What is solar energy introduction?

Radiant light and heat from the Sun, harnessed with technology

This article is about radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies. For more detail about the generation of electricity using solar energy, see Solar power . For the academic journal, see Solar Energy (journal)

Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture.[1][2] It is an essential source of renewable energy, and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power, and solar water heating to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.

In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that "the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries' energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible, and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating global warming .... these advantages are global".[1]

Potential

The Earth receives 174 petawatts (PW) of incoming solar radiation (insolation) at the upper atmosphere.[4] Approximately 30% is reflected back to space while the rest, 122 PW, is absorbed by clouds, oceans and land masses. The spectrum of solar light at the Earth's surface is mostly spread across the visible and near-infrared ranges with a small part in the near-ultraviolet.[5] Most of the world's population live in areas with insolation levels of 150–300 watts/m2, or 3.5–7.0 kWh/m2 per day.[6]

Solar radiation is absorbed by the Earth's land surface, oceans – which cover about 71% of the globe – and atmosphere. Warm air containing evaporated water from the oceans rises, causing atmospheric circulation or convection. When the air reaches a high altitude, where the temperature is low, water vapor condenses into clouds, which rain onto the Earth's surface, completing the water cycle. The latent heat of water condensation amplifies convection, producing atmospheric phenomena such as wind, cyclones and anticyclones.[7] Sunlight absorbed by the oceans and land masses keeps the surface at an average temperature of 14 °C.[8] By photosynthesis, green plants convert solar energy into chemically stored energy, which produces food, wood and the biomass from which fossil fuels are derived.[9]

The total solar energy absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land masses is approximately 122 PW·year = 3,850,000 exajoules (EJ) per year.[10] In 2002 (2019), this was more energy in one hour (one hour and 25 minutes) than the world used in one year.[11][12] Photosynthesis captures approximately 3,000 EJ per year in biomass.[13]

The potential solar energy that could be used by humans differs from the amount of solar energy present near the surface of the planet because factors such as geography, time variation, cloud cover, and the land available to humans limit the amount of solar energy that we can acquire. In 2021, Carbon Tracker Initiative estimated the land area needed to generate all our energy from solar alone was 450,000 km2 — or about the same as the area of Sweden, or the area of Morocco, or the area of California (0.3% of the Earth's total land area).[18]

Solar technologies are characterized as either passive or active depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight and enable solar energy to be harnessed at different levels around the world, mostly depending on the distance from the equator. Although solar energy refers primarily to the use of solar radiation for practical ends, all renewable energies, other than Geothermal power and Tidal power, derive their energy either directly or indirectly from the Sun.

Active solar techniques use photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, solar thermal collectors, pumps, and fans to convert sunlight into useful outputs. Passive solar techniques include selecting materials with favorable thermal properties, designing spaces that naturally circulate air, and referencing the position of a building to the Sun. Active solar technologies increase the supply of energy and are considered supply side technologies, while passive solar technologies reduce the need for alternate resources and are generally considered demand-side technologies.[19]

In 2000, the United Nations Development Programme, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and World Energy Council published an estimate of the potential solar energy that could be used by humans each year that took into account factors such as insolation, cloud cover, and the land that is usable by humans. The estimate found that solar energy has a global potential of 1,600 to 49,800 exajoules (4.4×1014 to 1.4×1016 kWh) per year (see table below).[20]

• Total global annual solar energy potential amounts to 1,575 EJ (minimum) to 49,837 EJ (maximum)
• Data reflects assumptions of annual clear sky irradiance, annual average sky clearance, and available land area. All figures given in Exajoules.

Quantitative relation of global solar potential vs. the world's primary energy consumption:

• Ratio of potential vs. current consumption (402 EJ) as of year: 3.9 (minimum) to 124 (maximum)
• Ratio of potential vs. projected consumption by 2050 (590–1,050 EJ): 1.5–2.7 (minimum) to 47–84 (maximum)
• Ratio of potential vs. projected consumption by 2100 (880–1,900 EJ): 0.8–1.8 (minimum) to 26–57 (maximum)

Source: United Nations Development Programme – World Energy Assessment (2000)[20]

Thermal energy

Solar thermal technologies can be used for water heating, space heating, space cooling and process heat generation.[21]

Early commercial adaptation

In 1878, at the Universal Exposition in Paris, Augustin Mouchot successfully demonstrated a solar steam engine but could not continue development because of cheap coal and other factors.

In 1897, Frank Shuman, a US inventor, engineer and solar energy pioneer built a small demonstration solar engine that worked by reflecting solar energy onto square boxes filled with ether, which has a lower boiling point than water and were fitted internally with black pipes which in turn powered a steam engine. In 1908 Shuman formed the Sun Power Company with the intent of building larger solar power plants. He, along with his technical advisor A.S.E. Ackermann and British physicist Sir Charles Vernon Boys,[22] developed an improved system using mirrors to reflect solar energy upon collector boxes, increasing heating capacity to the extent that water could now be used instead of ether. Shuman then constructed a full-scale steam engine powered by low-pressure water, enabling him to patent the entire solar engine system by 1912.

