7.

ELECTRICITY FROM SOLAR, WIND, AND HYDRO

A. INTRODUCTION

 Chapter 6 covered in detail only the uses of solar energy for domestic hot water and space heating.
 At this chapter, now direct our attention to the generation of electricity through photovoltaics, wind energy,
hydropower, and thermal electric systems.
 Each of these areas can play a substantial role in helping meet energy needs and they are some of the fastest-
growing energy technologies today, although their total role is still small.
 For example, wind-energy capacity has grown in the United States by 400% over the past fi ve years, but still
provides only 1.8% of U.S. electricity.
 Europe provided 20% of its electricity by wind power in 2010!
 China has doubled its installed wind capacity in each of the past five years, making it number three behind the
United States and Germany.
PHOTOVOLTAIC (SOLAR CELLS)

Solar cells, also called photovoltaic (PV)

cells by scientists, convert sunlight directly into
electricity. PV gets its name from the process of
converting light (photons) to electricity (voltage),
which is called the PV effect.
HOW DOES PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY WORK?

If you’re thinking of installing a residential solar

energy system in your home, you’ll likely be dealing
with solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Does all of this
terminology make you nervous about what you’re
getting into? Well, the terminology is pretty scientific,
but you’ve likely used solar photovoltaic powered
devices before. Ever had a pocket calculator powered
by the sun? Then you’ve used solar photovoltaic
technology. While solar energy has really been gaining
steam in the past few years, solar photovoltaic
technology has been around for decades. In fact, NASA
has been using it to power spacecraft during space
missions since the 1960s. Even earlier than that,
physicists Edmund Bequerel and Albert Einstein were
studying the photoelectric effect in the mid 1800s and
early 1900s.
 The solar photovoltaic cells in your solar panels are the mechanisms which convert sunlight into energy. When
you install solar panels on your house, the PV cells convert sunlight into direct current (DC) and an inverter
connected to the system is what converts direct current into alternating current (AC) – which is the type of current
needed to power your household appliances. This power runs through your electrical panel box, just like electricity
you get from the grid, and you can potentially run your entire house on solar power than power taken from the grid.

Most residential solar energy systems are still connected to the grid. This is to allow for uninterrupted electricity
in occasions when you don’t have enough solar energy to continue to power your house (e.g., on cloudy days or
during the night). If you generate enough energy from your solar panels such that you have “extra” energy left over, it
will get fed back to the grid and you will get credit for this contribution of energy. Termed “net metering,” this transfer
of electricity allows some customers to still maintain a $0 electric bill even when using the utility company’s energy
from the grid.

When it comes to the process of solar energy conversion, the sun releases photons. When this sunlight hits the
semi-conductor metal of the photovoltaic panels, electrons are released, which is what creates direct current
electricity. Solar panels are made up of hundreds of photovoltaic cells, which are most often composed of silicon as
the semi-conductor.
 The generation of electricity is based on the creation of an electric field. An electric field is created when
opposite charges interact (similar to the poles of a magnet). The silicon in the panels give off both positive and
negative energy to create this electric field. When sunlight hits the cells, electrons are released from the movement of
the atoms. The interaction between the photons released from the sun and the electrons released from the solar cell
are what creates the direct current of electricity. Metal conductor plates located within the solar panel are the
mechanisms used to allow the electric current to travel through wires. Once moving freely through the wires, the
current will power your house, like other sources of electricity.

Multiple solar photovoltaic cells are wired together to form a module (i.e., panel). These panels are connected
together to form the main body of your solar energy system. Having enough solar panels installed in your home or
business can then power the majority of your space, of course varying based on your climate conditions, amount of
sunlight captured, and the efficiency of the solar panels you install.
USING OF PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY

In spite of high relative costs, the market for PV continues to grow. Tens of thousands of PV systems are already
providing power for a variety of applications, including utility-scale power plants, residences, outdoor lighting,
communications, water pumping, battery charging, vaccine refrigeration, and so on. In many remote areas, stand-alone
PV systems are the only viable sources of power. Solar cells have the advantage that no pollution (or very little) is
associated with their use. Because they directly convert light into electricity, they are not constrained by the
fundamental limitations of the second law of thermodynamics as are heat engines. Th ey can be assembled very
rapidly; construction time for a PV power plant is one to two years, compared to fi ve to eight years for a fossil-fuel
plant. Their principal material is silicon, which is abundant on the earth, so no resource limitations appear likely.
GROWTH OF PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY

