Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving

technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten
salt power plants and artificial photosynthesis.[1][2]
It is an important source of renewable energy and its technologies are broadly characterized as
either passive solar or active solar depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or
convert it into solar power. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic
systems, concentrated solar power and solar water heating to harness the energy. Passive solar
techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or
light-dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
The large magnitude of solar energy available makes it a highly appealing source of electricity.
The United Nations Development Programme in its 2000 World Energy Assessment found that the
annual potential of solar energy was 1,57549,837 exajoules (EJ). This is several times larger than
the total world energy consumption, which was 559.8 EJ in 2012.[3][4]
In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that "the development of affordable, inexhaustible and
clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries energy
security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and mostly import-independent resource,
enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating global warming, and
keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global. Hence the additional
costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments; they must
be wisely spent and need to be widely shared".[1]

Aims and Objectives

Posted on December, 14 in Progress in Sustainable Energy Technologies: Generating
Renewable Energy
The aim of this study is to explore, analyze, examine and determine the potentiality of
improving operating efficiencies of installed capacity in power/water cogeneration plants.
Such improvements have ripple effects that impact on cogeneration power/water production
costs and subsequent reductions in the per unit cost of both power and water production.
The presented argument is that continuous improvement actions on operational practices in
cogeneration plants can achieve milestones in upgrading non-private cogeneration
power/water production plant performances towards global efficiency frontiers. Such an
achievement has the added advantage of further reducing the unit costs of power and
water. In the following analysis, performance based measures were used to assess the relative operating performances of cogeneration power and water production plants. A case
study of an existing cogeneration power/water production plant was used to illustrate how
changes in operational practice can result in improvements in operating performances.
The case study plant in this study consists of a gas cycle coupled to a multi-stage flash
(MSF) distillation process. A comparative performance based approach was used to show the
gap between current operations in the case study cogeneration plant and the potential
improvements towards higher plant operating performances and hence towards a more
competitive power/water cogeneration industry. More specifically, it is shown that by
implementing more effective and more efficient operational methods and techniques the
potential to further reduce unit costs of water and power exists.

In order to achieve the stated aim, the approach taken in this study is to explore,
investigate, analyze and identify opportunities and initiatives for improving operating
practices that affect; fuel utilization, variable costs as well as operation and maintenance
costs. Relative comparison of actual plant statistics in the generating plant with statistics of
a reference plant were used to determine the potential improvements and potential savings
that can be realized by implementing best practice.

Why Is Solar Energy Important?

Solar energy is a major renewable energy source with the potential to meet
many of the challenges facing the world. There are many reasons to promote
its share in the energy market. This power source is increasing in popularity
because it is versatile with many benefits to people and the environment.
Importance to Environmental Protection
Sunlight received by earth in one hour is enough to meet the annual energy needs of all people
worldwide according to National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In 2015 solar energy was the
fastest growing energy sector with a 33% rise according to Bloomberg. The environmental
advantages are the main drivers in promoting solar energy.

Solar Is Clean and Safe

Solar is a safe alternative which can replace current fossil fuels like coal and gas for generation
of electricity that produce air, water, and land pollution. World Wide Fund For Nature, also
known as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), notes that electricity generation from fossil fuels
causes pollution of air leading to acid rain, damaged forest areas, and affected agricultural
production leading to loss of billions of dollars worldwide. Fracking in the U.S. uses thousands
of liters of water mixed with chemicals for extraction contaminating the water used, along with
nearby water bodies, and also causes earthquakes. Nuclear power pollutes water and land and has
caused environmental catastrophes. Use of solar energy will eliminate these unsafe, unclean
consequences from using conventional fossil fuels.

Prevents Destruction of Habitats

Pristine forests are destroyed for mining raw materials like fossil or nuclear fuels. Trees
constantly remove and use carbon dioxide from the air to make their food, and this carbon is then
stored in them. When forests are cut for mining raw materials for conventional energy, this major

carbon sink disappears and also increases climate change. "Nine out of ten animals on land" live
in forests, according to WWF, and a loss of habitats diminishes their populations. Switching to
solar power is important to keep these habitats intact for the animals who live there as well as
continue to keep the air clean.

