c

c  particular may not have the funds to build solar



 is the conversion of sunlight power plants, although small solar applications are
into electricity, either directly
using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly
using concentrated solar power (CSP). Commercial
CSP plants were first developed in the 1980s, and
the 354 MW SEGS CSP installation is the largest
solar power plant in the world and is located in the
Mojave Desert of California. The 80 MW Sarnia
Photovoltaic Power Plant in Canada, is the world¶s
largest photovoltaic plant. Experimental approaches
to solar power include concentrated
photovoltaics systems, thermovoltaic devices,
and space-based solar power.
Solar power is an intermittent energy source,
meaning that solar power is not available at all
times, and is normally supplemented by storage or
another energy source, for example with wind
power and hydropower.
Solar power is the conversion of sunlight
into electricity. Sunlight can be converted directly
into electricity using photovoltaics (PV), or
indirectly withconcentrated solar power (CSP),
which normally focuses the sun's energy to boil
water which is then used to provide power, and
other technologies, such as the sterling engine
dishes which use a sterling cycle engine to power a
generator. Photovoltaics were initially used to
power small and medium-sized applications, from
the calculator powered by a single solar cell to off-
grid homes powered by a photovoltaic array.
The only significant problem with solar power is
installation cost, although cost has been decreasing
due to the learning curve. Developing countries in
battery for storing solar energy. As long as biomass
is produced sustainably, with only as much used as
is grown, the battery will last indefinitely.
now replacing other sources in the developing
world.
  
Solar energy is the energy derived from
the sun through the form of solar radiation. Solar
powered electrical generation relies
on photovoltaics and heat engines. A partial list of
other solar applications includes space heating and
cooling through solar
architecture, daylighting, solar hot water, solar
cooking, and high temperature process heat for
industrial purposes.
Solar technologies are broadly characterized as
either passive solar or active solar depending on the
way they capture, convert and distribute solar
energy. Active solar techniques include the use of
photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors 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.
 
Biomass (plant material) is a renewable energy
source because the energy it contains comes from
the sun. Through the process of photosynthesis,
plants capture the sun's energy. When the plants are
burned, they release the sun's energy they contain.
In this way, biomass functions as a sort of natural
In general there are two main approaches to using
plants for energy production: growing plants
specifically for energy use, and using the residues
from plants that are used for other things. The best
approaches vary from region to region according to a large area of sunlight onto a small area. The
climate, soils and geography. concentrated light is then used as heat or as a heat
source for a conventional power plant (solar
: 
 thermoelectricity).

  
 A wide range of concentrating technologies exist,
including the parabolic trough, Dish

Stirling, Concentrating Linear Fresnel
 

! Reflector, Solar chimney andsolar power
[8]
 "#"$ 

 (CSP) systems use tower. Each concentration method is capable of
lenses or mirrors to focus a large area of sunlight
onto a small area. Electrical power is produced
when the concentrated light is directed
onto photovoltaic surfaces or used to heat a transfer
fluid for a conventional power plant
producing high temperatures and correspondingly
high thermodynamic efficiencies, but they vary in
the way that they track the Sun and focus light. Due
to new innovations in the technology, concentrating
solar thermal is becoming more and more cost-
effective

:# "#"$  '

#%!(&
Concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) systems employ
sunlight concentrated onto photovoltaic surfaces for
the purpose of electrical power production. Solar
concentrators of all varieties may be used, and these
are often mounted on a solar tracker in order to keep
the focal point upon the cell as the Sun moves
across the sky.[16]

Serious research and development work on

Concentrated solar power systems are divided into
concentrator PV systems has been conducted since
the 1970s. For example, a linear-trough
concentrator system was tested and installed at
Sandia National Laboratories, and the first modern
point focus photovoltaic concentrating system was
developed in the Sandia, both late in that decade.
The latter system used a point focus acrylic Fresnel
# "#"$
 