Shuman built the world's first solar thermal power station in Maadi, Egypt, between 1912 and 1913. His plant used parabolic troughs to power a 45–52 kilowatts (60–70 hp) engine that pumped more than 22,000 litres (4,800 imp gal; 5,800 US gal) of water per minute from the Nile River to adjacent cotton fields. Although the outbreak of World War I and the discovery of cheap oil in the 1930s discouraged the advancement of solar energy, Shuman's vision, and basic design were resurrected in the 1970s with a new wave of interest in solar thermal energy.[23] In 1916 Shuman was quoted in the media advocating solar energy's utilization, saying:

We have proved the commercial profit of sun power in the tropics and have more particularly proved that after our stores of oil and coal are exhausted the human race can receive unlimited power from the rays of the Sun.

Frank Shuman, New York Times, 2 July 1916[24]

Water heating

Solar hot water systems use sunlight to heat water. In middle geographical latitudes (between 40 degrees north and 40 degrees south), 60 to 70% of the domestic hot water use, with water temperatures up to 60 °C (140 °F), can be provided by solar heating systems.[25] The most common types of solar water heaters are evacuated tube collectors (44%) and glazed flat plate collectors (34%) generally used for domestic hot water; and unglazed plastic collectors (21%) used mainly to heat swimming pools.[26]

As of 2015, the total installed capacity of solar hot water systems was approximately 436 thermal gigawatt (GWth), and China is the world leader in their deployment with 309 GWth installed, taken up 71% of the market.[27] Israel and Cyprus are the per capita leaders in the use of solar hot water systems with over 90% of homes using them.[28] In the United States, Canada, and Australia, heating swimming pools is the dominant application of solar hot water with an installed capacity of 18 GWth as of 2005.[19]

Heating, cooling and ventilation

In the United States, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems account for 30% (4.65 EJ/yr) of the energy used in commercial buildings and nearly 50% (10.1 EJ/yr) of the energy used in residential buildings.[29][30] Solar heating, cooling and ventilation technologies can be used to offset a portion of this energy. Use of solar for heating can roughly be divided into passive solar concepts and active solar concepts, depending on whether active elements such as sun tracking and solar concentrator optics are used.

Thermal mass is any material that can be used to store heat—heat from the Sun in the case of solar energy. Common thermal mass materials include stone, cement, and water. Historically they have been used in arid climates or warm temperate regions to keep buildings cool by absorbing solar energy during the day and radiating stored heat to the cooler atmosphere at night. However, they can be used in cold temperate areas to maintain warmth as well. The size and placement of thermal mass depend on several factors such as climate, daylighting, and shading conditions. When duly incorporated, thermal mass maintains space temperatures in a comfortable range and reduces the need for auxiliary heating and cooling equipment.[31]

A solar chimney (or thermal chimney, in this context) is a passive solar ventilation system composed of a vertical shaft connecting the interior and exterior of a building. As the chimney warms, the air inside is heated, causing an updraft that pulls air through the building. Performance can be improved by using glazing and thermal mass materials[32] in a way that mimics greenhouses.

Deciduous trees and plants have been promoted as a means of controlling solar heating and cooling. When planted on the southern side of a building in the northern hemisphere or the northern side in the southern hemisphere, their leaves provide shade during the summer, while the bare limbs allow light to pass during the winter.[33] Since bare, leafless trees shade 1/3 to 1/2 of incident solar radiation, there is a balance between the benefits of summer shading and the corresponding loss of winter heating.[34] In climates with significant heating loads, deciduous trees should not be planted on the Equator-facing side of a building because they will interfere with winter solar availability. They can, however, be used on the east and west sides to provide a degree of summer shading without appreciably affecting winter solar gain.[35]

Cooking

Solar cookers use sunlight for cooking, drying, and pasteurization. They can be grouped into three broad categories: box cookers, panel cookers, and reflector cookers.[36] The simplest solar cooker is the box cooker first built by Horace de Saussure in 1767.[37] A basic box cooker consists of an insulated container with a transparent lid. It can be used effectively with partially overcast skies and will typically reach temperatures of 90–150 °C (194–302 °F).[38] Panel cookers use a reflective panel to direct sunlight onto an insulated container and reach temperatures comparable to box cookers. Reflector cookers use various concentrating geometries (dish, trough, Fresnel mirrors) to focus light on a cooking container. These cookers reach temperatures of 315 °C (599 °F) and above but require direct light to function properly and must be repositioned to track the Sun.[39]

Process heat

Solar concentrating technologies such as parabolic dish, trough and Scheffler reflectors can provide process heat for commercial and industrial applications. The first commercial system was the Solar Total Energy Project (STEP) in Shenandoah, Georgia, US where a field of 114 parabolic dishes provided 50% of the process heating, air conditioning and electrical requirements for a clothing factory. This grid-connected cogeneration system provided 400 kW of electricity plus thermal energy in the form of 401 kW steam and 468 kW chilled water and had a one-hour peak load thermal storage.[40] Evaporation ponds are shallow pools that concentrate dissolved solids through evaporation. The use of evaporation ponds to obtain salt from seawater is one of the oldest applications of solar energy. Modern uses include concentrating brine solutions used in leach mining and removing dissolved solids from waste streams.[41]

