CORE 1111

Lecture 20
Solar Power
Outline
1. Solar spectrum and solar insolation
2. Way of using solar energy
2.1 Solar heating;
2.2 Concentrated solar power
2.3 Solar cells
2.4 Solar biomass
2.5 Some issues about solar cells
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 Available renewable energy
Source: Wikipedia

• The volume of the cubes represent the amount of available geothermal, hydro,
wind and solar power in TW, although only a small portion is recoverable.
The small red cube shows the global power demand as in 2012.

?
Usable form like electricity
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efficiently, sustainably, and cost-effectively
1. Solar spectrum and solar insolation
The solar constant measured by satellite to be roughly 1.361 kW/m².

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 Modification of incoming solar radiation
by atmospheric and surface processes

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http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7f.html
 How much energy is available?
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/climatescience/energybalance/energyfromsun.html

Sun Earth

1361 W/m2

r = 6371 km

A tube of sunlight with area πr2

Shining on half of the Earth’s surface with area 2πr2

1361 W/m2 → 681 W/m2 341 W/m2 171 W/m2

On ground Averaging on
πr2 2πr2 ~ 50% day and night

16:01 reflection and absorption 5

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https://ag.tennessee.edu/solar/Pages/What%20Is%20Solar%20Energy/Earth-Energy-Budget.aspx 6
 Solar insolation
• Solar insolation is a measure of solar radiation energy received on a given
surface area in a given time.
• It is commonly expressed as average irradiance in W/m2 or kWh/m2 day.
• 171 W/m2 on average or 171 W/m2× 24 h/day = 4.08 kWh/m2-day.

• While the average insolation is 170 W/m2,

variations in cloud cover and latitude
(solar incident angle and distance) can
produce a large variation in this number.
• A spot in the Sahara (always sunny, near
the equator) may have "270 W/" m2 on
average; while Alaska, often covered in
clouds and at high latitude may get only
75 W/m2 on average.

• Land is needed to harvest the sunlight. Energy demand is high in cities where
the population density is high and land is scarce. It makes the highly populated
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cities not quite suitable for large-scale solar power generation.
 Annual average insolation at Earth's surface
http://www.ez2c.de/ml/solar_land_area/

Sunlight could power the whole world: If installed in areas marked by the
six black dots in the map, solar cells with a conversion efficiency of only 88%
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would produce, on average, 18 TWe power.
 Solar power
Reading : Chapter 6. Solar, p38-49, Chapter D. Solar II, p283-288, David
MacKay 2009, Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air
http://www.withouthotair.com/download.html

• The raw power of sunshine at

midday on a cloudless day is
1,000 W/m2 on the area that is
oriented towards the sun.

• The average raw power of sunshine

per square meter of south-facing
roof in the UK is roughly 110 W/m2 .

• It is obtained after correcting the

effects due to latitude, daily variation,
cloud cover and seasonal variation.
The annual mean daily solar radiation is
14.46 MJ/m2 or 167.4 W/m2 in Hong Kong.
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http://web.hku.hk/~cmhui/hksolar/hksolar.htm#1. 9
 Seasonal variation of Sun’s path

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 Monthly averaged daily horizontal solar irradiation
Month
(MJ/sq.m-day)

January 10.15
February 9.90
March 10.14
April 11.83
May 14.08
June 14.30
July 16.55
August 15.22
September 14.43
October 14.21
November 12.38
December 10.73

The numbers were derived from the solar irradiation data gathered by Hong Kong
Observatory's
16:01 King's Park weather station over the past twenty years. 11
 2. Way of using solar energy
Solar heating
• Light → Heat
•Solar water heating
•Solar air heating

Concentrated Solar thermal power

Solar photovoltaic power
• Light → Heat → Electricity
• Light → Electricity

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Solar biomass
Using trees, bacteria, algae, corn,
soy beans, or oilseed to make
energy fuels, chemicals, or building
materials.

Food
The same as solar biomass,
except we shovel the plants into
humans or other animals.

