NAKAWA VTI

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Training: basic
Course : Electricity Code: E5.1-1
Subject: Solar energy
Item: Renewable energy sources Prepared by: Mr. Kajjaku W
Date: 29th March 2017
Introduction

Man and Energy

Man has needed and used energy at an increasing rate for his sustenance and well being ever since he
came on the earth a few million years ago. Subsequently he discovered fire and his energy needs
increased as he started to make use of wood and other biomass to supply the energy needs for cooking
as well as for keeping himself warm.

With further demand for energy, man began to use wind for sailing ships and for driving windmills,
and the force of falling water to turn water wheels. The industrial revolution which began with the
discovery of the steam engine (AD 1700) brought about a great many changes. For the first time, man
began to use a new source of energy coal, in large quantities. A little later, the internal combustion
engine was invented (AD 1870) and the other fossil fuels, oil and natural gas began to be used
extensively.

A new source of energy –nuclear energy – came on the scene after the second world war. The first
large nuclear power station was commissioned about 40 years ago, and already, nuclear energy is
providing a small but significant amount of the energy requirements of many countries. Thus today,
every county draws its energy needs fro a variety of sources.

Energy dependence has become a national goal. It is imperative that we gain control over our energy
sources rather than rely on dwindling fuel supplies and uncertain political alliances. The only truly
independent sources of energy are constantly renewed resources surrounding us.

Renewable energy sources.

These are energy sources that occur naturally and flow continuously in the environment.
These include:
• Solar
• Tidal
• Wave
• Biomass
• Biodiesel
• Hydro
• wind

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a) WIND ENERGY
Wind is simple air in motion. It is caused by the uneven heating of the earth surface by the sun. Since the
earth surface is made of very different types of land and water, it absorbs the sun heat at different rates.
During the day, the air above the land heats up more quickly than the air over water. The warm air over
the land expands and rises, and the heavier, cooler air rushes in to take its place, creating winds. At night,
the winds are reversed because the air cools more rapidly over land than over water.

Today, wind energy is mainly used to generate electricity. Wind is called a renewable energy source
because the wind will blow as long as the sun shines. Like old fashioned windmills, today wind machines
use blades to collect the wind kinetic energy. Windmills work because they slow down the speed of the
wind. The wind flows over the airfoil shaped blades causing lift, like the effect on airplane wings, causing
them to turn.

a) GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat). So, geothermal energy
is heat from within the earth. We can use the steam and hot water produced inside the earth to heat
buildings or generate electricity. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source because the water is
replenished by rainfall and the heat is continuously produced inside the earth.

Geothermal energy is generated in the earth's core, about 4,000 miles below the surface. Temperatures
hotter than the sun's surface are continuously produced inside the earth by the slow decay of radioactive
particles, a process that happens in all rocks. The earth has a number of different layers.
The earth's crust is broken into pieces called plates. Magma comes close to the earth's surface near the
edges of these plates. This is where volcanoes occur. The lava that erupts from volcanoes is partly
magma. Deep underground, the rocks and water absorb the heat from this magma. The temperature of the
rocks and water get hotter and hotter as you go deeper underground.

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C) SOL AR ENERGY

The sun has produced energy for billions of years. Solar energy is the sun’s rays (solar radiation) that reach
the earth.

Solar energy can be converted into other forms of energy, such as heat and electricity. In the 1830s, the
British astronomer John Herschel used a solar thermal collector box (a device that absorbs sunlight to collect
heat) to cook food during an expedition to Africa. Today, people use the sun's energy for lots of things.

Solar energy can be converted to thermal (or heat) energy and used to:

• Heat water – for use in homes, buildings, or swimming pools.

• Heat spaces – inside greenhouses, homes, and other buildings.

Solar energy can be converted to electricity in two ways:

• Photovoltaic (PV devices) or “solar cells” – change sunlight directly into electricity. PV systems are
often used in remote locations that are not connected to the electric grid. They are also used to power
watches, calculators, and lighted road signs.

Solar Power Plants - Indirectly generate electricity when the heat from solar thermal collectors is used to
heat a fluid which produces steam that is used to power generator

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d) BIOMASS

Biomass is organic material made from plants and animals. Biomass contains stored energy from the
sun. Plants absorb the sun's energy in a process called photosynthesis. The chemical energy in plants gets
passed on to animals and people that eat them. Biomass is a renewable energy source because we can always
grow more trees and crops, and waste will always exist. Some examples of biomass fuels are wood, crops,
manure, and some garbage.

The most common form of biomass is wood. For thousands of years people have burned wood for heating and
cooking.
Burning biomass is not the only way to release its energy. Biomass can be converted to other usable forms of
energy like methane gas or transportation fuels like ethanol and Biodisel. Methane gas is the main ingredient
of natural gas. Smelly stuff, like rotting garbage, and agricultural and human waste, release methane gas - also
called "landfill gas" or "biogas." Crops like corn and sugar cane can be fermented to produce the
transportation fuel, ethanol. Biodisel, another transportation fuel, can be produced from left-over food
products like vegetable oils and animal fats.

BIODIESEL

"Biofuels" are transportation fuels like ethanol and Biodisel that are made from biomass materials. These
fuels are usually blended with the petroleum fuels - gasoline and diesel fuel, but they can also be used on their
own. Using ethanol or Biodisel means we don't burn quite as much fossil fuel. Ethanol and Biodisel are
usually more expensive than the fossil fuels that they replace but they are also cleaner burning fuels,
producing fewer air pollutants.

Biodisel is a fuel made with vegetable oils, fats, or greases - such as recycled restaurant grease. Biodisel fuels
can be used in diesel engines without changing them. It is the fastest growing alternative fuel in the United
States. Biodisel, a renewable fuel, is safe, biodegradable, and reduces the emissions of most air pollutants.

Ethanol is an alcohol fuel made from the sugars found in grains, such as corn, sorghum, and wheat, as well as
potato skins, rice, sugar cane, sugar beets, and yard clippings.
4 Scientists are working on cheaper ways to
make ethanol by using all parts of plants and trees
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WORK SHEET CODE : 2-3-4

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5. END

Use END command whenever you close the program

Ladder diagram.

END

Mnemonic Coding.

ADDRESS INSTRUCTION OPERAND

00000 END (01) FUN (01) WRITE

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