Clothes lines, clotheshorses, and clothes racks dry clothes through evaporation by wind and sunlight without consuming electricity or gas. In some states of the United States legislation protects the "right to dry" clothes.[42] Unglazed transpired collectors (UTC) are perforated sun-facing walls used for preheating ventilation air. UTCs can raise the incoming air temperature up to 22 °C (40 °F) and deliver outlet temperatures of 45–60 °C (113–140 °F).[43] The short payback period of transpired collectors (3 to 12 years) makes them a more cost-effective alternative than glazed collection systems.[43] As of 2003, over 80 systems with a combined collector area of 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft) had been installed worldwide, including an 860 m2 (9,300 sq ft) collector in Costa Rica used for drying coffee beans and a 1,300 m2 (14,000 sq ft) collector in Coimbatore, India, used for drying marigolds.[44][needs update]

Water treatment

Solar distillation can be used to make saline or brackish water potable. The first recorded instance of this was by 16th-century Arab alchemists.[45] A large-scale solar distillation project was first constructed in 1872 in the Chilean mining town of Las Salinas.[46] The plant, which had solar collection area of 4,700 m2 (51,000 sq ft), could produce up to 22,700 L (5,000 imp gal; 6,000 US gal) per day and operate for 40 years.[46] Individual still designs include single-slope, double-slope (or greenhouse type), vertical, conical, inverted absorber, multi-wick, and multiple effect. These stills can operate in passive, active, or hybrid modes. Double-slope stills are the most economical for decentralized domestic purposes, while active multiple effect units are more suitable for large-scale applications.[45]

Solar water disinfection (SODIS) involves exposing water-filled plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles to sunlight for several hours.[47] Exposure times vary depending on weather and climate from a minimum of six hours to two days during fully overcast conditions.[48] It is recommended by the World Health Organization as a viable method for household water treatment and safe storage.[49] Over two million people in developing countries use this method for their daily drinking water.[48]

Solar energy may be used in a water stabilization pond to treat waste water without chemicals or electricity. A further environmental advantage is that algae grow in such ponds and consume carbon dioxide in photosynthesis, although algae may produce toxic chemicals that make the water unusable.[50][51]

Molten salt technology

Molten salt can be employed as a thermal energy storage method to retain thermal energy collected by a solar tower or solar trough of a concentrated solar power plant so that it can be used to generate electricity in bad weather or at night. It was demonstrated in the Solar Two project from 1995 to 1999. The system is predicted to have an annual efficiency of 99%, a reference to the energy retained by storing heat before turning it into electricity, versus converting heat directly into electricity.[52][53][54] The molten salt mixtures vary. The most extended mixture contains sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate and calcium nitrate. It is non-flammable and non-toxic, and has already been used in the chemical and metals industries as a heat-transport fluid. Hence, experience with such systems exists in non-solar applications.

The salt melts at 131 °C (268 °F). It is kept liquid at 288 °C (550 °F) in an insulated "cold" storage tank. The liquid salt is pumped through panels in a solar collector where the focused irradiance heats it to 566 °C (1,051 °F). It is then sent to a hot storage tank. This is so well insulated that the thermal energy can be usefully stored for up to a week.[55]

When electricity is needed, the hot salt is pumped to a conventional steam-generator to produce superheated steam for a turbine/generator as used in any conventional coal, oil, or nuclear power plant. A 100-megawatt turbine would need a tank about 9.1 metres (30 ft) tall and 24 metres (79 ft) in diameter to drive it for four hours by this design.

Several parabolic trough power plants in Spain[56] and solar power tower developer SolarReserve use this thermal energy storage concept. The Solana Generating Station in the U.S. has six hours of storage by molten salt. In Chile, The Cerro Dominador power plant has a 110 MW solar-thermal tower, the heat is transferred to molten salts.[57] The molten salts then transfer their heat in a heat exchanger to water, generating superheated steam, which feeds a turbine that transforms the kinetic energy of the steam into electric energy using the Rankine cycle.[58] In this way, the Cerro Dominador plant is capable of generating around 110 MW of power.[59] The plant has an advanced storage system enabling it to generate electricity for up to 17.5 hours without direct solar radiation, which allows it to provide a stable electricity supply without interruptions if required. The Project secured up to 950 GW·h per year sale. Another project is the María Elena plant[60] is a 400 MW thermo-solar complex in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta employing molten salt technology.

Electricity production

Concentrated solar power

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists; the most developed are the parabolic trough, the solar tower collectors, the concentrating linear Fresnel reflector, and the Stirling dish. Various techniques are used to track the Sun and focus light. In all of these systems, a working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight, and is then used for power generation or energy storage.[68] Designs need to account for the risk of a dust storm, hail, or another extreme weather event that can damage the fine glass surfaces of solar power plants. Metal grills would allow a high percentage of sunlight to enter the mirrors and solar panels while also preventing most damage.

Architecture and urban planning

Sunlight has influenced building design since the beginning of architectural history.[70] Advanced solar architecture and urban planning methods were first employed by the Greeks and Chinese, who oriented their buildings toward the south to provide light and warmth.[71]

The common features of passive solar architecture are orientation relative to the Sun, compact proportion (a low surface area to volume ratio), selective shading (overhangs) and thermal mass.[70] When these features are tailored to the local climate and environment, they can produce well-lit spaces that stay in a comfortable temperature range. Socrates' Megaron House is a classic example of passive solar design.[70] The most recent approaches to solar design use computer modeling tying together solar lighting, heating and ventilation systems in an integrated solar design package.[72] Active solar equipment such as pumps, fans, and switchable windows can complement passive design and improve system performance.

