EECE 591-63

DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION

LECTURE 2: SOLAR THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES
PART 1

FALL 2014

Slides by: Dr. Mahmoud Amin

ECE Dep., Manhattan College
Goals of Solar Technology Research

Improve efficiency
Improve overall cost and cost-per-kWh
Reduce impact of materials used
Improve viability in less sunny conditions
Areas of Research and New Technology

Passive solar heating

Active solar water heating
Electrical power generation
Concentrated solar
Photovoltaics
Newer Technologies
Solar Thermal Vacuum Tubes
Solar Thermal Troughs
Solar Stirling Engines
Tracking Solar Heliostats
Thin-film Flexible Photovoltaics
Multi-junction Photovoltaics
Vehicle-to-Grid Technologies
Space-based Photovoltaics
Solar Vacuum Tubes (water heating)
Trough Concentration (Kramer Junc.)
Concentrated Photovoltaics
Solar Stirling Engine
Tracking Photovoltaic Heliostats
Improving Photovoltaics
First-generation (silicon)
Thin c-Si via epitaxial growth
Crystallized polysilicon layers
Nanoscale silicon
Second-generation (“thin film”)
Less efficient, more flexible and less expensive than 1st
gen
CdTe and CIGS
Third-generation
Solar ink, solar dye, conductive plastic
Flexible Thin-Film Photovoltaic
 Multi-junction
photovoltaic cell

Color Film

Multi-junction Photovoltaics
Multi-junction Photovoltaics
Multi-junction Photovoltaics
Improved Efficiencies
Photovoltaic Electric Vehicle-to-Grid
Space-based Solar Photovoltaics
Advantages over Competitive
Technologies (Eg. PV & Wind)

Heat Storage option – Electricity Supply after Sunset

Process Heat Generation

Hybrid Option

Good for High temperature regions

Predictable and reliable power (less variable)

Water desalination along with electricity generation (Adv. In Middle east & N.
Africa)
Other Benefits:
Carbon Emission Reduction- CDM benefits Each square meter of CSP can avoid
annual emissions of 200 to 300 kilograms (kg) of carbon dioxide, depending on its
configuration.
No Fuel or its transportation cost - Substitutes Fossil Fuel use

Energy Security
High share of local contents
Employment Generation
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 Feasible
Applications

Utility / Commercial
Domestic/small Scale
scale
Electricity Generation
Hot Water collectors
• Stand alone
Solar HVAC
• Grid projects
Solar steam Cooking
• Hybrid projects
Solar Ovens/cookers
Industrial Process
Solar Food dryers
Heat
• Boiling
• Melting
• Sterilizing
Cooling systems SOPOGY
Micro-CSP: SopoFlare
Water Desalination
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Homework
Read “Matlab/Simulink Based Modeling of Solar
Photovoltaic Cell” Journal paper on moodle
Build the PV-module using Matlab/Simulink
Test and discuss the effect of:
Solar radiation variation
Cell temperature variation
Series resistance variation
Shunt resistance variation
Build a PV-array of 6 series modules and plot the
characteristics (I-V and P-V)
Research Topics
IEEE Transactions on:
Sustainable Energy
Energy Conversion
Smart Grid (Cyber Security)
PV
Power Electronics
Industrial Electronics
Industry Applications
Power Delivery