Exploring Solar Energy

Radiant Energy

Nuclear Fusion
Major Uses of Solar Energy

 Daylight
 Drying Agricultural Products
 Space Heating
 Water Heating
 Generating Electrical Power
 Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)
 Photovoltaics
Daylighting
Drying Agricultural Products
Space Heating Through Passive Solar
Active Solar Heating
 Solar Collector

 Glass on outside
 Absorbent on inside
 Circulating Fluid
 Generating Electrical Power

 Concentrating Solar  Photovoltaics

Power (CSP) • Small-scale (buildings)
• Trough systems kW production
• Power towers • Large-scale (utilities)
MW production
 Heat exchanger plus
steam turbine  Photoelectric effect
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)
 Ivanpah, Mojave Desert

 The United States houses the largest CSP plant in the

Mojave Desert.
 Ivanpah is operated by NRG. It uses 347,000 garage
door-sized mirrors and 173,500 heliostats.

Image courtesy of NRG Energy

Photovoltaics
PV Cell
PV Array Components

 PV Cells
 Modules
 Arrays
PV System Components
Remote PV Power
 Top Countries for Installed PV Capacity

US Department of Energy,
NREL 2013 Renewable Energy
Data Book
© The NEED Projec
 Global Regional PV Installations per Inhabitant

Source: European Photovoltaic Industry Association

© The NEED Projec
 Advantages of Solar Energy

• Clean
• Sustainable
• Free
• Provide electricity to remote
places
 Disadvantages of Solar Energy

 Less efficient and costly

equipment
 Part Time
 Reliability Depends On Location
 Environmental Impact of PV Cell
Production
 Using a Digital Multimeter

Indicates
voltage from
alternating
DC Voltage
current. Do not
Scale
use.

DC Current
Resistance Scale
Scale. Do
not use.
 Wiring the PV Modules

Series Parallel
 For More Information

The NEED Project

www.need.org
info@need.org
1-800-875-5029

Energy Information Administration

U.S. Department of Energy
www.eia.gov
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 All NEED schools have outstanding classroom-based programs in which students
learn about energy. Does your school have student leaders who extend these
activities into their communities? To recognize outstanding achievement and reward
student leadership, The NEED Project conducts the National Youth Awards Program
for Energy Achievement.

What’s involved?
Students and teachers set goals and objectives, and keep a record of their activities.
Students create a digital project to submit for judging. In April, digital projects should
be uploaded to the online submission site.
Want more info? Check out www.NEED.org/Youth-Awards for more application and
program information, previous winners, and photos of past events.