Urban heat islands (UHI) are metropolitan areas with higher temperatures than that of the surrounding environment. The higher temperatures result from increased absorption of solar energy by urban materials such as asphalt and concrete, which have lower albedos and higher heat capacities than those in the natural environment. A straightforward method of counteracting the UHI effect is to paint buildings and roads white and to plant trees in the area. Using these methods, a hypothetical "cool communities" program in Los Angeles has projected that urban temperatures could be reduced by approximately 3 °C at an estimated cost of US$1  billion, giving estimated total annual benefits of US$530  million from reduced air-conditioning costs and healthcare savings.[73]

Agriculture and horticulture

Agriculture and horticulture seek to optimize the capture of solar energy to optimize the productivity of plants. Techniques such as timed planting cycles, tailored row orientation, staggered heights between rows and the mixing of plant varieties can improve crop yields.[74][75] While sunlight is generally considered a plentiful resource, the exceptions highlight the importance of solar energy to agriculture. During the short growing seasons of the Little Ice Age, French and English farmers employed fruit walls to maximize the collection of solar energy. These walls acted as thermal masses and accelerated ripening by keeping plants warm. Early fruit walls were built perpendicular to the ground and facing south, but over time, sloping walls were developed to make better use of sunlight. In 1699, Nicolas Fatio de Duillier even suggested using a tracking mechanism which could pivot to follow the Sun.[76] Applications of solar energy in agriculture aside from growing crops include pumping water, drying crops, brooding chicks and drying chicken manure.[44][77] More recently the technology has been embraced by vintners, who use the energy generated by solar panels to power grape presses.[78]

Greenhouses convert solar light to heat, enabling year-round production and the growth (in enclosed environments) of specialty crops and other plants not naturally suited to the local climate. Primitive greenhouses were first used during Roman times to produce cucumbers year-round for the Roman emperor Tiberius.[79] The first modern greenhouses were built in Europe in the 16th century to keep exotic plants brought back from explorations abroad.[80] Greenhouses remain an important part of horticulture today. Plastic transparent materials have also been used to similar effect in polytunnels and row covers.

Transport

Development of a solar-powered car has been an engineering goal since the 1980s. The World Solar Challenge is a biannual solar-powered car race, where teams from universities and enterprises compete over 3,021 kilometres (1,877 mi) across central Australia from Darwin to Adelaide. In 1987, when it was founded, the winner's average speed was 67 kilometres per hour (42 mph) and by 2007 the winner's average speed had improved to 90.87 kilometres per hour (56.46 mph).[81] The North American Solar Challenge and the planned South African Solar Challenge are comparable competitions that reflect an international interest in the engineering and development of solar powered vehicles.[82][83]

Some vehicles use solar panels for auxiliary power, such as for air conditioning, to keep the interior cool, thus reducing fuel consumption.[84][85]

In 1975, the first practical solar boat was constructed in England.[86] By 1995, passenger boats incorporating PV panels began appearing and are now used extensively.[87] In 1996, Kenichi Horie made the first solar-powered crossing of the Pacific Ocean, and the Sun21 catamaran made the first solar-powered crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the winter of 2006–2007.[88] There were plans to circumnavigate the globe in 2010.[89]

In 1974, the unmanned AstroFlight Sunrise airplane made the first solar flight. On 29 April 1979, the Solar Riser made the first flight in a solar-powered, fully controlled, man-carrying flying machine, reaching an altitude of 40 ft (12 m). In 1980, the Gossamer Penguin made the first piloted flights powered solely by photovoltaics. This was quickly followed by the Solar Challenger which crossed the English Channel in July 1981. In 1990 Eric Scott Raymond in 21 hops flew from California to North Carolina using solar power.[90] Developments then turned back to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with the Pathfinder (1997) and subsequent designs, culminating in the Helios which set the altitude record for a non-rocket-propelled aircraft at 29,524 metres (96,864 ft) in 2001.[91] The Zephyr, developed by BAE Systems, is the latest in a line of record-breaking solar aircraft, making a 54-hour flight in 2007, and month-long flights were envisioned by 2010.[92] From March 2015 to July 2016, Solar Impulse, an electric aircraft, successfully circumnavigated the globe. It is a single-seat plane powered by solar cells and capable of taking off under its own power. The design allows the aircraft to remain airborne for several days.[93]

A solar balloon is a black balloon that is filled with ordinary air. As sunlight shines on the balloon, the air inside is heated and expands, causing an upward buoyancy force, much like an artificially heated hot air balloon. Some solar balloons are large enough for human flight, but usage is generally limited to the toy market as the surface-area to payload-weight ratio is relatively high.[94]