Combats Climate Change

The "electric power sector accounted for 32% of U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions in 2012,"
according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The emissions lead to a rise in global
temperatures, and changes in weather patterns leading to a cascade of effects. Heat waves, and
increase in disease-spreading insects cause health problems especially for children and the
elderly.

Methods General Reference (not clearly pro or con)

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC ) stated the following in its article "Renewable
Energy for America: Harvesting the Benefits of Homegrown, Renewable Energy," available at
nrdc.org (accessed Aug. 2, 2013):
"The sun's energy can be captured to generate electricity or heat through a system of panels or
mirrors.

Solar, or photovoltaic, cells convert sunlight directly into electricity. Most

photovoltaic cells are made primarily of silicon, the material used in computer
semiconductor chips, and arranged on rectangular panels. When sunlight hits a
cell, the energy knocks electrons free of their atoms, allowing them to flow through
the material. The resulting DC (direct current) electricity is then sent to a power
inverter for conversion to AC (alternating current), which is the form in which
electric power is delivered to homes and businesses.

Solar thermal collectors use heat-absorbing panels and a series of attached

circulation tubes to heat water or buildings.

Solar concentration systems use mirrors - usually arranged in a series of long,

parabolic troughs, a large round dish, or a circle surrounding a 'power tower' - to
focus the sun's reflected rays on a heat-collecting element. The concentrated
sunlight heats water or a heat-transferring fluid such as molten salt to generate
steam, which is then used conventionally to spin turbines and generate electricity.

Passive solar design is the creative use of windows, skylights and sunrooms,
building site and orientation, and thermal construction materials to heat and light
buildings, or to heat water, the natural way."

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) stated the following in its article "Learning
about Renewable Energy: Solar Photovoltaic Technology," available at nrel.gov (accessed Aug. 2,
2013):
"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
Solar panels used to power homes and businesses are typically made from solar cells combined
into modules that hold about 40 cells. A typical home will use about 10 to 20 solar panels to power
the home. The panels are mounted at a fixed angle facing south, or they can be mounted on a
tracking device that follows the sun, allowing them to capture the most sunlight. Many solar panels
combined
together
to
create
one
system
is
called
a
solar
array
Traditional solar cells are made from silicon, are usually flat-plate, and generally are the most
efficient. Second-generation solar cells are called thin-film solar cells because they are made from
amorphous silicon or nonsilicon materials such as cadmium telluride. Thin film solar cells use
layers of semiconductor materials only a few micrometers thick. Because of their flexibility, thin film
solar cells can double as rooftop shingles and tiles, building facades, or the glazing for skylights.
Third-generation solar cells are being made from variety of new materials besides silicon, including
solar inks using conventional printing press technologies, solar dyes, and conductive plastics.
Some new solar cells use plastic lenses or mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a very small piece
of high efficiency PV material."

Observation

Solar spectroscopy[edit]
Solar spectrometry began in 1817, after the detection of infra-red radiation by William Herschel in
1800 and of Ultraviolet radiation by William Hyde Wollaston in 1801. Wollaston noticed that dark
lines appeared in the solar spectrum when viewed through a glass prism. Joseph von
Fraunhofer later independently discovered the lines and they were named Fraunhofer lines after
him. Other physicists discerned that properties of the solar atmosphere could be determined from
them. Notable scientists to advance spectroscopy were David Brewster, Gustav Kirchhoff, Robert
Wilhelm Bunsen and Anders Jonas ngstrm.[21]

Solar cycle[edit]

1Samuel Heinrich Schwabe (17891875). German astronomer, discovered the solar cycle through extended
observations of sunspots

2Rudolf Wolf (18161893), Swiss astronomer, carried out historical reconstruction of solar activity back to the
seventeenth century

