Chapter 5

Solar Energy Generation

OUTLINE

 SOLAR RADIATION

 SOLAR THERMAL SYSTEMS

 SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM

 SOLAR CELL

 HOW IT WORKS

 SOLAR PANEL/MODULE/ARRAY

 TYPES OF SOLAR PV APPLICATIONS

 STANDALONE SOLAR PV SYSTEMS

 MAIN COMPONENTS

Introduction
In one minute the sun provides enough energy to supply the world energy need for one year
in one day it provides more energy than the world population could consume in 27 years the
energy is free and the supply is unlimited.
There are two way to convert solar energy in to electrical energy;
1. solar thermal
2. solar photovoltaic (PV)
The solar systems have a low environmental impact, and one of the most important benefits
is that it doesn’t have emissions like CO2 or other toxic gases or radioactive material, like the
ones that are produced by the current systems used to produce energy.
The costs of these energy systems consist only of the construction and maintenance of the
plant, the source of energy is free and in theory unlimited. The environmental impact of these
systems is practically zero.
Some of the disadvantages are that these systems can only be installed in areas in which the
solar radiation is longer during the days and during the year. They are also less efficient than
the current energy systems
 These systems can be a combination of solar energy generators and a conventional fossil fuel
generator, this combination has the advantage that energy can be provided even if there is no
solar energy available.
Solar Radiation: To design and analyze solar energy generation systems, we need to know
how much sunlight is available and how much reaches on the earth surface/solar collector at
any location on earth.
The available energy from the sun depends on factors:

 Sean of the year

 Day
 Time of the day
 Location of the sun
 Orientation of the solar collector

Energy Transfer to the Earth: The earth orbits the sun at a distance of 150 million
kilometers Radiation expands outward from the sun at the speed of light, 300,000 km
per second the amount of time it takes for the solar radiation to reach the earth is
about 8 minutes. The amount of solar energy reaching a specific location on the
surface of the earth at a specific time is called “insolation”
If the sun is directly overhead, and the sky is clear, the radiation on a horizontal
surface is about this is the highest value of insolation possible on the earth’s surface
except by concentrating sunlight with devices such as mirrors or lenses.
The solar radiation received on the surface is less when the sun is not directly
overhead. (Because there is more atmospheric medium between the sun and the
surface.) Not all energy reaches the earth because some of it is absorbed by the
atmosphere present between the sun and the earth.

SOLAR THERMAL SYSTEMS

Solar thermals system use solar collector to concentrate sunlight to a heat transfer fluid to a
high temperature. The hot heat transfer fluid pass through heat exchanger and used to drive
steam turbine coupled with electric generator. Thermal energy storage provide heat for
operation during periods without adequate sunshine Solar thermal system only works with
direct sun light.
 Fig 1.The solar thermal energy is collected by concentrators

Use reflective materials, such as mirrors, to concentrate the sun’s heat energy into a
boiler to generate steam, which is used to drive a steam turbine and generate
electricity there are three kinds of CSP systems based on how the solar energy is
concentrated:
• Trough Systems
• Power Tower Systems
• Dish/Engine Systems

Trough Systems Parabolic: trough-shaped reflectors are used to direct the

concentrated solar energy onto a receiver pipe running along the inside of the
curved surface. Generally oil is used as the heating fluid. The solar energy heats the
oil flowing through the receiver pipe. The solar heat is then used to generate
electricity in a conventional steam generator.
To generate power on a large scale, a collector field is set up containing many
troughs in parallel rows aligned on a north-south axis.
 Fig 2.The structure of a parabolic trough

Power Tower Systems: In the power tower system, sun-tracking mirrors are used
to focus solar energy on a receiver at the top of a tower. A heat transfer fluid is used to
transfer the energy to the receiver, which in turn is used to generate steam. A
conventional steam turbine is used to generate the electricity. Molten nitrate salt is
generally used as the heat transfer fluid because of its superior heat transfer and
energy storage capability. A schematic diagram of a solar power tower system is
shown

Fig 3.The schematic of a power tower plant system

• Dish/Engine Systems: A solar Dish-Engine system uses dish shaped parabolic

mirrors as reflectors to concentrate and focus the sunlight onto a receiver. The
receiver is mounted on individual dish. The sunlight hits the entire dish but is
 concentrated in a small area so that it can be more efficiently used. The individual
dish can be equipped with an engine or generator for direct generation of electricity. A
dish/engine system is a standalone unit composed primarily of a collector, a receiver, and
an engine.

