UTILITY SCALE

SOLAR
PROJECT

LARGE SCALE
PHOTOVOLTAIC
POWER STATION
A UTILITY-SCALE SOLAR PROJECT IS A
LARGE-SCALE SOLAR GENERATOR
INSTALLATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF
GENERATING POWER TO FEED TO THE GRID
AND SUPPLY UTILITIES WITH ENERGY.
ALMOST EVERY UTILITY-SCALE SOLAR
FACILITY HAS A POWER PURCHASE
AGREEMENT (PPA) WITH A UTILITY,
GUARANTEEING A MARKET FOR ITS ENERGY
FOR A FIXED PERIOD OF TIME.
A PPA IS A DIRECT BILATERAL AGREEMENT
BETWEEN A SUPPLIER AND A CONSUMER OF
POWER. IT IS TYPICALLY BETWEEN A PUBLIC
SECTOR PURCHASER KNOWN AS THE
"OFFTAKER" AND A PRIVATELY-OWNED POWER
PRODUCER.
PUBLIC SECTOR PURCHASERS ARE
CONSUMERS ALREADY ON THE GRID OR
MIGHT BE OFFGRID, WHILE THE PRIVATELY
OWNED POWER PRODUCER IS SELLING
DIRECTLY TO THE PURCHASER AS IN A
BILATERAL TRADE WITH OR WITHOUT USING
TYPES OF UTILITY SCALE SOLAR
PROJECTS:
•CONCENTRATED SOLAR-THERMAL POWER
(CSP)
•LARGE SCALE
PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER STATION

CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER (CSP)

TECHNOLOGIES IS AN APPROACH TO
GENERATING ELECTRICITY THROUGH
THOUSANDS OF MOTORIZED TRACKING
MIRRORS CALLED HELIOSTATS.
THE MIRRORS REFLECT, CONCENTRATE, AND
FOCUS NATURAL SUNLIGHT ONTO A LARGE
HEAT EXCHANGER CALLED A RECEIVER,
THE ENERGY FROM THE CONCENTRATED
SUNLIGHT HEATS A HIGH TEMPERATURE
HEAT TRANSFER FLUID WITHIN THE
RECEIVER.
THE FLUID UTILIZED IN THIS TECHNOLOGY
IS MOLTEN SALT WHICH IS AN IDEAL HEAT
CAPTURE AND HEAT STORAGE MEDIUM
BECAUSE IT MAINTAINS A WIDER OPERATING
TEMPERATURE IN LIQUID STATE.
HEAT ENERGY FROM THE HEATED HIGH
TEMPERATURE MOLTEN SALT CAN BE
STORED FOR UP TO 10-16HRS IN A THERMAL
INSULATED STORAGE TANK UNTIL
ELECTRICITY IS NEEDED DAY OR NIGHT.
THE HEAT ABSORBED BY THE HIGH
TEMPERATURE MOLTEN SALT IS THEN USED
TO CREATE HIGH QUALITY SUPERHEATED
STEAM VIA HEAT EXCHANGE WITH WATER IN
A THERMAL STEAM GENERATOR.
THE HIGH-PRESSURE STEAM IS USED TO
DRIVE A STEAM TURBINE TO GENERATE
ELECTRICAL POWER AND THE COOLED
MOLTEN SALT IS THEN PIPED INTO A COLD
SALT STORAGE TANK, FROM WHERE IT WILL
FLOW BACK UP TO THE RECEIVER TO BE
REHEATED AS THE PROCESS CONTINUES.
AFTER THE STEAM IS USED TO SPIN THE
TURBINE, IT IS CONDENSED BACK TO WATER
AND RETURNED TO THE WATER HOLDING
TANK.
THE CONDENSED WATER FROM THE WATER
HOLDING TANK WILL FLOW BACK TO THE
THERMAL STEAM GENERATOR FOR
CONTINUAL STEAM PRODUCTION.
THIS THERMAL STEAM GENERATOR PROCESS
IS IDENTICAL TO THE PROCESS OF USING
CONVECTIONAL GAS, COAL, OR NUCLEAR
POWER PLANT, EXCEPT THAT IT IS 100%
RENEWABLE WITH ZERO HARMFUL
EMISSION OR WASTE LIKE CARBON DIOXIDE.