The market for PV in utility power plants, residential grid-connected units, and consumer products (e.g.,
calculators and watches) is growing rapidly. From 2003 to 2008, PV shipments in the United States of solar cells and
modules for all uses grew by 500%. In 2010, the United States produced PV cells and modules with a peak output of
878 MW—double its output in 2009 and about 15% of the world’s total. China produced about half of the 7 GW
installed in 2010 worldwide; Europe provided 1.9 GW but has about 70% of the total new and existing PV in the
world—led by Germany. At the end of 2010, worldwide cumulative installed capacity for PV was 22 GW. For the
United States, it was about 2.1 GW. (Recall from Chapter 10 that 1 GW [1000 MW] will provide the electricity for
about 200,000 households.) As module costs decline from present prices of about $3.00 per peak watt to $2.00 per
peak watt,1 PV will become very competitive with diesel-powered generators (estimated to have a market of
thousands of megawatts). When PV modules drop to about $1.50/peak watt, or a total system cost of $2.50 to
$3.00/peak watt, PV electricity can be produced at a cost of $0.12/kwh, which will allow PV to make a more
substantial entry into the U.S. utility market. Most states now require that the local utility “buy back” any excess
electricity generated by a homeowner’s PV array—sometimes at a substantial price. Th is is equivalent to running the
electrical meter “backwards,” as discussed in Chapter 10. Consumer choice for “green power” will also be a factor in
increasing PV contributions.
B. SOLAR CELL PRINCIPLES

 The principle behind the direct use of the sun’s energy for the production of electricity was discovered in 1887
by Heinrich Hertz and explained in 1905 by Albert Einstein. It was observed that when light strikes certain metals,
electrons are emitted. Th is phenomenon, known as the “photoelectric effect”.
 When light shines on the negative plate, electrons are emitted with an amount of kinetic energy inversely
proportional to the wavelength of the incident light. Originally, this eff ect was not considered surprising and was
thought to be consistent with a classical understanding of nature. However, for certain wavelengths of radiation,
no electrons were emitted. In classical physics, the only thing that determined whether electron emission would
occur or not was the light intensity reaching the surface, not its color or frequency. Einstein explained this eff ect
by assuming that light behaves like a particle in this situation, rather than as a wave.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

The photoelectric effect is the removal of electrons

from a surface (usually metal) when subjected to, and
absorbing, electromagnetic radiation (such as visible light and
ultraviolet radiation) which are above the threshold
frequency depending on the type of surface.
C. CELL MANUFACTURE

Most PV cells in use today are made from single-crystal silicon, although
other manufacturing processes are fast becoming economically and technically
competitive. To make a solar cell, silica (SiO2) is fi rst refi ned and purifi ed. It is
then melted and solidifi ed so that the silicon atoms are arranged into an
essentially perfect lattice. One way this is done is to introduce a seed of
crystalline silicon into a molten mass of pure silicon and slowly draw it out (called
the Czochralski process).

The cylindrical ingot so formed is then sliced into wafers about 0.5 mm thick and doped with impurities of
phosphorus (to create the n-type layer) and boron (for the p-type layer) to form the p–n junction. More advanced
crystal-growing techniques can reduce the cost of cell manufacture. One method grows cells automatically in
continuous ribbons. Th e thin ribbon is pulled from a furnace and cut to size. Two other types of PV cells that are
cheaper to produce are polycrystalline and amorphous silicon. Polycrystalline cells are made of many grains of single-
crystal silicon that are randomly packed. Th ese cells are easier and cheaper to make and are fabricated with effi
ciencies of 10 to 15%.
 Amorphous silicon has quite diff erent properties from crystalline silicon because its atomic structure is
disordered. Th ese “thin-fi lm” cells are made by depositing thin layers (1 micron) of materials on a glass or metal
backing and cutting into cells with a laser. Less material is used for these cells, so the costs are less. Under fl uorescent
light, they are more effi cient than single-crystal cells. Th eir effi ciency is currently about 5 to 10%. One problem with
these cells is that their effi ciency drops over time when exposed to light. Materials other than silicon also are being
used, such as gallium arsenide, cadmium telluride, cadmium sulfi de, and copper indium gallium diselenide. Most of
these compounds are manufactured as thin fi lms. Th ey have promise for increasing cell effi ciency because they
provide energy gaps appropriate for solar energy conversion, and they have high optical absorption coeffi cients.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING SOLAR PV?

There are a number of benefits of using solar energy – most of them center around cost savings and environmental benefits.
Here’s a list of the most prominent benefits of using solar energy produced from photovoltaic cells:
 Cost savings: While the sun is free, your solar energy system will cost you some money. But, the cost savings come in
once you’ve paid for it all and you are reaping the benefits of not having to live completely off the grid and relying on
your local utility company, and the inevitable rising costs of electricity.
 Reduced carbon emissions: Here’s one for the environment. When you use solar energy, less carbon emissions are being
released into the environment from conventional power stations.
 Tax credits: Not only will you get to save money from your utility bill, you’ll also get tax credits and tax benefits from
the government and local and state taxes for install solar energy systems.
 Clean energy: Solar energy is a clean energy source. You are able to power your entire house from the sunlight, and in
the grand scheme of things, it’s easy to install and maintain.
 Easy Maintenance: There’s not much that needs to be done once your solar panels are installed.You rarely have to clean
the panels, as rain will clean them off naturally, and there’s not much upkeep you need to do either. The only cost you’ll
generally have to incur during the lifetime of your solar energy system (which is about 25+ years) is the replacement of
your inverter, probably just one time. Most of your parts are covered under warranty as well.
 Versatility: Solar photovoltaic panels can be installed on your roof, in ground systems, and in virtually any climate and
environment.