SOLAR TREE

SEMINAR REPORT

SUBMITTED BY

ASHISH KUMAR (1601292136)

In partial fulfilment for the award of the degree

Of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

IN

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

GANDHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE

BHUBANESWAR-752054

2016-2020
 CONTENTS

SL NO. TITLE PAGE NO

1. ABSTRACT 2.
2. INTRODUCTION 3.
3. WHAT IS A SOLAR TREE 4.
4. INTRODUCTION OF SOLAR TREE 5.
5. HOW SOLAR CELL WORKS 6-17.
6. WHY WE CALL IT A SOLAR TREE 18.
7. WHY IT IS NEEDED 19-20.
8. CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING 21-24.
9. WHY ITS BETTER THAN TRADITIONAL SYSTEM 25.
10. APPLICATION 26.
11. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 27.
12. CONCLUSION 28.
13. REFERENCES 29.
 ABSTRACT

Now a days with the growing population and energy demand we

should take a renewable option of energy source and also we should
keep in mind that energy should not cause pollution and other
natural hazards. In this case the solar energy is the best option for us.
India is a highly populated country, so we should take the advantage
of such an energy which requires a very less space to produce energy
efficiently. In this case solar tree could be the best one for us. We
can also use the technique called “SPIRALLING PHYLLATAXY” to
improve the efficiency of the plant. It can be applied in street
lightening system, industrial power supply etc. It is much better than
the traditional solar PV system in area point of view and also more
efficient. So this will be a very good option and should be
implemented.
 INTRODUCTION

It is a form of renewable energy resource that is some measure

competitive with fossil fuels. Hydro power is the force of energy of
moving water. It provides about 96% of the renewable energy in
the united state. Hydro electric power plants do not use any
resources to create electricity or they do not pollute the air.

The sun is a hydrodynamic spherical body of extremely hot ionized

gases(plasma), generating energy by the process of the
thermonuclear fusion. The temperature of interior of sun is
estimated at 8*10^6 k to 40*10^6 k, where energy is released by
fusion of hydrogen and helium.

Solar energy is available in abundance and considered as the

easiest and cleanest means of tapping the renewable energy. For
direct conversion of solar radiation into usable form, the routes
are: solar thermal, solar photovoltaic and solar architecture.
However the main problem associated with tapping solar energy is
the requirement to install large solar collectors requires a very big
space. To avoid this problem we can install a solar tree in spite of a
no of solar panels which require a very small space.
 WHAT IS A SOLAR TREE

A solar tree is a decorative means of producing solar energy and also

electricity. It uses multiple no of solar panels which forms the shape
of a tree. The panels are arranged in a tree fashion in a tall
tower/pole.

TREE stands for

T= TREE GENERATING

R=RENEWABLE

E=ENERGY and

E=ELECTRICITY

This is like a tree in structure and the panels are like leaves of the
tree which produces energy.

SPIRALLING PHYLLATAXY

It is a technique used in designing of solar tree . it provides the way

to help the lower panels from the shadow of upper ones, so that it
can track maximum power from sun.
 INTRODUCTION ABOUT SOLAR CELL

A solar cell (photovoltaic cell or photoelectric cell) is a solid state

electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into
electricity by the photovoltaic effect. The energy of light is
transmitted by photons-small packets or quantum of light. Electrical
energy is stored in electromagnetic fields, which in turn can make a
current of electrons flow.
Assemblies of solar cells are used to make solar modules which are
used to capture energy from sunlight. When multiple modules are
assembled together (such as prior to installation on a pole-mounted
tracker system), the resulting integrated group of modules all
oriented in one plane is referred as a solar panel. The electrical
energy generated from solar modules, is an example of solar energy.
Photovoltaic is the field of technology and research related to the
practical application of photovoltaic cells in producing electricity
from light, though it is often used specifically to refer to the
generation of electricity from sunlight. Cells are described as
photovoltaic cells when the light source is not necessarily sunlight.
These are used for detecting light or other electromagnetic radiation
near the visible range, for example infrared detectors, or
measurement of light intensity.

.
 HOW SOLAR CELL WORKS
Solar cells, which largely are made from crystalline silicon work on
the principle of Photoelectric Effect that this semiconductor exhibits.
Silicon in its purest form- Intrinsic Silicon- is doped with a dopant
impurity to yield Extrinsic Silicon of desired characteristic (p-type or
n-type Silicon). When p and n type silicon combine they result in
formation of potential barrier.