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Land is needed to harvest the sunlight.
 2.1 Solar heating
Solar water heating systems harness the heat in solar radiation to produce
hot water.
Graph of efficiency and average
temperature difference at constant
irradiance level of 1000 W/m2, for
typical solar collectors

Average temperature difference

between absorber and surrounding
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http://re.emsd.gov.hk/english/solar/solar_wh/solar_wh_to.html#2 14
2.2 Concentrated solar power (CSP)
It is a system where solar radiation is concentrated and then converted into
thermal energy at medium/high temperature (300ºC – 800ºC). This thermal
energy is then used in a thermodynamic cycle to produce electricity.

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https://www.scribd.com/document/234843063/20110310161501-PSA2010Stateoftheart
Parabolic trough
Trough collector focuses the sun's rays

Concentration ratio
30 x to 100 x its normal intensity

Tilt with the sun as the sun moves

Achieving temperatures higher

than 400°C for heat transfer fluid

Generate electricity in a
conventional steam generator.

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https://www.eia.gov/Energyexplained/?page=solar_thermal_power_plants
Solar power tower
Hundreds to thousands of flat, sun-tracking
mirrors called heliostats

Reflect and concentrate

the sun's energy

Concentration ~1,500 times

A central receiver tower heated

up to 1000°C or more

Minimize energy losses from

thermal-energy transport

Generate electricity in a
conventional steam generator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMWIgwvbrcM
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http://www.volker-quaschning.de/articles/fundamentals2/index_e.php
Solar dish

A parabolic-shaped dish composed of many

smaller flat mirrors
Reflects solar radiation to
the focal point
Tilt with the sun as the sun moves

Concentration ratio ~ 1000x

A receiver mounted at the focal point

with a working fluid temperature higher
than 750°C.

Stirling cycle engines are used for

power conversion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EahfGfDdgNY
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https://www.eia.gov/Energyexplained/?page=solar_thermal_power_plants
 2.3 Solar photovoltaic or solar cells

• Photovoltaic (PV) panels convert

sunlight into electricity. Typical
solar panels have an efficiency of
about 10%; expensive ones
perform at 20%.

• The average power delivered by

south-facing 20%-efficient
photovoltaic panels in Britain
would be
20%×10 m2/p× 110 W/m2 = 220 W/p → 5 kWh/d-p

For Hong Kong: 20%×10 m2/p× 148 W/m2 = 296 W/p → 7 kWh/d-p
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How does a solar cell work?
• Absorption of light generating electron-hole pairs
• Separation of the charge carriers by built-in E field
• Extraction of those carriers to an external circuit.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKxrkht7CpY 5 min
 Further details of slide 20
• Light is composed of the light particles -
photons, or bundles of radiant energy. Solar cell
When photons strike a PV cell, they
may be absorbed by the electrons on it.
The energy of absorbed photons is then
transferred to the kinetic energy of
electrons and electricity is generated.

• Solar cells are usually made of two thin (active layer)

pieces of silicon, the substance that
makes up sand and the second most
common substance on earth.

• One piece of silicon has a small amount

of boron added to it. It is called the p-
layer because it has a tendency to offer
positively charges (holes). Solar panel
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gta2ICarDw (5min)
 Further details of slide 20
• The other piece of silicon has a small
amount of phosphorus added to it, Solar cell
giving it an excess of free electrons.
This is called the n-layer because it has
a tendency to offer negatively-charged
electrons.

• When photons reach the active layer (active layer)

between p- and n-layers (the junction),
photons give off energy and releases
electrons and holes. The flow of electric
charges generates electricity.

• Holes are in fact the voids (bubbles) of

electron sea. For details, read the wiki
page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_hole
Solar panel
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 Development of solar cells

https://www.nrel.gov/pv/assets/pdfs/pv-efficiencies-07-17-2018.pdf
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https://www.nrel.gov/pv/assets/pdfs/cell_efficiency_explanatory_notes.pdf
 Demo
D13: Solar Cell

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16:01 https://youtu.be/_lsOBY1G9ew https://youtu.be/syBgM4GLKxY
2.4 Solar biomass
There are three main routes to get energy from
solar-powered biological systems:
Willow Plantation
1. We can grow specially-chosen plants and
burn them in a power station that produces
electricity or heat or both. We’ll call this “coal
substitution”.

