Making Solar Energy Economical By: Griffin Morman, Jack

Tenhundfeld, Gabe Diederich

DESCRIBE THE ISSUE
Creating an alternative to fossil fuels to provide an environmentally-friendly energy
source
The energy source also needs to be more economically efficient than the most common
sources of energy (fossil fuels)
WHAT IS CAUSING THE ISSUE?
Current solar technology is not as
economically efficient as fossil fuels
Growing demand for alternative energy
methods which is caused by:
Growing climate change concerns
Limited amount of fossil fuels
MAKING SOLAR ENERGY ECONOMICAL IS A WELL
KNOWN ISSUE
Government Involvement
Energy Department SunShot Initiative
Government program to drive research,
manufacturing, and marketing of Solar
Energy
Homeowners Guide to Going Solar,
Energy Transition Initiative, Grid
Modernization Initiative
THE IMPORTANCE OF
SWITCHING TO
RENEWABLE ENERGY

46 billion metric tons of

greenhouse gases produced in
2010
Global emission of every single
greenhouse gas increased from
1990 2010
THE IMPORTANCE OF
SWITCHING TO
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Energy production is the largest
source of greenhouse gas
emissions
85.1% of Energy generated in
the United States during 2016
was generated from
nonrenewable recourses
Switching to nonrenewable
energy requires the use of
several renewable sources of
energy
SOLAR ENERGY IS
BECOMING MORE
ECONOMICAL
The system efficiency of all three
types of solar panels increased
from 1995-2016 and is projected
to keep increasing
The capital cost of all three types of
solar panels has decreased from
1995-2016 and is projected to
keep decreasing
SOLAR POWER AND
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
"Mechanical engineers research, design, develop,
manufacture, and test tools, engines, machines, and
other mechanical devices." (US BLS)
Mechanical engineers in the solar industry typically
work with the manufacturing of photovoltaic
cells/panels.
This is due to the mechanical systems involved in the
automation of photovoltaic cell manufacturing
SOLAR POWER AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Manufacturing of photovoltaic cells is an expensive process, but the costs are being
decreased each year. Some potential topics of involvement of Mechanical Engineers
in cost reduction include:
Automation of the manufacturing process
Reducing wastes that result from the
manufacturing of PV cells
Lowering the material costs of
manufacturing through the use of
alterative semiconductors
Reducing the energy consumed during
the creation of PV cells
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING: REDUCING COSTS

By creating cheaper and faster methods to manufacture

photovoltaic cells, the overall costs per watt decrease and
make solar power a more practical source of energy.
INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT
Industrial Management - "the branch of
engineering that deals with the creation
and management of systems that
integrate people and materials and
energy in productive ways"
Job of IM major is to create alternative
solutions to save a company money, time,
etc.
Combines engineering background with
business background perfectly
PAST 5 YEARS AND ONWARD: DEVELOPING IDEAS
Photovoltaic arrays capable of cheaply
and effectively moving throughout the
day to follow the path of the sun.
Photovoltaics used more frequently in
low-demand hard to reach places, such
as road signs and lights.
Researching improvements in a variety
of PV cells, including organic
photovoltaics and perovskite
photovoltaics.
Perovskite is a particularly new and
promising PV cell, as it has seen the
largest improvement in efficiencies of
any PV cell in recent years, and is cheap
to manufacture.
 PAST FIVE YEARS OF SOLAR
Increasing PV Cell Efficiency
Overall, efficiency of every type of PV
cell has improved in the past five years.
However, this improvement is slowing
every year and is not currently a
practical solution to making PV cells
more economical.
Decreasing PV Cell Costs
More importantly, the costs of
manufacturing, installation, and
operation of PV cells on residential,
commercial, and utility scales have all
decreased at a significant rate, and
making solar far more economical in the
process.
SOLAR EFFICIENCY: 1993-2017 Solar Cell Laboratory Efficiency
COSTS OF SOLAR ENERGY
 Although significant progress has been made, the costs
SUNSHOT: 2010-2017 still need to be reduced by 40 50% by 2020.
SUNSHOT: 2017-2030
WAYS TO INTEGRATE SOLAR CELLS INTO
INFRASTRUCTURE DURING THE NEXT TEN YEARS
Solar Roads (SolarRoadways) Solar Roofs (SolarCity)
THE ECONOMICS 2016

OF SOLAR PANELS Amount of

Electricity
Location Average Solar
Insulation per
Area of
15%
Cost
$/Wdc
Area of
22%
Cost
$/Wdc
DURING THE NEXT Used
(kWh)
Year
(kWh/m^2/day)
efficiency
Solar cells
efficiency
Solar cells

10 YEARS 48 Arizona 6 53 3.10 38 3.10

The average house uses 48 kWh 48 Vermont 4 80 3.10 57 3.10

of electricity per day
2020
The average solar insulation per
Amount of Location Average Solar Area of Cost Area of Cost
year is a measure of how Electricity Insulation per 22% $/Wdc 29% $/Wdc
conducive an area is to using Used(kWh) Year efficiency efficiency
photovoltaic cells to produce (kWh/m^2/day) Solar cells Solar cells
energy 48 Arizona 6 38 1.60 23 1.60

48 Vermont 4 57 1.60 34 1.60

WORKS CITED

EERE Initiatives and Projects. Department of Energy, United States Department of Energy, energy.gov/eere/about-us/initiatives-and-
projects.
Fu, Ran, et al. U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmark: Q1 2016. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2016, U.S. Solar
Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmark: Q1 2016, www.nrel.gov/docs/fy16osti/66532.pdf.
Johnson, Aaron. How Many Solar Panels Do I Need on My House to Become Energy Independent? Mit Engineering, 19 Nov. 2013,
engineering.mit.edu/engage/ask-an-engineer/how-many-solar-panels-do-i-need-on-my-house-to-become-energy-independent/.
Kalogirou, Soteris A. Solar Energy Engineering: Processes and Systems. 2nd ed., Elsevier/Academic Press, 2014.
Margolis, Robert, et al. Q4 2016/Q1 2017 Solar Industry Update . US Department of Energy, 2017, Q4 2016/Q1 2017 Solar
Industry Update , www.nrel.gov/docs/fy17osti/68425.pdf
OpenCubicles. Industrial Management. Industrial Management Meaning - Definition of Industrial Management by Mnemonic Dictionary,
www.mnemonicdictionary.com/word/industrial%20management.
Photovoltaics Report. Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, ISE, 2017, Photovoltaics Report,
www.ise.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ise/de/documents/publications/studies/Photovoltaics-Report.pdf.