%
& lens focusing on water-cooled silicon cells and two
axis tracking. A similar concept was used in other
Concentrated solar thermal (CST) is used to
prototypes. Ramón Areces' system, developed in the
produce renewable heat or cool or electricity (called
late 1970s, used hybrid silicone-glass Fresnel lenses
solar thermoelectricity, usually generated
through steam). CST systems
use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus
, while cooling of silicon cells was achieved with a passive heat sink.
Luminescent solar concentrators (when combined
with a PV-solar cell) can also be regarded as a
Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) system.
Luminescent solar concentrators are useful as they
can improve performance of PV-solar panels
drastically.[17]
needs to be made up in some manner. The Institute
for Solar Energy Supply Technology of
the University of Kassel pilot-tested acombined
power plant linking solar,
wind, biogas and hydrostorage to provide load-
following power around the clock, entirely from
renewable sources
# "#"")
 '
#"$ 
%!
&
Concentrating Photovoltaics and Thermal (CPVT)
technology produces both electricity and thermal
heat in the same module. Thermal heat that can be
employed for hot tap water, heating and heat-
powered air conditioning (solar
cooling), desalination or solar process heat.
Australian, American, and Chinese researchers are
exploring the potential for Combined Heat and
Power Solar (CHAPS) and Europeans have CHAPS
systems in production.[20]
The Israeli company ZenithSolar has developed a
combined photovoltaic/thermal (cogeneration)
system[21] with a claimed efficiency of 72%
 
*
+
Solar energy is not available at night, making
energy storage an important issue in order to
provide the continuous availability of
[74]
energy. Bothwind power and solar power
are intermittent energy sources, meaning that all
available output must be taken when it is available
and either stored for a
 it can be used, or
transported, over transmission lines, to a

it can
be used. Wind power and solar power tend to be
somewhat complementary, as there tends to be more
wind in the winter and more sun in the summer, but
on days with no sun and no wind the difference
*

A 
Solar energy can be stored at high temperatures
using molten salts. Salts are an effective storage
medium because they are low-cost, have a high
specific heat capacity and can deliver heat at
temperatures compatible with conventional power
systems. The Solar Two used this method of energy
storage, allowing it to store 1.44 TJ in its
68 m³ storage tank, enough to provide full output
for close to 39 hours, with an efficiency of about
99%
Off-grid PV systems have traditionally
used rechargeable batteries to store excess
electricity. With grid-tied systems, excess electricity
can be sent to the transmission grid. Net
metering programs give these systems a credit for
the electricity they deliver to the grid. This credit
offsets electricity provided from the grid when the
system cannot meet demand, effectively using the
grid as a storage mechanism. Credits are normally
rolled over month to month and any remaining
surplus settled annually
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity stores energy in
the form of water pumped when surplus electricity
is available, from a lower elevation reservoir to a
higher elevation one. The energy is recovered when
demand is high by releasing the water: the pump
becomes a turbine, and the motor a hydroelectric
power generator.
or condition contained in any deed, contract, or
other written instrument executed by or on behalf of
 " is a right, expressed as
any landowner for the purpose of assuring adequate
an easement, restriction, covenant,
access to direct sunlight for solar energy systems.