THIS CSP PLANT PROVIDES ON-DEMAND
(DISPATCHABLE) AND RELIABLE
ELECTRICITY FROM A RENEWABLE SOURCE
(THE SUN) WITH THE ADDITIONAL BENEFIT
OF ENERGY STORAGE AS HIGH
TEMPERATURE MOLTEN SALT, WHICH IS
CHEAPER THAN STORING ENERGY IN
BATTERIES.
CSP PLANTS CAN BE CONFIGURED IN TWO
DIFFERENT WAYS
• POWER TOWER RECEIVER SYSTEMS
• LINEAR RECEIVER SYSTEMS
CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER
(CSP)
LARGE SCALE PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER
STATION
A PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER STATION, ALSO
KNOWN AS A SOLAR PARK, SOLAR FARM,
OR SOLAR POWER PLANT, IS A LARGE-
SCALE GRID-CONNECTED PHOTOVOLTAIC
POWER SYSTEM (PV SYSTEM) DESIGNED FOR
THE SUPPLY OF POWER TO THE GRID.
PHOTOVOLTAICS IS THE CONVERSION OF
PARTICLES OF LIGHT INTO ELECTRICITY.
SOLAR PANELS ARE USUALLY MADE FROM
SEVERAL UNITS OF PV CELLS MADE OF
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS, SUCH AS
SILICON, THAT FORM AN ELECTRICAL
CIRCUIT. WHEN SUNLIGHT IS CAPTURED,
ELECTRONS ARE RELEASED AND CAPTURED
IN THE FORM OF AN ELECTRIC CURRENT.
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS ARE CONNECTED
ELECTRICALLY IN SERIES AND/OR PARALLEL
CIRCUITS TO PRODUCE HIGHER VOLTAGES,
CURRENTS AND POWER LEVELS.
PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES CONSIST OF PV
CELL CIRCUITS SEALED IN AN
ENVIRONMENTALLY PROTECTIVE LAMINATE
AND ARE THE FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING
BLOCKS OF PV SYSTEMS.
PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS INCLUDE ONE OR
MORE PV MODULES ASSEMBLED AS A PRE-
WIRED, FIELD-INSTALLABLE UNIT.
A PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAY IS THE COMPLETE
POWER-GENERATING UNIT, CONSISTING OF
ANY NUMBER OF PV MODULES AND PANELS.
PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER STATION CAN BE
CONFIGURED IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS
• GROUND-MOUNTED PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR
PARKS
• FLOATING PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR FARMS
A GROUND MOUNTED SOLAR
PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) ARRAY IS A SOLAR
ENERGY GENERATOR THAT IS MOUNTED ON
THE GROUND USING SPECIALLY DESIGNED
FRAMES.
THEY ARE TYPICALLY PLACED A FEW INCHES
TO SEVERAL FEET OFF THE GROUND AND
UTILIZE THREE TYPES OF RACKING
SYSTEMS: FIXED-TILT, SINGLE-AXIS
TRACKER, OR DUAL-AXIS TRACKER.
FIXED-TILT SYSTEMS ARE DESIGNED TO
POSITION THE MODULES AT A “FIXED” TILT
SOLAR TRACKER SYSTEMS (WHETHER
SINGLE OR DUAL-AXIS TRACKING) ARE
DESIGNED TO AUTOMATICALLY ADJUST THE
POSITIONS OF THE PV ARRAY SO THAT THE
MODULES “TRACK” THE SUN THROUGHOUT
THE DAY ON A CONSISTENT BASIS.
COMPARED TO A FIXED-TILT ARRAY, SOLAR
TRACKING SYSTEMS ARE SAID TO BOOST
ENERGY PRODUCTION BETWEEN 15-30% FOR
THE SAME SIZE ARRAY.
FLOATING SOLAR FARMS
FLOATING SOLAR FARMS GENERATES
ELECTRICITY WHILE REDUCING
EVAPORATION OF WATER FROM THE
RESERVOIR/RIVERS THUS CONTROLLING
CLIMATE CHANGE.