Fuel production

Solar chemical processes use solar energy to drive chemical reactions. These processes offset energy that would otherwise come from a fossil fuel source and can also convert solar energy into storable and transportable fuels. Solar induced chemical reactions can be divided into thermochemical or photochemical.[95] A variety of fuels can be produced by artificial photosynthesis.[96] The multielectron catalytic chemistry involved in making carbon-based fuels (such as methanol) from reduction of carbon dioxide is challenging; a feasible alternative is hydrogen production from protons, though use of water as the source of electrons (as plants do) requires mastering the multielectron oxidation of two water molecules to molecular oxygen.[97] Some have envisaged working solar fuel plants in coastal metropolitan areas by 2050 – the splitting of seawater providing hydrogen to be run through adjacent fuel-cell electric power plants and the pure water by-product going directly into the municipal water system.[98] In addition, chemical energy storage is another solution to solar energy storage.[99]

Hydrogen production technologies have been a significant area of solar chemical research since the 1970s. Aside from electrolysis driven by photovoltaic or photochemical cells, several thermochemical processes have also been explored. One such route uses concentrators to split water into oxygen and hydrogen at high temperatures (2,300–2,600 °C or 4,200–4,700 °F).[100] Another approach uses the heat from solar concentrators to drive the steam reformation of natural gas thereby increasing the overall hydrogen yield compared to conventional reforming methods.[101] Thermochemical cycles characterized by the decomposition and regeneration of reactants present another avenue for hydrogen production. The Solzinc process under development at the Weizmann Institute of Science uses a 1 MW solar furnace to decompose zinc oxide (ZnO) at temperatures above 1,200 °C (2,200 °F). This initial reaction produces pure zinc, which can subsequently be reacted with water to produce hydrogen.[102]

Energy storage methods

Thermal mass systems can store solar energy in the form of heat at domestically useful temperatures for daily or interseasonal durations. Thermal storage systems generally use readily available materials with high specific heat capacities such as water, earth and stone. Well-designed systems can lower peak demand, shift time-of-use to off-peak hours and reduce overall heating and cooling requirements.[103][104]

Phase change materials such as paraffin wax and Glauber's salt are another thermal storage medium. These materials are inexpensive, readily available, and can deliver domestically useful temperatures (approximately 64 °C or 147 °F). The "Dover House" (in Dover, Massachusetts) was the first to use a Glauber's salt heating system, in 1948.[105] Solar energy can also be stored at high temperatures using molten salts. Salts are an effective storage medium because they are low-cost, have a high specific heat capacity, and can deliver heat at temperatures compatible with conventional power systems. The Solar Two project used this method of energy storage, allowing it to store 1.44 terajoules (400,000 kWh) in its 68 m³ storage tank with an annual storage efficiency of about 99%.[106]

Off-grid PV systems have traditionally used rechargeable batteries to store excess electricity. With grid-tied systems, excess electricity can be sent to the transmission grid, while standard grid electricity can be used to meet shortfalls. Net metering programs give household systems credit for any electricity they deliver to the grid. This is handled by 'rolling back' the meter whenever the home produces more electricity than it consumes. If the net electricity use is below zero, the utility then rolls over the kilowatt-hour credit to the next month.[107] Other approaches involve the use of two meters, to measure electricity consumed vs. electricity produced. This is less common due to the increased installation cost of the second meter. Most standard meters accurately measure in both directions, making a second meter unnecessary.

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity stores energy in the form of water pumped when energy is available from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation one. The energy is recovered when demand is high by releasing the water, with the pump becoming a hydroelectric power generator.[108]

Development, deployment and economics

Beginning with the surge in coal use, which accompanied the Industrial Revolution, energy consumption steadily transitioned from wood and biomass to fossil fuels. The early development of solar technologies starting in the 1860s was driven by an expectation that coal would soon become scarce. However, development of solar technologies stagnated in the early 20th  century in the face of the increasing availability, economy, and utility of coal and petroleum.[109]

The 1973 oil embargo and 1979 energy crisis caused a reorganization of energy policies around the world. It brought renewed attention to developing solar technologies.[110][111] Deployment strategies focused on incentive programs such as the Federal Photovoltaic Utilization Program in the US and the Sunshine Program in Japan. Other efforts included the formation of research facilities in the US (SERI, now NREL), Japan (NEDO), and Germany (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE).[112]

Commercial solar water heaters began appearing in the United States in the 1890s.[113] These systems saw increasing use until the 1920s but were gradually replaced by cheaper and more reliable heating fuels.[114] As with photovoltaics, solar water heating attracted renewed attention as a result of the oil crises in the 1970s, but interest subsided in the 1980s due to falling petroleum prices. Development in the solar water heating sector progressed steadily throughout the 1990s, and annual growth rates have averaged 20% since 1999.[115] Although generally underestimated, solar water heating and cooling is by far the most widely deployed solar technology with an estimated capacity of 154  GW as of 2007.[115]

The International Energy Agency has said that solar energy can make considerable contributions to solving some of the most urgent problems the world now faces:[1]

The development of affordable, inexhaustible, and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries' energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible, and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating climate change, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global. Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments; they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared.[1]

In 2011, a report by the International Energy Agency found that solar energy technologies such as photovoltaics, solar hot water, and concentrated solar power could provide a third of the world's energy by 2060 if politicians commit to limiting climate change and transitioning to renewable energy. The energy from the Sun could play a key role in de-carbonizing the global economy alongside improvements in energy efficiency and imposing costs on greenhouse gas emitters. "The strength of solar is the incredible variety and flexibility of applications, from small scale to big scale".[116]

We have proved ... that after our stores of oil and coal are exhausted the human race can receive unlimited power from the rays of the Sun.

