Analysis of Solar Energy - Research Paper Example

Analysis of Solar Energy Thesis statement: We must find a substitute for coal as our main source of energy. It is in this line that we should investigate the efficiency of solar energy as a possible alternative energy source. Introduction: The recent devastating weather events all over the world can changed our mind to accepting that indeed climate change is here. In a presentation by Vice President Al Gore of the “An Inconvenient Truth” I learned that the coal as our main source of energy contributed a lot to greenhouse gasses that cause climate change. It is in this light that I would like to investigate alternative source of energy that is cleaner. This research proposal intends to investigate the efficiency of using solar energy as alternative fuel. 1. Our present energy source and its impact to our environment The impact on the environment from the present energy sources like coal, oil and gas is harsh. All the fossil fuel energy sources are capable of generation energy but taking a bigger cost in terms of environmental instability. The most important feature of the fossil fuel sources is the production of massive amounts of green house gases. The major component of the green house gases is carbon dioxide, however, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are also the components of green house gases. The important aspect of the green house gas emission is the alteration in the climate of the earth. During the past few decades, it is noticed that averagely there is an increase of about 0.8 to 1 degree in the global temperature of the earth. The impacts of this global warming is devastating, like melting of the ice glaciers at atlantics and at other places of the world, impacting biodiversity of the planet, etc. Green policies are made by certain governments like in Germany and implemented to reduce the risks of global warming. However, some nongovernmental organization in various parts of the world is focused to reduce the utilization of the fossil fuel resources. 1.1. Coal as a sustainable energy source A sustainable energy resource can be defined as the resources that has no or little environmental impacts, that is capable of making no or little impacts on the biodiversity of the planet, that can be easily available all around the world and that produces zero or little green house gas emissions. If coal is analyzed in this perspective, coal produces harsh effects to the environment, coal is not available all around the world and coal impacts the biodiversity of the planet by producing such waster that can be dangerous for the habitat of the planet. 1.2. Coal and the environment If the environmental perspective is considered, coal is the worst form of fossil fuel available, as it produces the highest amount of waster as compared to the amount of energy generated. The mitigating factor in accordance with the environmental impacts of the coal is that the coal produces the highest amounts of all the components of the green house gases and of solid waste as compared to other fossil fuel resources. However, natural gas has the minimum impacts on the environment as the major portion of the gas can be converted to attain energy, so no solid waste, least amount of oxides of sulphur as compared oil and coal. The major portion of the coal is Carbon that produces carbon dioxide and some portion of carbon monoxide when burnt with air to attain energy. Carbon dioxide is the major factor behind the global warming, as the carbon dioxide in combination with the water vapors produces the green house effect, in which the solar radiation are trapped into the earth’s atmosphere preventing the escape of solar radiations and thus the earth’s temperature rises. In this way, coal has the worst impact on the environment of the earth but sadly most of the energy requirements are fulfilled by utilizing the coal resources globally. 2. Solar energy as alternatives The term solar energy is utilized for the energy that is taken from the sun. Naturally, man always depended on the solar energy for all the basic requirements for seeing, for the production of food like food that come from plant sources. Plants not only fulfill the basic food requirements but they are at the bottom of the food chain; meat is also produced by giving the cattle plants diet. Plants have an inbuilt food and energy generation system. They consume the atmospheric carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sun light to produce glucose that is further processed to attain energy through respiration. In this way, solar energy acts as the major constituent of food and energy related to the food. 2.1. Description of solar energy (Use: LePoire, D. J. (2011) Solar energy is not new for the humans. Man is utilizing the solar energy for the various purposes for so many years like the drying of various food products, drying the wet clothes, etc. However, the potential of solar energy is much higher than expected. It is expected that it has the potential of about 800 times more than the energy requirements of the world. Solar energy comprises of two parts light and heat. Bothe light and heat are form of energy that can be converted to electrical power by utilizing different methods. The most important aspect of the solar energy is the availability of the solar energy all around the world. Solar energy is produced by the unstable environment on the sun that cause the different mainly hydrogen to burn causing a blast of heat. Moreover, the extreme temperature causes the nuclei of the hydrogen to split resulting in the emission of an immense amount of energy. That energy is received by all the planets in the solar system. However, distance is inversely proportional to the amount of energy received by the planet from the sun. The Larger the distance, lesser the energy will be received by the planet. Earth receives the solar energy below to the harsh levels and above from the desired levels. If only solar energy is utilized for the generation of power, it will be quite sufficient. It can supply the all the energy requirements of the earth. There are mainly two energy conversion or power generation systems; Solar Photovoltaic Energy Generation system and the other is Solar Thermal power generation system, while another method can also be utilized to heat up the water to fulfill the heating requirements that is solar water heating system. 