Solar Power

How does it work• Solar power is the conversion of Sun light into electricity. Either directly using photovoltaic (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device that converts light into electric current using the Photovoltaic effect(In the photoelectric effect, electrons are emitted from matter (metals and non-metallic solids, liquids or gases) as a consequence of their absorption of energy from electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength, such as visible or ultraviolet radiation). Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a conventional power plant .photoelectric effect

Where around the world is solar power being used? • Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park, Spain .• The Olmedilla Photovoltaic (PV) Park uses 162,000 flat solar photovoltaic

panels to deliver 60 megawatts of electricity on a sunny day. The entire plant was completed in 15 months at a cost of about $530 million at current exchange rates. Olmedilla was built with conventional solar panels, which are made with silicon and tend to be heavy and expensive.

• Puertollano Photovoltaic Park, Spain• Renovalia developed this power station in Puertollano, Ciudad Real, housing an

energy park with an installed capacity of 50 megawatts (MW). The power generated here is equivalent to the annual domestic consumption of electricity of about 39,000 households. The energy produced here will replace a theoretical discharge of 84,000 tons of CO2/year or, 2.1 million tons of CO2 over the 25 years during it’s production.

Where around the world is solar power being used? • Waldpolenz Solar Park, Germany Waldpolenz Solar Park, which is the world’s largest thin-film photovoltaic (PV) power system, is built in on military air base to the east of Leipzig in Germany. The power plant is a 40-megawatt solar power system using state-of-the-art thin film technology. 550,000 First Solar thin-film modules are used, which supplies 40,000 MWh of electricity per year. The investment cost for the Waldpolenz solar park amounts to some Euro 130 million.

Are there any other places where Solar power is in process of being built or proposed?

• Solar power is all around the world now, most countries have solar power plants. These are countries that are in the process of building solar power plants:

• Spain• France • USA• Israel• China• UAE

How much energy can you get from a typical solar power station ?Large Solar Power plants can pump out between 150mw to 400mw .The solar thermal power industry is growing rapidly, with about 1.17 gigawatts (GW) of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants online as of 2011. 582 megawatts of them are located in Spain, and the United States has 507 MW of capacity. About 17 GW of CSP projects are under development worldwide, and the United States leads with about 8 GW. Spain ranks second with 4.46 GW in development, followed by China with 2.5 GW.

Are there any solar power stations in NZ, where are they and how many homes do they power?

• There are no solar power plants in New Zealand, because we do not have the right climate or a place with enough sun hours to sustain a large power station. But we do have many houses that run off solar power because they have their own solar panels.

What are the negative sides to solar electricity generation? • Very diffuse source means low energy production--large numbers of solar panels (and thus large land areas) are required to produce useful amounts of heat or electricity. • Only areas of the world with lots of sunlight are suitable for solar power generation.• Costs a lot to build.

What are the positive sides to this type of electricity generation? • Inexhaustible fuel source • No pollution • Often an excellent supplement to other renewable sources • Versatile--is used for powering items as diverse as solar cars and satellites