EE535: Renewable Energy:

Systems, Technology &

Economics
Solar Plant Engineering

Solar Power Plants

The output of a solar power plant (SPP) may

be
1. Thermal Energy for direct use in heat processes
2. Electricity for use in an autonomous network or fed into a
utility grid

Electricity may be generated :

1. Directly from solar radiation using photovoltaic
modules in photovoltaic power plants
2. Via intermediate thermomechanical conversion in
thermal solar power plants

SPP vs Conventional power plant

Conventional power plant

Input to conventional plants is
combustible matter (coal, oil,
gas, biomass) or nuclear
Needs to be extracted from
geological deposits
Becomes an article of
commerce
Needs to be transported to
location of plant
Stock of primary raw material
can be stored and utilized as
required

Solar Power Plant

The primary energy input to the
SPP (radiation) has no raw
material form & is dilute
Terrestrially accessible only
available during daylight hours
Availability depends on
latitude, season, time,
topography of location,
meteorological conditions
Cannot be stored directly for
later use
Not usually abundant in places
where bulk energy is required
Free, indigenous, renewable
Free from toxins or
radioactivity
Inherently very low risk

Nature, quality and availability of input energy to a SPP differs significantly from a conventional power plant

Site Requirements
Engineering (mining) and supply functions must
be carried out at the site of a SPP
Power rating of the plant is directly proportional
to the effective collector surface area
Consequently SPPs require more on-site land
area than conventional power plants
No off-site land is needed for energy raw
materials mining, processing, handling and
transport, disposal of (sometimes hazardous)
residues

State of the Art

Technology for producing electricity from
solar energy is technically proven for PV
and solar thermal
354 MW solar thermal plants using trough
technology have been operational in the
US since the 1980s
Large PV plants (circa 50MW) are now in
operation

Solar Plant Design Parameters

Design Point:
Provides basis for sizing of SPP, in combination with specification of
output power capacity under rated conditions.
Conventional power plant facility usually sized based on nominal
(nameplate) output conditions. Operation at these conditions may be
maintained for extended time periods (base load supply)
Solar energy is fluctuating need to specify conditions on a certain day,
time, etc design point
Rated power capacity of a SPP is usually stated in terms of Design
Point.

Performance:
Actual performance will differ from design point and must be calculated
be calculated temporally.
Key factors impacting performance include meteorological conditions
(irradiation), plant parasitics and losses.
Performance can often be enhanced by use of an auxillary energy
source.

Solar Plant Design Parameters

Solar Multiple:
ratio of collector subsystem output power at design point conditions to
that needed by the Power Control Unit for generating nominal output.
Necessary to obtain better performance on average irradiation days
With SM > 1, excess energy can be stored (e.g. charge thermal storage)

Capacity Factor:
Plants never operate at rated capacity over a full year due to
maintenance, service or costs, etc.
Main factors affecting CP are: location-specific irradiation conditions, the
SPP type and configuration, operating reliability

Field-receiver ratio:
to increase number of hours at which receiver can operate at its design
point rating, the converter may be oversized at the design point by 10
15%

Cell Design Criteria

Semiconductor materials need to

be of high quality and consistent
properties
Mass production with high levels
of precision
Final product lifetime > 20years in
hostile environment
-30C to + 200C
No contact corrosion
Redundancy included in design to
mitigate against system failure

Solar modules are usually composed of several

individual cells
Individual cells can be connected in series or parallel
Each cell generates its own emf and current density J
Arrangement A produces a higher output voltage
usually about 3V needed above battery voltage for
charging
Arrangement B lower voltage but higher current

3 Generations of Solar Cells

First generation solar cells are the larger, silicon-based, photovoltaic cells that have,
and still do, dominate the solar panel market. These solar cells, using silicon wafers,
account for 86% of the solar cell market. They are dominant due to their high efficiency.
This despite their high manufacturing costs; a problem that second generation cells
hope to remedy.

Second generation cells, also called thin-film solar cells, are significantly cheaper to
produce than first generation cells but have lower efficiencies. The great advantage of
second generation, thin-film solar cells, along with low cost, is their flexibility. Thin-film
technology has spurred lightweight, aesthetically pleasing solar innovations such as
solar shingles and solar panels that can be rolled out onto a roof or other surface. It
has been predicted that second generation cells will dominate the residential solar
market as new, higher-efficiency cells are researched and produced.