2.2. Solar energy as clean and renewable source Solar power generation systems have no moving parts and thus the all the systems are extremely silent. However, a little noise can come from the electrical and electronic components of the system. If the environmental perspective is considered, solar energy is extremely beneficent energy, as solar energy produces no green house gas emission, no solid, liquid or gaseous wastes and thus no hazards to the biodiversity of the planet. Solar photovoltaic energy id produced with the help of solar photovoltaic cells or panels. When solar light strikes the surface of the PV module, the photons present in the solar light reacts with the surface and the module releases an electron in response. For each photon striking the surface of the PV module an electron is released that is captured and utilized to attain power. The process has no moving parts, so no lubrication is required. The energy produced is free from the green house gas emissions and it is the most environmental friendly energy generation system that any other systems. The other solar power generation system is the solar thermal power generation system. In the solar thermal power generation system, solar energy is focused on a sealed metallic piping that contains water. The temperature of the water in the sealed metallic piping rises up to the temperature that the water changes to steam. The steam is then further utilized to generate power as in thermal power plant that utilized steam to run the turbine. The system can be implemented in different methods like the solar towers, etc. The dominant feature of both the solar power generation system is no green house gas emissions. However, in order to design a bigger system, a large area is required. 3. Design consideration in the use of solar energy Different materials have different efficiencies. However, sometimes the economic perspective is considered to utilize certain materials in the solar power generation system. Like in the solar photovoltaic power generation system, two basic types of materials that are utilized to manufacture the wafer of the solar panel or solar cell are available; poly crystalline and mono-crystalline. The efficiency of the mono-crystalline wafer is better than the poly crystalline wafer and similarly the price of the poly crystalline wafer is lesser than that of the mono crystalline wafer. However, if the poly crystalline wafer is available in certain part of the world with a drastic difference in the price as compared to the mono-crystalline wafer, it is a fact that the majority of users may utilize the poly crystalline wafer by fulfilling the reduced efficiency with increasing the amount of the solar PV panels. In this way, the availability of the material matters a lot while utilizing the solar power generation system for the utilization. In the similar way, the different materials in the solar thermal power make system more economically stable. 3.1. Materials (Use: Desgrosseilliers, L., Safatli, A., Osbourne, N., Marin, G., White, M., Murray, R., & ... Groulx, D. (2011). If considered the PV solar power generation system, the solar module has important material crystalline silicon. Crystalline silicon has two types’ mono-crystalline silicon and poly crystalline silicon. A wafer of mono-crystalline silicon is often made by utilizing the process of Czochralski process. Mono-crystalline solar cells are more efficient than the poly crystalline cells. However, thin films are considered as the next generation of technology for solar cells as thin films are heavier but the thin films have the capability to be manufactured at a massive scale. Thin films solar cells may include Cadmium telluride solar cells, copper indium gallium selenide solar cells, gallium arsenide multi-junction. Light capturing dyes comprises less expensive materials and they are free from complex manufacturing process and can be applied by a common or a skilled person. 3.2. Geographical (Use: Zahran, S., Brody, S. D., Vedlitz, A., Lacy, M. G., & Schelly, C. (2008). Geographic conditions may have little impact on the solar power generation system, as solar energy is present all around the world. However, such regions that remain under the clouds for a major portion of the year have reduced solar efficiency and it is not feasible to utilize solar energy at these regions. The best solar efficiency can be achieved at the regions near the equator, while the efficiency reduces at the poles. Thus the geographic conditions have impact on the solar power generation systems. It is a myth that deserts receive more solar energy as compared to other regions but it is not true. 3.3. Other Considerations (Use: Lisell, L., Metzger, I., & Dean, J. (2011). The other consideration may include the impact on the vegetation, water resources, soil condition, impact on wildlife, impact on air, etc. As solar energy is free from green house gas emissions, free form any gaseous, liquid and solid wastes. In this way, solar energy produces no or little hazards to the wildlife, vegetation, water resources and air condition. However, solar thermal power generation system may produce a little heat that can affect the temperature of the air and water, but, a little impact on the environment is better than a heavier impact on the environment. 4. Solar energy efficiency Solar power generation system is highly efficient in terms of economics and environmental aspects. In the common sense, efficiency is the difference between the output and input. In a cola power plant coal is the input of the plant and in the oil based power generation system, oil is the input of the system. The price of the coal and oil are rising day by day and thus the price of energy is also rising day by day. However, the input of the solar power generation system is only the solar energy that is free of cost and thus the output has no cost. The only cost that is involved is the capital cost of the solar power generation system. In this way, the efficiency of the solar power generation system is 100% regarding the cost of the input. 