Solar Energy 1 Running head: Solar Energy

Solar Energy: An Amazing Renewable Resource Tran Pham Salt Lake Community College

Solar Energy 2 Solar Energy: An Amazing Renewable Resource Have you ever thought about what happens on the day when humans have used up all available fuel energies? It would mean you have no gasoline to run your car and no coal to produce electricity. How would our life be without all of the convenience that we used to having? Not to mention the fact that the entire human race will stop revolving without the existence of energy. There was a time when scientists struggled to find out the solution. The ideas of renewable energy and environmental protection were set out urging them to create a set of new powers to replace the old-fashioned energy resources which have been used for thousands years. Wind, wave and tidal energies are some examples. However, the multiple applications of solar energy rank it to be one of the most remarkable discoveries in modern physics Solar energy is defined as the radiant light and heat emitted from the sun. The history of solar energy began in 1876 when William Grylls Adams and his student Richard Day discovered selenium; a chemical substance could produce electricity when exposed to a light. The discovery was "scientifically of the most far-reaching importance" said the electricity expert, Werner Von Siements (Reece). Although the selenium was not efficient, at least it showed that electricity was generated without using fossil fuel. In 1953, a group of researchers Calvin Fuller, Gerald Pearson, and Daryl Chapin, discovered the silicon solar cell which can produce enough electricity efficiently to run a small electrical device. The New York Times praised this discovery as the beginning of a new era, leading eventually to the realization
Gerald Pearson, Daryl Chapin and Calvin Fuller (left-to-right) inventors of the bell Solar Battery.

of harnessing the almost limitless energy of the sun for the uses of civilization" (Reece).

Solar Energy 3 Solar cell, a converter of solar energy is scientifically called photovoltaic (PV) cell. Photo means light and voltaic means electricity. Simply speaking, photovoltaic cell produces electricity directly once exposing to
Solar panel

light due to its structure which is made of material called semiconductor. This kind of material has the properties that fall between the insulator (such as glass) and conductor (such as bronze). The most common semiconductor material nowadays is silicon not necessary because silicon is the best material for solar cell; we use it because were good at making silicon devices. Basically, when the light strikes the cell, a certain portion of it is absorbed within silicon layers. It means the energy of the absorbed light is transferred to the silicon. The energy knocks electrons loose, and allows them to flow in a certain direction. The electrons run in the current create electric field; when it contacts to the metal which is placed on the top and bottom of the PV cells, it produce electricity to run electrical device. (Toothman & Aldous) As time went by, more and more engines were created to run by solar energy. In the late 1950s to the 1960s, the satellite system in The United States and Soviet space program was powered by solar cells. The 1970s was a booming time for people who were interested in solar cell because the price was brought down from $ 300 to $ 20 per watt. The use of solar cell was then expanded to many different fields from the 1970s to the 1990s such as railroad crossing, bringing water to soil in desert (Reece).

Solar Energy 4 One of the most popular of solar energy application is home solar power system. Solar panels are installed on the roof top; meanwhile, it can be a generator producing electricity to run your electric household appliances and may also be an electrical storage. Although these panels cost you a lot of money when you purchase and have it installed, it will benefit you later on. It was estimated by The Clean Power
Home Solar Power System

Research that it costs you $16,763 to install solar panels in Utah but save your utility bill $87 a month. It means Utah residents could save $20,901 over twenty years (Zach). Besides, solar panel, solar energy can also be converted by using many different types of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems. Basically, CPS systems are made of lenses or mirror and tracking systems to concentrate sunlight. Sunlight was transform to heat to drive traditional steam turbines or engines that in turn create electricity. Parabolic trough system is a good example for CSP systems. It is designed base on the curved characteristic of a parabolic mirror. It focuses the suns energy onto a tube that runs down the center of a trough. In that receiver tube, the high-temperature heat transfer fluid absorbs the suns energy and reaches the temperatures 700 F. It then exposes to heat exchanger to heat up the water and produce steam. The
Photo courtesy of SkyFuel Inc.

conventional steam turbine power system

Solar Energy 5 was induced to work and finally it generates electricity (Concentrating solar power). Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) is another version of parabolic trough system. Based on the principles of curved-mirror system, however, CLFR uses long parallel rows of flat mirrors to reduce the cost. Each row allows suns energy to concentrate on to receivers which are water-flowing tubes. Inside the tube, water is boiled by concentrated light to create high-pressure steam which is used directly in electrical generation and industrial steam applications.
Photo courtesy of AREVA Solar

Solar energy is widely applied in different field in life, from residential area to commercialization, from remote application to power industry. People know about solar energy as the most powerful alternative energy sources not only because amazing applicability but also the environmental protection benefit. Thomas Edison, an American inventor famous for phonograph, motion picture and electrical light bulb said: We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Nature's inexhaustible sources of energy sun, wind and tide. ... I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that Because the existence of solar energy is so popular, it have the strength to affect the awareness of people about what is called green, renewable and environmental-friendly. The more people think green, the more they tend to do green. They may not buy any

Solar Energy 6 products made from solar panels but they will try to do something good for the environment. Perhaps we should do some smallest things in our home such as turning of the lights, collecting food cans, wasted paper, water bottle or anything marked as recycle which also means that we are as same league as Thomas Edison. Looking at the sun in the sky, shining and glossy, but it is much more than that. In every minute, every second, somewhere in the world, the sun is used to satisfy human need.

Solar Energy 7 References Concentrating Solar Power. (n.d.). Solar Energy Industries Association. Retrieved April 1/2014 from http://www.seia.org/policy/solar-technology/concentrating-solar-power Thomas. E. (n.d). Retrieved April 1,2014 from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/69333-we-arelike-tenant-farmers-chopping-down-the-fence-around Toothman. J., Aldous. S. (n.d). How Solar Cells Work. Retrieved April 1, 2014 from http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/solar-cell1.htm Reece, W. (n.d). The History of Solar Power. Retrieved April 1, 2014 from https://www.experience.com/alumnus/article?channel_id=energy_utilities&source_page= additional_articles&article_id=article_1130427780670 Zach. (2013, July 16). How Much Does Solar Power Cost? How Much Does Solar Power Save? (Infographic Read more at http://solarlove.org/how-much-does-solar-power-cost. Solar Love. Retrieved April 5, 2014, from http://solarlove.org/how-much-does-solar-powercost/