaic, or PV.
Solar thermal panels use the suns energy to heat water that can be used in washing and
heating. PV panels use the photovoltaic effect to turn the suns energy directly into
electricity, which can supplement or replace a buildings usual supply.
A PV panel is made up of a semiconducting material, usually silicon-based, sandwiched
between two electrical contacts. To generate as much electricity as possible, PV panels
need to spend as much time as possible in direct sunlight (1a). A sloping, south-facing roof
is the ideal place to mount a solar panel .
A sheet of glass (1b) protects the semiconductor sandwich from hail, grit blown by the wind,
and wildlife. The semiconductor is also coated in an antireflective substance (1c), which
makes sure that it absorbs the sunlight it needs instead of scattering it uselessly away.

When sunlight strikes the panel and is absorbed, it knocks loose electrons from some of the
atoms that make up the semiconductor (1d). The semiconductor is positively charged on
one side and negatively charged on the other side, which encourages all these loose
electrons to travel in the same direction, creating an electric current . The contacts (1e and
1f) capture this current (1g) in an electrical circuit.
The electricity PV panels (2) generate is direct current (DC). Before it can be used in homes
and businesses, it has to be changed into alternating current (AC) electricity using an
inverter (3). The inverted current then travels from the inverter to the buildings fuse box (4),
and from there to the appliances that need it.
PV systems installed in homes and businesses can include a dedicated metering box (5)
that measures how much electricity the panels are generating. As an incentive to generate
renewable energy, energy suppliers pay the systems owner a fixed rate for every unit of
electricity it generates - plus a bonus for units the owner doesnt use, because these can
help supply the national grid. Installing a PV system is not cheap, but this deal can help the
owner to earn back the cost more quickly - and potentially even make a profit one day.

28

BICOL UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
A.Y. 2015-2016

Alternative
Energy Sources
SOLAR
THERMAL
ENERGY
LEIGHNN B. BERBON
BSME 4B

ENGR. MELVIN BALLARES

Professor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

General Outlook
6

1-

Various Technologies Employed

15

6-

Sources or Origin
15-18
Current Availability

18-22

Application

22-27

Past and Present Energy Production

27-28