4.1. How solar energy can be used as alternative source (Use: Newell, T., & Newell, B. (2011)) Solar energy can easily replace any other power resource. Solar energy can be utilized individually or on the massive scale. However, some organizations and governments are in the favor of individual use of solar energy, which reduces the burden on the coal and oil fired power generation units. The lesser the utilization of coal and oil, the lesser will be the production of green house gases. There is enough potential in the solar energy to meet the demand of energy of the world. Every day, the earth receives solar energy of about 5W/m2 averagely, while, the total energy requirements of the world is about 15tera watts. Then an area of about few 1000 km2 can meet the world energy demand. Solar energy can be utilized in the vehicles that can replace the utilization of fuel in the vehicles. PV solar panels can be mounted on the roofs of the vehicles and a battery backup system can be utilized to store the excess charge produced by the solar PV panels. 4.2. Current studies and findings on the use of solar energy as a source. (Use: Lovich, J. E., & Ennen, J. R. (2011) and Doiron, M., O'Brien, W., & Athienitis, A. (2011).) The studies of J. E. Lovich and J. R. Ennen (2011) have the view that certainly solar energy is the best alternate for oil and coal but it does not mean that it is free from any environmental aspects. A study on the desert tortoise shows that harvesting the solar power generation system highly impacted the growth and birth rate of the desert tortoise. In this way, nothing has a zero environmental aspects. Moreover, while manufacturing a bigger solar power plant may require a bigger space that can only be attained by remaining vegetation from a bigger area of land and thus affecting the wildlife and the vegetation. 5. Implications of solar energy Solar energy has been in use for few past years in some regions of the world. The countries that have the largest capacities of solar power are; Germany having solar power capacity of about 9785 MW, Spain having solar power capacity of about 3386 MW, Japan having solar power capacity of 2633 MW, United States having a solar power capacity of about 1650MW, Italy having a solar power capacity of about 1167 MW, Czech Republic having a solar power capacity of about 465 MW, Belgium having a solar power capacity of about 363 MW, China having a solar power capacity of about 305 MW, France having a solar power capacity of about 272 MW and India having a solar power capacity of about 120 MW(Zachary, np) 5.1. The economic cost (Use: Stanford Ovshinsky) The cost of the solar power generation system depends on which type of system is being implemented and what will be the capacity of the system. The other economic factors that may influence the solar power generation system are the utilization of some certain materials and some certain location. However, design costs are comparatively low for Solar PV power generation system. As there is no fuel involved in the solar power generation system and there is no need to develop any environmental strategies, the power generation systems save a lot and pure profit can be attained. The other important aspect of the solar power generation system may increase the employment. 5.2. The social cost (Use: Wood, L. W. (2012)) The implication of the solar energy may produce some initial problems like the workers in other power plants may lose jobs as the coal and oil fired power plants may not likely to run in presence of solar power plants. The whole situation may produce some initial problems but all these problems are short termed and the jobs and the economic conditions can be settled with the passage of time, as solar power is capable of producing jobs. However, solar energy is not purely free from the green house gas emissions, as the mining of the ore necessary for the solar power generation systems may produce green house gas emissions. While, the amount is much smaller as compared to the amount that is produced by burning coal to run a coal fired power plant. 6. Conclusion Solar energy is a renewable and sustainable energy resource that has the capacity to meet the demand for the current and future generation. As oil and coal resources are minimizing day by day, there is a need to find alternate resources of energy to progress in a clean, healthy and sustainable resources of energy. Solar energy is the cleanest form of energy that is renewable and sustainable. As there is no consumption of fuel is involved in the solar energy generation system, solar energy is free from green house gases emissions. Today, green house gases emission is one of the biggest problems in the world and solar energy has the capability to make certain degree of reduction in the green house gas emissions. 6.1. Viability of solar Energy Solar energy is the most reliable energy source. Sun is present since the birth of earth and will remain till the earth remains. In this way, solar energy is highly viable form of energy and the more it is utilized more environmental stability can be achieved. Solar energy is an endless source or energy and thus it can be utilized as much as we can. 6.2. What can be done The best way to reduce the burden on the coal fired power plants; individual use of solar energy should be adopted. Every individual step will lead to mass level utilization of the solar energy. Governments should reduce the tax rates on the solar modules and solar panels to make the solar energy less expensive, so that the utilization of the solar power can be increased. However, the industrial utilization of the solar energy should be adopted. Works Cited Zachary. “Top Ten countries Using Solar Energy”.1Bog.org. July 27th 2010. Retrieved on 26th April 2012 from http://1bog.org/blog/top-10-countries-using-solar-power/ Read More