Frank Shuman, The New York Times, 2 July 1916.[24]

In 2021 Lazard estimated the levelized cost of new build unsubsidized utility scale solar electricity at less than 37 dollars per MWh and existing coal-fired power above that amount.[117][118] The 2021 report also said that new solar was also cheaper than new gas-fired power, but not generally existing gas power.[118]

Emerging technologies

Experimental solar power

Concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) systems employ sunlight concentrated onto photovoltaic surfaces for the purpose of electricity generation. Thermoelectric, or "thermovoltaic" devices convert a temperature difference between dissimilar materials into an electric current.

Floating solar arrays

Solar-assisted heat pump

A heat pump is a device that provides heat energy from a source of heat to a destination called a "heat sink". Heat pumps are designed to move thermal energy opposite to the direction of spontaneous heat flow by absorbing heat from a cold space and releasing it to a warmer one. A solar-assisted heat pump represents the integration of a heat pump and thermal solar panels in a single integrated system. Typically these two technologies are used separately (or only placing them in parallel) to produce hot water.[132] In this system the solar thermal panel performs the function of the low temperature heat source and the heat produced is used to feed the heat pump's evaporator.[133] The goal of this system is to get high COP and then produce energy in a more efficient and less expensive way.

It is possible to use any type of solar thermal panel (sheet and tubes, roll-bond, heat pipe, thermal plates) or hybrid (mono/polycrystalline, thin film) in combination with the heat pump. The use of a hybrid panel is preferable because it allows covering a part of the electricity demand of the heat pump and reduces the power consumption and consequently the variable costs of the system.

Solar aircraft

An electric aircraft is an aircraft that runs on electric motors rather than internal combustion engines, with electricity coming from fuel cells, solar cells, ultracapacitors, power beaming,[134] or batteries.

Currently, flying manned electric aircraft are mostly experimental demonstrators, though many small unmanned aerial vehicles are powered by batteries. Electrically powered model aircraft have been flown since the 1970s, with one report in 1957.[135][136] The first man-carrying electrically powered flights were made in 1973.[137] Between 2015 and 2016, a manned, solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse 2, completed a circumnavigation of the Earth.[138]

See also

References

Further reading

Solar energy is any type of energy generated by the sun.

Solar energy is created by nuclear fusion that takes place in the sun. Fusion occurs when protons of hydrogen atoms violently collide in the sun’s core and fuse to create a helium atom.

This process, known as a PP (proton-proton) chain reaction, emits an enormous amount of energy. In its core, the sun fuses about 620 million metric tons of hydrogen every second. The PP chain reaction occurs in other stars that are about the size of our sun, and provides them with continuous energy and heat. The temperature for these stars is around 4 million degrees on the Kelvin scale (about 4 million degrees Celsius, 7 million degrees Fahrenheit).

In stars that are about 1.3 times bigger than the sun, the CNO cycle drives the creation of energy. The CNO cycle also converts hydrogen to helium, but relies on carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen (C, N, and O) to do so. Currently, less than two percent of the sun’s energy is created by the CNO cycle.

Nuclear fusion by the PP chain reaction or CNO cycle releases tremendous amounts of energy in the form of waves and particles. Solar energy is constantly flowing away from the sun and throughout the solar system. Solar energy warms Earth, causes wind and weather, and sustains plant and animal life.

The energy, heat, and light from the sun flow away in the form of electromagnetic radiation (EMR).

The electromagnetic spectrum exists as waves of different frequencies and wavelengths. The frequency of a wave represents how many times the wave repeats itself in a certain unit of time. Waves with very short wavelengths repeat themselves several times in a given unit of time, so they are high-frequency. In contrast, low-frequency waves have much longer wavelengths.

The vast majority of electromagnetic waves are invisible to us. The most high-frequency waves emitted by the sun are gamma rays, X-rays, and ultraviolet radiation (UV rays). The most harmful UV rays are almost completely absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere. Less potent UV rays travel through the atmosphere, and can cause sunburn.

The sun also emits infrared radiation, whose waves are much lower-frequency. Most heat from the sun arrives as infrared energy.

Sandwiched between infrared and UV is the visible spectrum, which contains all the colors we see on Earth. The color red has the longest wavelengths (closest to infrared), and violet (closest to UV) the shortest.

Natural Solar Energy

Greenhouse Effect
The infrared, visible, and UV waves that reach Earth take part in a process of warming the planet and making life possible—the so-called “greenhouse effect.”

About 30 percent of the solar energy that reaches Earth is reflected back into space. The rest is absorbed into Earth’s atmosphere. The radiation warms Earth’s surface, and the surface radiates some of the energy back out in the form of infrared waves. As they rise through the atmosphere, they are intercepted by greenhouse gases, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide.

Greenhouse gases trap the heat that reflects back up into the atmosphere. In this way, they act like the glass walls of a greenhouse. This greenhouse effect keeps Earth warm enough to sustain life.

Photosynthesis
Almost all life on Earth relies on solar energy for food, either directly or indirectly.

Producers rely directly on solar energy. They absorb sunlight and convert it into nutrients through a process called photosynthesis. Producers, also called autotrophs, include plants, algae, bacteria, and fungi. Autotrophs are the foundation of the food web.