The cyclic variation of the number of sunspots was first observed by Samuel Heinrich
Schwabe between 1826 and 1843.[22] Rudolf Wolf studied the historical record in an attempt to
establish a history of solar variations. His data extended only to 1755. He also established in 1848 a
relative sunspot number formulation to compare the work of different astronomers using varying
equipment and methodologies, now known as the Wolf (or Zrich) sunspot number.
Gustav Sprer later suggested a 70-year period before 1716 in which sunspots were rarely observed
as the reason for Wolf's inability to extend the cycles into the 17th century.
Also in 1848, Joseph Henry projected an image of the Sun onto a screen and determined that
sunspots were cooler than the surrounding surface.[23]
Around 1852, Edward Sabine, Wolf, Jean-Alfred Gautier and Johann von Lamont independently
found a link between the solar cycle and geomagnetic activity, sparking the first research into
interactions between the Sun and the Earth.[24]
In the second half of the nineteenth century Richard Carrington and Sprer independently noted the
migration of sunspot activity towards the solar equator as the cycle progresses. This pattern is best
visualized in the form of the so-called butterfly diagram, first constructed by Walter and Annie Scott
Dill Maunder in the early twentieth century (see graph). Images of the Sun are divided into latitudinal
strips, and the monthly-averaged fractional surface of sunspots calculated. This is plotted vertically
as a color-coded bar, and the process is repeated month after month to produce a time-series
diagram.
Explanation
Solar energy is the energy that is in sunlight. It has been used for thousands of years in many
different ways by people all over the world. As well as its traditional human uses in heating, cooking,
and drying, it is used today to make electricity where other power supplies are absent, such as in
remote places and in space. It is becoming cheaper to make electricity from solar energy and in
many situations it is now competitive with energy from coal or oil. A solar cooker can be used for
cooking food. Solar energy is also called "Heat Trapper" as it is the automatic, nonmechanical, sun ray trapper. This Sun trapper like devices were used by soldiers during WWII
for heat requirements in the army and enemy directions.

Energy from the Sun[change | change source]

After passing through the Earth's atmosphere, most of the Sun's energy is in the form of visible
light and infrared light radiation. Plants convert the energy in sunlight into chemical energy (sugars
and starches) through the process of photosynthesis. Humans regularly use this store of energy in
various ways, as when they burn wood or fossil fuels, or when simply eating plants, fish and animals.
Solar radiation reaches the Earth's upper Earth's atmosphere with the power of 1366 watts per
square meter (W/m2). Since the Earth is round, the surface nearer its poles is angled away from the
Sun and receives much less solar energy than the surface nearer the equator.
At present, solar cell panels convert, at best, about 15% of sunlight hitting them into electricity.[1] The
dark disks in the third diagram on the right are imaginary examples of the amount of land that, if
covered with 8% efficient solar panels, would produce slightly more energy in the form of electricity
than the world needed in 2003. [2]

Conclusion
The current Northwest energy system runs primarily on three different sources of energy: coal, hydro, and
petroleum. Either coal or hydro supplies most of the electricity in every state in the Northwest. Massive
amounts of energy are consumed from petroleum sources as well, however, in non-electrical uses such as
transportation.
Unfortunately, all three of these energy sources have drawbacks. Coal and petroleum are fossil fuels and
therefore inherently limited in quantity. These fuels are also highly polluting, and cannot form the basis
for a completely sustainable society. The other major source, hydroelectric power, has also come under
fire from various groups due to adverse effects it imposes upon local aquatic life. The issue of how hydro
should be weighed in terms of the benefits it brings with greatly lessened greenhouse gas emissions yet
the drawbacks it presents with possibly causing the near extinction of several aquatic species is something
we would like to continue exploring in the future. Technical impact information as well as sociological
studies should both be used to shed more light on this delicate issue.
Given that the big three forms of energy in the Northwest all have their drawbacks, it is important to
consider the potential for changing to more sustainable energy sources. There are significant renewable
resources available throughout the Northwest. While solar energy is by and large limited in terms of its
potential (at least near-potential), several areas have excellent wind or geothermal resources