A typical solar easement establishes certain land use
conditions agreed upon by the property owners
involved. Such agreements will normally contain
the following elements:
ù? A description of the dimensions of the easement,
including vertical and horizontal angles measured in
the degrees or the hours of theday, on specified
dates, during which direct sunlight to a specified
surface or structural design feature may not be
obstructed;
ù? Restrictions placed upon vegetation, structures, and
other objects which may impair or obstruct the
passage of sunlight through the easement, and;
ù? The terms and conditions, if any, under which the
easement may be revised or terminated.
!+
(
c
ù? Photovoltaics is the direct conversion of light into
electricity at the atomic level. Some materials
exhibit a property known as the photoelectric effect
that causes them to absorb photons of light and
ù? The diagram above illustrates the operation of a
basic photovoltaic cell, also called a solar cell. Solar
cells are made of the same kinds of semiconductor
materials, such as silicon, used in the
release electrons. When these free electrons are
captured, an electric current results that can be used
as electricity.
ù? The photoelectric effect was first noted by a French
physicist, Edmund Bequerel, in 1839, who found
that certain materials would produce small amounts
of electric current when exposed to light. In 1905,
Albert Einstein described the nature of light and the
photoelectric effect on which photovoltaic
technology is based, for which he later won a Nobel
prize in physics. The first photovoltaic module was
built by Bell Laboratories in 1954. It was billed as a
solar battery and was mostly just a curiosity as it
was too expensive to gain widespread use. In the
1960s, the space industry began to make the first
serious use of the technology to provide power
aboard spacecraft. Through the space programs, the
technology advanced, its reliability was established,
and the cost began to decline. During the energy
crisis in the 1970s, photovoltaic technology gained
recognition as a source of power for non-space
applications.
microelectronics industry. For solar cells, a thin
semiconductor wafer is specially treated to form an
electric field, positive on one side and negative on
the other. When light energy strikes the solar cell,
 electrons are knocked loose from the atoms in the
semiconductor material. If electrical conductors are
attached to the positive and negative sides, forming
an electrical circuit, the electrons can be captured in
the form of an electric current -- that is, electricity.
This electricity can then be used to power a load,
such as a light or a tool.
ù? A number of solar cells electrically connected to
each other and mounted in a support structure or
frame is called a photovoltaic module. Modules are
designed to supply electricity at a certain voltage,
such as a common 12 volts system. The current
produced is directly dependent on how much light
strikes the module.

ù? Multiple modules can be wired together to form an current (dc) electricity. They can be connected in
array. In general, the larger the area of a module or both series and parallel electrical arrangements to
array, the more electricity that will be produced. produce any required voltage and current
Photovoltaic modules and arrays produce direct- combination.







 the  '
# #. Assemblies of cells are
A 
 #

is a solid state device that converts the used to make solar modules, also known as u

energy of sunlight directly into electricity by 

u. The energy generated from these solar
 modules, referred to as u
  a
, is an example
of u


.

  
u is the field of technology and

research related to the practical application of
photovoltaic cells in producing electricity from
light, though it is often used specifically to refer to
the generation of electricity from sunlight.

Cells are described as   
 


u when the

light source is not necesssarily sunlight. These are
used for detecting light or other electromagnetic

radiation near the visible range, for exampleinfrared
The grid interactive roof top solar PV system
detectors[1]), or measurement of light intensity. generally comprises the
following equipment.
i. SPV Power Source
ii. Inverter (PCU)
iii. Mounting Structure
iv. AC and DC Cables
v. Earthing equipment /material
vi. Junction Boxes or combiners
vii. Instruments and protection equipments


*
c,c 
#

-

? Crystalline silicon

The solar cell works in three steps:

? Thin films

1.? Photons in sunlight hit the solar panel and are m? .1 Cadmium telluride solar cell

absorbed by semiconducting materials, such as m? .2 Copper-Indium Selenide

silicon.
m? .3 Gallium arsenide multijunction
2.? Electrons (negatively charged) are knocked loose
m? .4 Light-absorbing dyes (DSSC)
from their atoms, allowing them to flow through the
material to produce electricity. Due to the special m? .5 Organic/polymer solar cells

composition of solar cells, the electrons are only m? .6 Silicon thin films
allowed to move in a single direction.  !  !

+ 
3.? An array of solar cells converts solar energy into a
usable amount of direct current (DC) electricity.
? .1 Solar energy conversion (solar photons to DC
current)

? .2 Wireless power transmission to the Earth
? .5 LEO/MEO instead of GEO

m? .2.1 Microwave power transmission m? .5.1 Moon

m? .2.2 Laser power beaming experiments

? .6 Earth-based infrastructure

? .3 Spacecraft sizing

? .4 Location

m? .4.1 GEO