The sun is our most reliable source of energy since the creation of the life in our Planet. It provides more energy than any other but intense research is still undergoing to find the best storage solutions. It is almost hard to believe that it takes the sun just three hours to send as much energy earthward as the entire population on earth consume in a year!
Currently, there are two ways to generate electricity from solar energy.
1) The first is photovoltaics (PV) where solar cells transform the sun's rays directly into electricity. The PV technology can be briefly disclosed in:
a) Crystalline Silicon cells are made from thin slices cut from a single crystal of silicon (monocrystalline) or from a block of silicon crystals (polycrystalline). This is the most widespread technology today. Efficiency up to 20%
b) Common Thin Film modules are constructed by depositing extremely thin layers of photosensitive materials onto a low-cost backing such as glass, stainless steel or plastic. Common Thin Film semiconductors include amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) or copper indium diselenide (CIS). Efficiency average around 12%
c) Concentrator Photovoltaics (CPV).The solar cells are designed to operate with concentrated sunlight. These cells are built into concentrating collectors that use a lens to focus the sunlight onto the cells. Efficiency can raise above 30%.
2) The second is concentrated solar power (CSP): the sun's rays are concentrated to produce heat that generates steam to drive a turbine and generator, much like in a conventional power plant
No comments:
Post a Comment