Solar Power Around the world Uses of

Solar Power Around the world

Uses of Solar Energy Low Tech • • Passive Building Design Solar Ovens Water Purification Water Heater and High Tech

Passive Solar Design from Australia

Solar Oven tempmax = 150°C = 300°F • Advantages – – Low Cost No Pollution Not Burning Wood Portable • Disadvantages – Not Traditional – Weather Dependant – Timing Water pasteurizing in Ghana

Darfur Refugee Camps • Supplies for more than 10, 000 solar cookers have been donated to the refugee camps in Chad by: – Jewish World Watch, – the Dutch foundation Ko. Zon, and – Solar Cookers International. • Goals of relief operation: – Keep the refugee women and girls in the camp for their own safety, – Reduce time spent gathering wood and tending fires, – Allow to grow vegetables and make handicrafts to sell.

Solar Water Heater • Students at University of California Berkeley design efficient solar water heater • Heaters installed on roofs of several homes in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala • Students plan to enter design into national competition in October, 2007 • Team hopes to extend technology to other developing countries around world Effective 2010, all new home construction in Hawaii will require solar water heaters, saving $40 -$60 / month

Uses of Solar Energy Low Tech and High Tech • Electricity Generation – Solar Furnace • Parabolic Trough • Heliostats – Photovoltaic • Large Scale • Small Scale – Individual home – Road signs – Remote sensors

Solar Furnace in southern France • Temperatures of 3000°C • This design will be used as a crematorium in India; at 1000°C, saving 250 kg wood/cremation

Parabolic Trough Parabolic mirrors concentrate the sunlight to heat a fluid which is then used to create steam to drive a turbine. Efficiency ≈ 15% ; Output Electrical Power/Total Input Solar Ca. USA 5 x 33 MW Nv. USA 64 MW Spain 49. 9 MW

Heliostat (Power Tower) Flat movable mirrors (heliostats) concentrate the sunlight on a central tower to heat liquid sodium which is then used to create steam to drive a turbine. 2 Demonstration Plants in Ca. USA decommissioned, 10 and 11 MW. Spain has a 15 MW and an 11 MW plant Ca. contracted to buy 900 MW of electricity from Bright. Source Energy

in the News Desert solar power project runs into a critical Congress by K. Freking, AP writer; 3/21/2009 – California's Mojave Desert may seem ideally suited for solar energy production, but concern over what several proposed projects might do to the aesthetics of the region and its tortoise population is setting up a potential clash between conservationists and companies seeking to develop renewable energy. – "It would destroy the entire Mojave Desert ecosystem, " said David Myers, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy.

in the News Solar Power May Be Eco-Friendly. But Some in California Call It a Blight By Matt Kettmann / Carrisa Plains Tuesday Mar. 24, 2009 California wants to run on sunshine. The state is forcing utility companies to provide 20% of their output by way of solar power and other forms of renewable electricity by 2010. Last November, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he wanted the ratio to be a third by 2020. Now the feds are bringing the money to help fund all this sunny energy, with the Obama administration's stimulus package promising to pay for 30% of solar power projects that begin by the end of 2010. But could this politically backed, popularly supported solar surge spiral into eco-disaster? That's what some say is happening to the Carrisa Plains, a sparsely populated swath of arid, sunny and relatively cheap land in eastern San Luis Obispo County where three of the world's largest solar plants ever proposed are under review. "It's peaceful out here. I love the wildlife, " says Mike Strobridge, 32, an auto mechanic, explaining why he moved to the Carrisa Plains with his daughter. "But then these solar guys are going to come in and they're just gonna destroy the area. " Strobridge is especially concerned because he will be "surrounded on four sides" by the three projects. What's more, like his neighbors and other concerned parties — including the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County — Strobridge is worried about the impact the power plants will have on endangered species such as the San Joaquin kit fox. He is also concerned about the effect on dwindling water supplies as well as the more intangible treasures of the area: unimpeded views, the stark silence, the rustic agricultural beauty, the huge wilderness area called the Carrizo Plain National Monument just down valley…

Photovoltaics

3 common types of PV panels Temperature of 25° C (cooler is better) at the ideal angle of incidence $$$$ research cells approach 40%.

A 2880 sq ft 36. 7 k. W system, including loss 30. 5 k. W theoretical and actual power of 27 k. W.

Price Sheets for Solar Panels peak output price • Small Panels – 50 W $295 – 80 W $435 • Large Panels – 170 W $700 – 216 W $1000 • RV & Marine – 80 W $530 – 260 W $149 This 170 W panel measures 3’ x 5’ and weighs 35 pounds. Including installation, costs approach $9/k. W to provide 50% of the electricity for a home. Total = $32, 000.

Homes with a south facing roof can install PV systems, rv’s users use PV systems extensively, road signs also use PV panels.

• KSL news report about solar power plant near Delta, Ut. • The National CBC news report about the Negev Desert, Israel, Solar Energy Research Station.