Consumers rely on producers for nutrients. Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and detritivores rely on solar energy indirectly. Herbivores eat plants and other producers. Carnivores and omnivores eat both producers and herbivores. Detritivores decompose plant and animal matter by consuming it.

Fossil Fuels
Photosynthesis is also responsible for all of the fossil fuels on Earth. Scientists estimate that about three billion years ago, the first autotrophs evolved in aquatic settings. Sunlight allowed plant life to thrive and evolve. After the autotrophs died, they decomposed and shifted deeper into the Earth, sometimes thousands of meters. This process continued for millions of years.

Under intense pressure and high temperatures, these remains became what we know as fossil fuels. Microorganisms became petroleum, natural gas, and coal.

People have developed processes for extracting these fossil fuels and using them for energy. However, fossil fuels are a nonrenewable resource. They take millions of years to form.

Harnessing Solar Energy

Solar energy is a renewable resource, and many technologies can harvest it directly for use in homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals. Some solar energy technologies include photovoltaic cells and panels, concentrated solar energy, and solar architecture.

There are different ways of capturing solar radiation and converting it into usable energy. The methods use either active solar energy or passive solar energy.

Active solar technologies use electrical or mechanical devices to actively convert solar energy into another form of energy, most often heat or electricity. Passive solar technologies do not use any external devices. Instead, they take advantage of the local climate to heat structures during the winter, and reflect heat during the summer.

Photovoltaics

Photovoltaics is a form of active solar technology that was discovered in 1839 by 19-year-old French physicist Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel. Becquerel discovered that when he placed silver-chloride in an acidic solution and exposed it to sunlight, the platinum electrodes attached to it generated an electric current. This process of generating electricity directly from solar radiation is called the photovoltaic effect, or photovoltaics.

Today, photovoltaics is probably the most familiar way to harness solar energy. Photovoltaic arrays usually involve solar panels, a collection of dozens or even hundreds of solar cells.

Each solar cell contains a semiconductor, usually made of silicon. When the semiconductor absorbs sunlight, it knocks electrons loose. An electrical field directs these loose electrons into an electric current, flowing in one direction. Metal contacts at the top and bottom of a solar cell direct that current to an external object. The external object can be as small as a solar-powered calculator or as large as a power station.

Photovoltaics was first widely used on spacecraft. Many satellites, including the International Space Station (ISS), feature wide, reflective “wings” of solar panels. The ISS has two solar array wings (SAWs), each using about 33,000 solar cells. These photovoltaic cells supply all electricity to the ISS, allowing astronauts to operate the station, safely live in space for months at a time, and conduct scientific and engineering experiments.

Photovoltaic power stations have been built all over the world. The largest stations are in the United States, India, and China. These power stations emit hundreds of megawatts of electricity, used to supply homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals.

Photovoltaic technology can also be installed on a smaller scale. Solar panels and cells can be fixed to the roofs or exterior walls of buildings, supplying electricity for the structure. They can be placed along roads to light highways. Solar cells are small enough to power even smaller devices, such as calculators, parking meters, trash compactors, and water pumps.

Concentrated Solar Energy

Another type of active solar technology is concentrated solar energy or concentrated solar power (CSP). CSP technology uses lenses and mirrors to focus (concentrate) sunlight from a large area into a much smaller area. This intense area of radiation heats a fluid, which in turn generates electricity or fuels another process.

Solar furnaces are an example of concentrated solar power. There are many different types of solar furnaces, including solar power towers, parabolic troughs, and Fresnel reflectors. They use the same general method to capture and convert energy.

Solar power towers use heliostats, flat mirrors that turn to follow the sun’s arc through the sky. The mirrors are arranged around a central “collector tower,” and reflect sunlight into a concentrated ray of light that shines on a focal point on the tower.

In previous designs of solar power towers, the concentrated sunlight heated a container of water, which produced steam that powered a turbine. More recently, some solar power towers use liquid sodium, which has a higher heat capacity and retains heat for a longer period of time. This means that the fluid not only reaches temperatures of 773 to 1,273K (500° to 1,000° C or 932° to 1,832° F), but it can continue to boil water and generate power even when the sun is not shining.

Parabolic troughs and Fresnel reflectors also use CSP, but their mirrors are shaped differently. Parabolic mirrors are curved, with a shape similar to a saddle. Fresnel reflectors use flat, thin strips of mirror to capture sunlight and direct it onto a tube of liquid. Fresnel reflectors have more surface area than parabolic troughs and can concentrate the sun’s energy to about 30 times its normal intensity.

Concentrated solar power plants were first developed in the 1980s. The largest facility in the world is a series of plants in Mojave Desert in the U.S. state of California. This Solar Energy Generating System (SEGS) generates more than 650 gigawatt-hours of electricity every year. Other large and effective plants have been developed in Spain and India.

Concentrated solar power can also be used on a smaller scale. It can generate heat for solar cookers, for instance. People in villages all over the world use solar cookers to boil water for sanitation and to cook food.

