The Importance Of Solar Power

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Solar power is the most abundant and the cleanest renewable energy resource. It eliminates the production of green house gases and relies solely on power harnessed from sunlight. The power from sunlight is converted into electricity in the solar cells lining the panel. Solar power is generally harvested in four different ways: photovoltaics, solar heating and cooling, concentrating solar power, and passive solar. Photovoltaics, solar heating and cooling, and concentrating solar power are active solar systems. Passive solar is a passive solar system. Active solar systems “use mechanical or electrical devices that convert the sun 's heat or light to another form of usable energy. Passive solar buildings are designed and oriented to collect, store, …show more content…

The thermal energy concentrated in a CSP plant can be stored and used to produce electricity when it is needed, day or night. Today, over 1,800 megawatts (MW) of CSP plants operate in the United States” (SEIA 1). Concentrating solar power can be divided into four types: parabolic trough, compact linear fresnel reflector, power tower, and dish-engine. Parabolic troughs use curved mirrors in order to direct the suns energy to tubes. In these receiver tubes, fluid, such as chemically crafted oil, are used to absorb the energy from the sun. Compact linear reflectors are similar to the parabolic trough, but instead they use cheaper flat mirrors and receivers. They also have more applications in steam power. “Power tower systems use a central receiver system, which allows for higher operating temperatures and thus greater efficiencies. Computer-controlled flat mirrors (called heliostats) track the sun along two axes and focus solar energy on a receiver at the top of a high tower. The focused energy is used to heat a transfer fluid (over 1,000° F) to produce steam and run a central power generator” (SEIA 3). Dish-engine systems are essentially a combination of the other three CSP systems, however they use hydrogen instead of …show more content…

Essentially, passive solar power is designing homes in a way that effectively reduces the consumption of energy. Strategically placed windows which allow sunlight at certain times, proper insulation, brick and stone houses, fans, lighter colors, and blinds are all some elements of the passive solar power strategy. This strategy is the most affordable of all the mentioned solar power and energy conservation

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