Fig 4. A dish system

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SYSTEM

Solar Photovoltaic system technology is direct conversion of sun light into electrical
energy using special type of devices called solar cells. A material or device that is capable
of converting the energy contained in photons of light into an electrical voltage and
current is said to be photovoltaic material.
A photon with short enough wavelength and high enough energy can cause an electron in
a photovoltaic material to break free of the atom that holds it. If a nearby electric field is
provided, those electrons can be swept toward a metallic contact where they can emerge
as an electric current. The driving force to power photovoltaic comes from the sun, and it
is interesting to note that the surface of the earth receives something like 6000 times as
much solar energy as our total energy demand.
Photovoltaic use semiconductor materials to convert sunlight into electricity. The
technology for doing so is very closely related to the solid-state technologies used to
make transistors, diodes, and all of the other semiconductor devices that we use so many
of these days.
Where might that energy come from?
We already know that a small number of electrons get that energy thermally. For
photovoltaic, the energy source is photons of electromagnetic energy from the sun.
When a photon with more than 1.12 eV of energy is absorbed by a solar cell, a single
electron may jump to the conduction band. When it does so, it leaves behind a
nucleus with a +4 charge that now has only three electrons attached to it. That is,
 there is a net positive charge, called a hole, associated with that nucleus as shown in
Fig. below

Photovoltaic cell: As photons are absorbed by the p-n junction cell, hole-electron pairs may
be formed. If these mobile charge carriers reach the vicinity of the junction, the electric field in
the depletion region will push the holes into the p-side and push the electrons into the n-side, as
shown in Fig. below

The p-side accumulates holes and the n-side accumulates electrons, which creates a
voltage that can be used to deliver current to a load. If electrical contacts are attached
to the top and bottom of the cell, electrons will flow out of the n-slide into the
connecting wire, through the load and back to the p-side as shown in Fig. below
Since wire cannot conduct holes, it is only the electrons that actually move around the
circuit. When they reach the p-side, they recombine with holes completing the circuit. By
convention, positive current flows in the direction opposite to electron flow, so the
current arrow in the figure shows current going from the p-side to the load and back into
the n-side.
FROM CELLS TO MODULES TO ARRAYS

Since an individual cell produces only about 0.5 V, it is a rare application for which just a
single cell is of any use. Instead, the basic building block for PV applications is a module
consisting of a number of pre-wired cells in series, all encased in tough,
weather-resistant packages When photovoltaic cells are wired in series, they all carry the
same current, and at any given current their voltages add together to give more voltage
at the terminals of the module

Fig 5. Cell, module, array

Modules can be wired in series to increase voltage, and in parallel to increase current.
Arrays are made up of some combination of series and parallel module to increase power.

Module in Series

Modules in parallel

Fig 6.parallel and series connection

 Types of PV systems: PV systems can be very simple, consisting of just a PV module
and load, as in the direct powering of a water pump motor, which only needs to operate when
the sun shines. However, when for example a whole house should be powered, the
system must be operational day and night. It also may have to feed both AC and DC
loads, have reserve power and may even include a back-up generator. Depending on
the system configuration, we can distinguish three main types of PV systems

1. Stand-alone-only one source-solar energy

2. Hybrid-two or more energy sources
3. Grid-connected- connected to national grid or small grid systems which have
Many energy sources connected together to meet the overall energy demand
 The basic PV system principles and elements remain the same.
 Systems are adapted to meet particular requirements by varying the type and
quantity of the basic elements.
 A modular system design allows easy expansion, when power demands change.

Components of standalone Solar PV systems

A standalone solar PV system consists of the following components:
 Solar module/panel
 Batteries
 Charge controller/regulator
 DC to AC converter(Inverter)
 Cables, etc.
Solar PV panel/array-PV cells connected together mostly in series. Converts solar
energy directly to electricity
Battery-stores energy to be used when there is no solar radiation
Charge controller-controls charging and discharging of the battery from the solar array.
Protects the battery from being overcharged and over discharged
Inverter: converts dc power from the battery or solar array to useable ac with standard
three or single phase voltage and frequency
Fig 7. the overall circuit diagram standalone of solar power plant