Solar cookers provide many advantages over wood-burning stoves: They are not a fire hazard, do not produce smoke, do not require fuel, and reduce habitat loss in forests where trees would be harvested for fuel. Solar cookers also allow villagers to pursue time for education, business, health, or family during time that was previously used for gathering firewood. Solar cookers are used in areas as diverse as Chad, Israel, India, and Peru.

Solar Architecture

Throughout the course of a day, solar energy is part of the process of thermal convection, or the movement of heat from a warmer space to a cooler one. When the sun rises, it begins to warm objects and material on Earth. Throughout the day, these materials absorb heat from solar radiation. At night, when the sun sets and the atmosphere has cooled, the materials release their heat back into the atmosphere.

Passive solar energy techniques take advantage of this natural heating and cooling process.

Homes and other buildings use passive solar energy to distribute heat efficiently and inexpensively. Calculating a building’s “thermal mass” is an example of this. A building’s thermal mass is the bulk of material heated throughout the day. Examples of a building’s thermal mass are wood, metal, concrete, clay, stone, or mud. At night, the thermal mass releases its heat back into the room. Effective ventilation systems—hallways, windows, and air ducts—distribute the warmed air and maintain a moderate, consistent indoor temperature.

Passive solar technology is often involved in the design of a building. For example, in the planning stage of construction, the engineer or architect may align the building with the sun’s daily path to receive desirable amounts of sunlight. This method takes into account the latitude, altitude, and typical cloud cover of a specific area. In addition, buildings can be constructed or retrofitted to have thermal insulation, thermal mass, or extra shading.

Other examples of passive solar architecture are cool roofs, radiant barriers, and green roofs. Cool roofs are painted white, and reflect the sun’s radiation instead of absorbing it. The white surface reduces the amount of heat that reaches the interior of the building, which in turn reduces the amount of energy that is needed to cool the building.

Radiant barriers work similarly to cool roofs. They provide insulation with highly reflective materials, such as aluminum foil. The foil reflects, instead of absorbs, heat, and can reduce cooling costs up to 10 percent. In addition to roofs and attics, radiant barriers may also be installed beneath floors.

Green roofs are roofs that are completely covered with vegetation. They require soil and irrigation to support the plants, and a waterproof layer beneath. Green roofs not only reduce the amount of heat that is absorbed or lost, but also provide vegetation. Through photosynthesis, the plants on green roofs absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. They filter pollutants out of rainwater and air, and offset some of the effects of energy use in that space.

Green roofs have been a tradition in Scandinavia for centuries, and have recently become popular in Australia, Western Europe, Canada, and the United States. For example, the Ford Motor Company covered 42,000 square meters (450,000 square feet) of its assembly plant roofs in Dearborn, Michigan, with vegetation. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the roofs reduce stormwater runoff by absorbing several centimeters of rainfall.

Green roofs and cool roofs can also counteract the “urban heat island” effect. In busy cities, the temperature can be consistently higher than the surrounding areas. Many factors contribute to this: Cities are constructed of materials such as asphalt and concrete that absorb heat; tall buildings block wind and its cooling effects; and high amounts of waste heat is generated by industry, traffic, and high populations. Using the available space on the roof to plant trees, or reflecting heat with white roofs, can partially alleviate local temperature increases in urban areas.

Solar Energy and People

Since sunlight only shines for about half of the day in most parts of the world, solar energy technologies have to include methods of storing the energy during dark hours.

Thermal mass systems use paraffin wax or various forms of salt to store the energy in the form of heat. Photovoltaic systems can send excess electricity to the local power grid, or store the energy in rechargeable batteries.

There are many pros and cons to using solar energy.

Advantages
A major advantage to using solar energy is that it is a renewable resource. We will have a steady, limitless supply of sunlight for another five billion years. In one hour, Earth’s atmosphere receives enough sunlight to power the electricity needs of every human being on Earth for a year.

Solar energy is clean. After the solar technology equipment is constructed and put in place, solar energy does not need fuel to work. It also does not emit greenhouse gases or toxic materials. Using solar energy can drastically reduce the impact we have on the environment.

There are locations where solar energy is practical. Homes and buildings in areas with high amounts of sunlight and low cloud cover have the opportunity to harness the sun’s abundant energy.

Solar cookers provide an excellent alternative to cooking with wood-fired stoves—on which two billion people still rely. Solar cookers provide a cleaner and safer way to sanitize water and cook food.

Solar energy complements other renewable sources of energy, such as wind or hydroelectric energy.

Homes or businesses that install successful solar panels can actually produce excess electricity. These homeowners or businessowners can sell energy back to the electric provider, reducing or even eliminating power bills.

Disadvantages
The main deterrent to using solar energy is the required equipment. Solar technology equipment is expensive. Purchasing and installing the equipment can cost tens of thousands of dollars for individual homes. Although the government often offers reduced taxes to people and businesses using solar energy, and the technology can eliminate electricity bills, the initial cost is too steep for many to consider.

Solar energy equipment is also heavy. In order to retrofit or install solar panels on the roof of a building, the roof must be strong, large, and oriented toward the sun’s path.

Both active and passive solar technology depend on factors that are out of our control, such as climate and cloud cover. Local areas must be studied to determine whether or not solar power would be effective in that area.

Sunlight must be abundant and consistent for solar energy to be an efficient choice. In most places on Earth, sunlight’s variability makes it difficult to implement as the only source of energy.