Third generation solar cells are the cutting edge of solar technology. Still in the
research phase, third generation cells have moved well beyond silicon-based cells.
Generally, third generation cells include solar cells that do not need the p-n junction
necessary in traditional semiconductor, silicon-based cells. Third generation contains a
wide range of potential solar innovations including polymer solar cells, nanocrystalline
cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells. If and when these technologies are developed and
produced, the third generation seems likely to be divided into separate categories.
http://solar.calfinder.com/blog/solar-information/solar-genealogy-on-three-generations-of-solar-cells/

Costs
cent/kWh

Capital Cost /kW

Coal

4 -9

1200

Gas

3-5

550

Wind

3 - 10

750 - 1000

Hydro

3 - 14

900

Biomass

7 - 20

1100

Solar PV

25 - 30

5000 - 9000

Wim C Turkenburg, Utrecht

Scenario:
Module Price
= 3/Wp
Infrastructure Price = 2/Wp
System Price

= 5/Wp

UNEP Energy Technology Factsheet

Table showing average cost in cents/kWh over 20 years for solar power panels

Insolation
Cost

2400

2200

2000

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

kWh/kWpy

kWh/kWpy

kWh/kWpy

kWh/kWpy

kWh/kWpy

kWh/kWpy

kWh/kWpy

kWh/kWpy

kWh/kWpy

200 $/kWp

0.8

0.9

1.1

1.3

1.4

1.7

2.5

600 $/kWp

2.5

2.7

3.3

3.8

4.3

7.5

1000 $/kWp

4.2

4.5

5.6

6.3

7.1

8.3

10

12.5

1400 $/kWp

5.8

6.4

7.8

8.8

10

11.7

14

17.5

1800 $/kWp

7.5

8.2

10

11.3

12.9

15

18

22.5

2200 $/kWp

9.2

10

11

12.2

13.8

15.7

18.3

22

27.5

2600 $/kWp

10.8

11.8

13

14.4

16.3

18.6

21.7

26

32.5

3000 $/kWp

12.5

13.6

15

16.7

18.8

21.4

25

30

37.5

3400 $/kWp

14.2

15.5

17

18.9

21.3

24.3

28.3

34

42.5

3800 $/kWp

15.8

17.3

19

21.1

23.8

27.1

31.7

38

47.5

4200 $/kWp

17.5

19.1

21

23.3

26.3

30

35

42

52.5

4600 $/kWp

19.2

20.9

23

25.6

28.8

32.9

38.3

46

57.5

5000 $/kWp

20.8

22.7

25

27.8

31.3

35.7

41.7

50

62.5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaics

Economics
Cost of solar PV has reduced dramatically over
the past number of years but is still relatively
uncompetitive
Reduction in cost due to improvements in
manufacturing technology and high volume
manufacturing & better conversion efficiency
Insolation is a major variable determining the
economic value of a solar project
For remote locations (far from the grid) the
economics of solar can be much more attractive

Economics
In grid-connected systems, the excess
energy generated during the day can be
exported to the grid, or stored
Equally, in grid-connected systems, any
shortfall can be imported from the grid or a
storage device
Government subsidies an tariffs and have
a major impact on solar PV economics
(e.g. Germany)

Grid Connected vs Stand-Alone

Grid

PV Panels

DC/AC

Grid Connect PV System

user

PV Panels

Regulator

user

Storage

Stand-alone PV System

Options to Reduce PV Costs

Increase conversion
efficiency

Long term Aims:

efficiency ~ 40%

Reduce materials usage

system cost < 1/Wp

Mass production of PV
components
Reduction of balance of
system costs (e.g.
multifunctional use of PV
functional area)

No hazardous or scarce
materials
Long term stability
(>40years)

Question
The capital cost of installing an array of solar
panels that will produce 1kWp is 8000.
The annual solar energy density in the location
where the panels are to be installed is 2000
kWh/m2.
The lifetime of the solar panels is estimated to
be 50 years.
Assuming a discount rate of 6%, calculate the
cost of electricity per kWh.

Solution
Loan repayment factor: A = (1 1/(1+r)n) / r
NPV = EAC x A = Capital Cost = 8000
A = (1 - 1/(1 + 0.06)30) / 0.06 = 13.764
EAC = NPV/ A = 8000 / 13.764 = 581
Cost of Electricity = Celec = Net Present Value of Costs
(cent) / Net Present Value of Output (kWh)
Celec = 581 / 2000 = 0.29 / kWh

Solar Conversion : Solar Stirling

An efficient solar conversion

technique involves placing a
Stirling Engine at the focal point of
a solar concentrator / collecting
dish
The dish focuses the light onto the
hot side of the engine resulting
in up to 30% efficiency. Engine
usually contains sealed hydrogen
gas.
Stirling is very quiet, reliable, safe,
has a high thermal efficiency, has
a completely external heat supply,
has no emissions

The gasses used inside a Stirling engine

never leave the engine. There are no
exhaust valves that vent high-pressure
gasses, as in a gasoline or diesel engine,
and there are no explosions taking place.
Because of this, Stirling engines are very
quiet.
The Stirling cycle uses an external heat
source, which could be anything from
gasoline to solar energy to the heat
produced by decaying plants. No
combustion takes place inside the
cylinders of the engine.

Stirling Engine Cysle

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

ab process, working fluid absorbs heat and raise temperature with constant volume;
bc process, working fluid absorbs heat and expands at constant temperature;
cd process, working fluid cools and lower temperature with constant volume;
da process, working fluid cools and contracts at constant temperature.

 http://www.localpower.org/deb_tech_se.ht
ml