2. We can grow specially-chosen plants (oil-

seed rape, sugar cane, or corn, say), turn
them into ethanol or biodiesel, and shove that
into cars, trains, planes or other places where
such chemicals are useful.
Or we might cultivate genetically-engineered
bacteria, cyanobacteria, or algae that directly
produce hydrogen, ethanol, or butanol, or
even electricity. We’ll call all such approaches
“petroleum substitution”.
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3. We can take by-products from other agricultural activities and burn them in
a power station.
• The by-products might range from straw to chicken droppings.

Biofuels: The use of straw as a carbon-neutral

energy source is increasing rapidly,
Large round bales of straw
especially for biobutanol.

Biomass: straw pellets have superior structural,

chemical and combustion properties
straw pellets
to coal, they can replace all coal and
turn a coal plant into an entirely
biomass-fed power station.

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 PRS L21: Which of the followings are caused by solar
radiation?
a.Volcanoes and hot springs;
b.Biomass;
c.Wind;
d.Tides;
e.Rain.

1. a, b, & d;
2. b, c & e;
3. b, d & e;
4. c, d, & e;
5. all of above

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 Answer: 2) b, c, & e.

Explanation

• Volcanoes and hot springs are the geothermal energy

generated and stored in the Earth.
• Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the
combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the
Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.

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 2.5 Some issues about solar cells
Temperature dependent output power
• The output power will decrease as the module temperature
increases once the module reaches about 40C.

• There is also power loss when the power is converted into AC. The
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losses are usually assumed to be 20%.
 Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector
• Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collectors, sometimes known as hybrid
PVT, are systems that convert solar radiation into thermal and electrical
energy. These systems combine a photovoltaic cell with a solar thermal
collector, which captures the remaining energy and removes waste heat from
the PV module.

• This is the approach pioneered by PV receiver

Heliodynamics, who reduce the overall
cost of their systems by surrounding
small high-grade gallium arsenide Mirror elements
photovoltaic units with arrays of slowly-
moving flat mirrors.

• The mirrors focus the sunlight onto the

photovoltaic units, which deliver both
electricity and hot water; the hot water is
generated by pumping water past the
back of the photovoltaic units.
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Energy payback time of commercial PV systems

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M.J. (Mariska) de Wild-Scholten / SolarEnergyMaterials&SolarCells119(2013)296–305
Carbon footprint of commercial PV systems

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M.J. (Mariska) de Wild-Scholten / SolarEnergyMaterials&SolarCells119(2013)296–305
“To make a difference, renewable facilities have to be country-sized”
by David JC MacKay
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 Today’s open-ended questions
If we cover all deserts by solar panels, what impacts can it make
in terms energy, climate change, and other related issue
(including geopolitics)?

Source: Wikipedia

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1. Which of the following energy sources is non-
renewable?

(A)Hydro-electric
(B)Wind
(C)Nuclear
(D)Solar
(E)Geothermal

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2.Which of the following statements is true about
the solar cells?

(A)The output power will not depend on the temperature.

(B)Manufacturing a solar panel consumes more energy than it will
ever deliver.
(C)The carbon footprint of commercial solar cell systems is similar
to that of a coal-fired power plant.
(D) Only Si-solar cells can be used to harvest solar energy.
(E) In a Si-solar cell, photon-generated electrons will go to the n-type
layer.
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3. Currently, the renewable energy sources, which
are used to generate electric power, include
sunlight, tides, dammed water, and wind. The
installed capacity of these sources is, in
descending order,
A) Sunlight, tides, dammed water, and wind
B) Tides, sunlight, wind, and dammed water
C) Wind, dammed water, tides, and sunlight
D) Dammed water, wind, sunlight, and tides
E) Dammed water, sunlight, tides, and wind
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