Bruce Clemens Department of Materials Science and Engineering Stanford University Unit I: Solar Resource Solar spectrum - how the sun delivers energy Solar spectrum compared to black body radiation How much energy does the sun deliver Atmospheric effects Distribution of Solar Resource Photon Flux: How many photons at each energy come from the sun Electromagnetic Radiation E H Electromagnetic radiation characterized by: Speed of light 3 x 10 8 m/s Wavelength Frequency Photon energy Planck Constant 2 Solar Spectra Solar irradiance Amount of power delivered per area per unit wavelength range Integrate solar irradiance over wavelength wavelength 2000 1500 1000 500 0 4 3 2 1 0 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 AM0 5960 K Spectra AM0 = Air Mass 0 (no atmosphere) Solar Constant The total energy flux (energy per time per area) incident on a unit area perpendicular to a beam outside the Earths atmosphere Earth Sunlight beam Unit area Solar Spectra: Wavelength 2000 1500 1000 500 0 4 3 2 1 0 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 AM0 5960 K Spectra AM0 = Air Mass 0 (no atmosphere) Compare Solar Radiation to Blackbody Radiation Plancks Constant Boltzmanns Constant Solid angle subtended by sun from earth Density of photon modes Geometry, conversion Occupation probability earth sun 3 Solar Energy Hitting the Earth The total energy flux incident on a unit area perpendicular to a beam outside the Earths atmosphere Solar Constant The earth intercepts an area Radius of earth Total power intercepted by earth This is distributed over the total surface area of earth Average energy flux incident on a unit surface area: This corresponds to an annual average of: Recall that each person in US uses ~ 11.3 kW = 100,000 kW hr/year Scattering Diffuse component Absorption Albedo Atmosphere Effects Atmosphere Air Mass = 1 Air Mass = In this area, about 30% of light is diffuse (averaged over the year) Flat photovoltaic panels can use this diffuse light Concentrating systems, which rely on focusing directional light, cannot 4 Air Absorption Air Mass Factor = angle of sun from horizon AM0 no air AM1.5 About Seattle WA at 12:00 noon at the equinox 2000 1500 1000 500 0 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 AM0 5960 Kelvin Blackbody AM1.5 (Including diffuse) AM1.5 Spectra Includes: Direct radiation Diffuse radiation scattered from air Diffuse radiation scattered from ground http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/spectra/am1.5/ H 2 O CO 2
Earth Atmosphere Solar Resource with Air Again integrate over wavelength to find total power density Recall for AM0 we get 1367 W/m 2
For AM1.5 we get 1000 W/m 2 Reduction due to atmosphere for AM1.5 2000 1500 1000 500 0 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 AM0 5960 Kelvin Blackbody AM1.5 (Including diffuse) 5 Solar Power Potential Hitting 3% of the Earths Land Harvested with 15% Efficiency Coal Oil Natural Gas Nuclear Hydro World Power Sources, Solar Power Potential Worldwide Solar Resource Estimate of Available Solar Power Use 10% of unused land 1/2 of which is covered by 10% efficiency cells 128,000 TW Striking earth surface 80 TW available 15 TW Solar array 780 km on a side 6 USA Solar Power Resource To make our 11,300 Watts, each person needs a PV array about 60 feet on a side The stuff had better be cheap! - and abundant Solar Spectra: Photon Energy Solar spectra as a function of photon energy Also sometimes useful to consider photon flux density Can relate to our old buddy irradiance Power per area in wavelength increment Power per area in corresponding photon energy increment 4 3 2 1 0 x 1 0 2 1
4 3 2 1 0 AM1.5 5960 K Spectra Divide power density by energy per photon 7 Solar Spectra: Photon Flux Number of photons per area per time per energy increment We can integrate this to find the photon flux in a given energy range (for example the photons that have a energy greater than the bandgap in a photovoltaic device) This will be important when we discuss PV efficiency. 4 3 2 1 0 x 1 0 2 1
4 3 2 1 0 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 x 1 0 2 1
AM1.5 5960 K Spectra MSE 156/256 - Solar Cells, Fuel Cells and Batteries: Materials for the Energy Solution Stanford University Autumn 2012 Unit I: Solar Resource Solar spectrum - how the sun delivers energy Solar spectrum compared to black body radiation How much energy does the sun deliver Atmospheric effects Distribution of Solar Resource Photon Flux: How many photons at each energy come from the sun Unit 2: Semiconductors a critical component of a solar cell Coming Up: