Innovation in Concentrated Solar Power - Case Study Example

Download file to see previous pages The study also focuses on concentrating solar power generation since it is the supreme renewable energy source globally.
According to [2], Solar energy technologies are classified into: i) Passive and active; ii) Thermal and photovoltaic; and iii) Concentrating and non-concentrating. Passive solar energy technology simply gathers the energy without changing the light or heat into other forms. It entails maximizing the daylight use or heat through the designs of building. Active solar energy technology on the other hand refers to the collecting of solar energy for storage or conversion for other applications. This can be classified as solar thermal and photovoltaic (PV). The PV technology changes radiant energy in light quanta to electrical energy when light rays falls on a semiconductor material. This then causes electron excitation and powerfully enhancing conductivity [2].'

In 1767, a Swiss scientist named Horace Benedict created the first solar collector. It was an insulated box covered with three layers of glass to absorb heat energy. His box became widely known as the first solar oven [3]. The next innovation was in 1883. At this time, the first solar cells were introduced. The cells were wrapped with selenium wafers. Then in 1958, solar power was used to power space equipment such as satellites and space stations. This was the first commercial use of solar energy [2, 3].
Solar energy technologies have an extensive history. From 1860 to First World War, a series of technologies were invented to produce steam, by capturing heat from the sun to run irrigation pumps and engines [4]. Solar PV cells were developed at Bell Labs in the US in 1954, and they have been useful in space satellites for electricity production as from the late 1950s. The years following the oil shock in the 1970s saw a lot of interest in the improvement as well as commercialization of solar energy technologies. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More