Working of Solar cells can thus be based on two crystalline structure

 Intrinsic Silicon
 Extrinsic Silicon
Pure Silicon (Intrinsic) Crystalline Structure

Silicon has some special chemical properties, especially in its

crystalline form. An atom of silicon has 14 electrons, arranged in
three different shells. The first two shells- which hold two and eight
electrons respectively- are completely full. The outer shell, however,
is only half full with just four electrons (Valence electrons). A silicon
atom will always look for ways to fill up its last shell, and to do this, it
will share electrons with four nearby atoms. It's like each atom holds
hands with its neighbours, except that in this case, each atom has
four hands joined to four neighbours. That's what forms the
crystalline structure. The only problem is that pure crystalline silicon
is a poor conductor of electricity because none of its electrons are
free to move about, unlike the electrons in more optimum
conductors like copper

Impurity Silicon (Extrinsic): P-type and N-type Semiconductors

Extrinsic silicon in a solar cell has added impurity atoms purposefully

mixed in with the silicon atoms, maybe one for every million silicon
atoms. Phosphorous has five electrons in its outer shell. It bonds
with its silicon neighbor atoms having valency of 4, but in a sense,
the phosphorous has one electron that doesn't have anyone to bond
with. It doesn't form part of a bond, but there is a positive proton in
the phosphorous nucleus holding it in place. When energy is added
to pure silicon, in the form of heat, it causes a few electrons to break
free of their bonds and leave their atoms. A hole is left behind in
each case. These electrons, called free carriers, then wander
randomly around the crystalline lattice looking for another hole to
fall into and carry an electrical current. In Phosphorous-doped
Silicon, it takes a lot less energy to knock loose one of "extra"
phosphorous electrons because they aren't tied up in a bond with
any neighboring atoms. As a result, most of these electrons break
free, and release a lot more free carriers than in pure silicon. The
process of adding impurities on purpose is called doping, and when
doped with phosphorous, the resulting silicon is called N-type ("n"
for negative) because of the prevalence of free electrons. N-type
doped silicon is a much better conductor than pure silicon. The other
part of a typical solar cell is doped with the element boron, which
has only three electrons in its outer shell instead of four, to become
P-type silicon. Instead of having free electrons, P-type ("p" for
positive) has free openings and carries the opposite positive charge

Formation of Potential Barrier and Photoelectric Effect

The electric field is formed when the N-type and P-type silicon come
into contact. Suddenly, the free electrons on the N side combine the
openings on the P side. Right at the junction, they combine and form
something of a barrier, making it harder and harder for electrons on
the N side to cross over to the P side (called POTENTIAL BARRIER).
Eventually, equilibrium is reached, and an electric field separating
the two sides is set up. This electric field acts as a diode, allowing
(and even pushing) electrons to flow from the P side to the N side,
but not the other way around. It's like a hill -- electrons can easily go
down the hill (to the N side), but can't climb it (to the P side).

When light, in the form of photons, hits solar cell, its energy breaks
apart electron-hole pairs (Photoelectric effect). Each photon with
enough energy will normally free exactly one electron, resulting in a
free hole as well. If this happens close enough to the electric field, or
if free electron and free hole happen to wander into its range of
influence, the field will send the electron to the N side and the hole
to the P side. This causes further disruption of electrical neutrality,
and if an external current path is provided, electrons will flow
through the path to the P side to unite with holes that the electric
field sent there, doing work for us along the way. The electron flow
provides the current, and the cell's electric field causes a voltage.
The final step is to install something that will protect the cell from
the external elements- often a glass cover plate. PV modules are
generally made by connecting several individual cells together to
achieve useful levels of voltage and current, and putting them in a
sturdy frame complete with positive and negative terminals.

Manufacturing Technology and process of Solar Cell

STEP 1 - PURIFICATION OF SILICON:

The basic component of a solar cell is intrinsic silicon, which is not
pure in its natural state. To make solar cells, the raw materials—
silicon dioxide of either quartzite gravel or crushed quartz—are first
placed into an electric arc furnace, where a carbon arc is applied to
release the oxygen. A Graphite and Thermal insulator trap the heat
and maintain the furnace at required temperature for gangue
(impurity) to form a slag. The products are carbon dioxide and
molten silicon. Silicon ingot is pulled down from the molten silicon
using seed silicon crystallization and floating zone technique. Passing
impure silicon in same direction several times that separates
impurities- and impure end is later removed. This process yields
silicon with one percent impurity, useful in many industries but not
the solar cell industry. At this point, the silicon is still not pure
enough to be used for solor cells and requires further
purification. Pure silicon is derived from such silicon dioxides as
quartzite gravel (the purest silica) or crushed quartz.

STEP 2- INGOT AND WAFER PREPARATION:

Solar cells are made from silicon boules, polycrystalline structures
that have the atomic structure of a single crystal. The most
commonly used process for creating the boule is called the
Czochralski method. In this process, a seed crystal of silicon is dipped
into melted polycrystalline silicon. As the seed crystal is withdrawn
and rotated, a cylindrical ingot or "boule" of silicon is formed. The
ingot withdrawn is unusually pure, because impurities tend to
remain in the liquid. From the boule, silicon wafers are sliced one at
a time using a circular saw whose inner diameter cuts into the rod, or
many at once with a multi wire saw. (A diamond saw produces cuts
that are as wide as the wafer—. 5 millimeter thick.) Only about one-
half of the silicon is lost from the boule to the finished circular
wafer—more if the wafer is then cut to be rectangular or hexagonal.

Rectangular or hexagonal wafers are sometimes used in solar cells

because they can be fitted together perfectly, thereby utilizing all
available space on the front surface of the solar cell. The wafers are
then polished to remove saw marks.