FLOATING SOLAR FARMS ARE UP TO 16%
MORE EFFICIENT THAN TERRESTRIAL PV
SOLAR PANELS BECAUSE WATER HELPS TO
KEEP SOLAR PANEL COOL THUS IMPROVING
THEIR EFFICIENCY AND EXTENDING THEIR
LIFE SPAN.
FLOATING SOLAR PANELS ARE HOWEVER
MORE EXPENSIVE TO INSTALL AND HAVE
HIGHER RISK OF BEING DAMAGED BY
TURBULENT SEASONED WATERS WITH
WAVES AND TIDES.
FLOATING SOLAR FARMS FORM A MOVING
SOLAR ISLAND ON WATER, THESE SOLAR
ISLANDS WILL MOVE TO MAKE SURE THAT
THE PANELS ARE ALWAYS FACING THE SUN.
THE FLOATERS/PILLOWS WHICH CARRY THE
SOLAR PANELS ON WATER ARE MADE UP OF
HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE.
THESE FLOATERS PROVIDE PROTECTION
AGAINST CORROSION OF THE METAL PARTS
OF THE PANELS SO THAT THEY DON’T COME
IN CONTACT WITH THE WATER. THESE
FLOATERS ALSO PROTECTS THE PANELS
FROM AQUATIC LOCAL LIVING CREATURES.
FLOATING PANELS ARE INSTALLED WITH
LARGE GAPS BETWEEN THEM SO AS NOT TO
COMPLETELY BLOCK THE RIVER/LAKE FROM
SUNLIGHT AND AIR FOR AQUATIC ANIMALS
TO SURVIVE, DRONE ARE USED TO MONITOR
AND TRACE MALFUNCTIONING PANELS OR
FAULTY CONNECTIONS.
AN IDEAL PLACE TO STASH BIG SOLAR
ARRAYS ARE ON THE WATER ESPECIALLY
ADJACENT TO EXISTING HYDROPOWER
PLANTS. ONE ADVANTAGE OF STASHING
SOLAR PANELS ON BODIES OF WATER
ALREADY BEING USED ON EXISTING
HYDROPOWER IS LOWER TRANSMISSION
COST SINCE THE EXPENSIVE
INFRASTRUCTURE TO TRANSMIT POWER ON
IS ALREADY ON GROUND.
HOWEVER, THE MAIN REASON WHY
FLOATING SOLAR PANELS ARE INSTALLED ON
ALREADY EXISTING HYDROPOWER
NATURALLY DURING DRY HOT SEASONS,
SOLAR FARMS ARE BETTER AND MORE
PRODUCTIVE WHILE HYDROPOWER
RESERVOIR AND OPERATING HEAD IS LOWER
DURING THE SAME DRY HOT SEASON.
AGAIN, DURING RAINY AND CLOUDY
SEASONS, SOLAR FARMS GET LESS SUN AND
GENERATION IS MINIMAL WHILE
HYDROPOWER PLANTS PERFORM BETTER
WITH INCREASED GENERATION DURING THE
SAME RAINY CLOUDY SEASON.
SOLAR FARMS AND HYDROPOWER PLANT
COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER AND TOGETHER
ON A WHOLE, THEY HELP EVEN EACH OTHER
OUT DURING THEIR RESPECTIVE LEAN
TIMES.
HYDRO AND FLOATING SOLAR PLANTS
SUPPORT EACH OTHER SUCH THAT, THE
WATER IN THE HYDRO RESERVOIR HELPS TO
COOL THE SOLAR PANEL TO IMPROVE THEIR
EFFICIENCY.
FLOATING SOLAR
FARM
ALSO, THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE SOLAR FARMS ON
WATER HELPS MAINTAIN THE ALL-IMPORTANT WATER
LEVEL AT THE HYDRO RESERVOIR SINCE COVERAGE BY
PANELS NATURALLY REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF WATER
EVAPORATING FROM THE RESERVOIR.
THE PANEL COVERAGE ON WATER COULD ALSO LIMIT
ALGAE GROWTH AND OFFER USEFUL SHELTER TO FISH
AND OTHER WATER LIFE.