STEP 3 - DOPING:

The traditional way of doping silicon wafers with boron and

phosphorous is to introduce a small amount of boron during the
Czochralski process. The wafers are then sealed back to back and
placed in a furnace to be heated to slightly below the melting point
of silicon (2,570 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,410 degrees Celsius) in the
presence of phosphorous gas. The phosphorous atoms "burrow" into
the silicon, which is more porous because it is close to becoming a
liquid. The temperature and time given to the process is carefully
controlled to ensure a uniform junction of proper depth. These
diffusion processes are usually performed through the use of a batch
tube furnace or an in-line continuous furnace. The basic furnace
construction and process are very similar to the process steps used
by packaging engineers.

STEP 4 - SCREEN PRINTING:

Electrical contacts are formed through squeezing a metal paste

through mesh screens to create a metal grid. This metal paste
(usually Ag or Al) needs to be dried so that subsequent layers can be
screen-printed using the same method. As a last step, the wafer is
heated in a continuous firing furnace at temperatures ranging from
780 to 900°C. These grid- pattern metal screens act as collector
electrodes that carry electrons and complete the electrical continuity
in the circuit.

STEP 5 - STRINGING AND TABBING:

Electrical contacts connect each solar cell to another and to the

receiver of produced current. The contacts must be very thin (at least
in the front) so as not to block sunlight to the cell. Metals such as
palladium/silver, nickel, or copper are vacuum-evaporated After the
contacts are in place, thin strips ("fingers") are placed between cells.
The most commonly used strips are tin-coated copper.

STEP 6 - ANTIREFLECTIVE COATING:

Because pure silicon is shiny, it can reflect up to 35 percent of the

sunlight. To reduce the amount of sunlight lost, an anti-reflective
coating is put on the silicon wafer- mostly titanium dioxide, silicon
oxide and some others are used. The material used for coating is
either heated until its molecules boil off and travel to the silicon and
condense, or the material undergoes sputtering. In this process, a
high voltage knocks molecules off the material and deposits them
onto the silicon at the opposite electrode. Yet another method is to
allow the silicon itself to react with oxygen- or nitrogen-containing
gases to form silicon dioxide or silicon nitride. Commercial solar cell
manufacturers use silicon nitride. Another method to make silicon
absorb more light is to make its top surface grained, i.e. pyramid
shaped nanostructures that yield 70% absorption that reaches the
cell surface after passing through anti-reflective coating.

STEP 7 - MODULE MANUFACTURING

The finished solar cells are then encapsulated; that is, sealed into
silicon rubber or ethylene vinyl acetate. Solar module assembly
usually involves soldering cells together to produce a 36-cell string
(or longer) and laminating it between toughened glass on the top
and a polymeric backing sheet on the bottom. The encapsulated
solar cells are then placed into an aluminum frame that has a Mylar
or tedlar back sheet and a glass or plastic cover. Frames are usually
applied to allow for mounting in the field, or the laminates may be
separately integrated into a mounting system for a specific
application such as integration into a building.

Advantages of Solar Panels

Private home owners are discovering the benefits to our

environment and a way to live happily off the grid or are considering
installing a grid-tied solar power system to offset their electric bill or
due to a belief in reducing their carbon emissions. These are great
reasons to "go solar"...

 Ecologically Friendly - For obvious reasons, the use of solar

panels is Eco-friendly and considered one of the most "green"
electricity resources. Because because they operate by
interacting with a renewable energy source, sunlight, there is
no fear of depleting yet another natural resource.
 Decreased Electrical Bill - By switching to solar energy, you will
save money on your electrical bills every month. Even if
electricity bills continue raising in the next few months you will
have the peace of mind knowing that your energy source is
based on solar power.
  Low Maintenance - Solar panels have no moveable parts and
are very simple to use. After being set up properly, they do not
need to be tinkered with and will continuing working for many
years. In fact, many manufacturers have 25 year warranties on
their panels.
 Efficiency - No matter where you live, the chances are that you
can successfully use solar panels for you electrical needs. They
are rugged and are very adaptable to climate conditions and
the latest panel models are efficient enough to work well
without facing directly south and some will even produce
electricity under cloud cover.

Regardless of who you are or what type of home you have, solar
power is one of the best ways to provide you and your family with
electricity without causing more damage to our planet.

There are many ways to take advantage of the savings gained from
solar panel systems. Not only does it help you save by cutting your
energy requirement from the utility company, it may also allow you
to lock in a lower solar power rate. By using the electricity produced
by your unit during the day, (when rates are at their highest), and
using the utility company's power in the evening, (when the rates are
at their lowest), you will lower your overall cost for all of your
electrical use. There are also many rebates available to help you save
40-60% on the cost of acquiring your system. For more information
on rebates and incentives for installing a solar power system on your
home or business look up "Energy Incentives" on the IRS website or
check with your local tax adviser for details.

WHY WE CALLED IT AS SOLAR TREE

As we know trees are present in nature and they can produce their
own food material by the process called PHOTOSYNTHESIS. It is the
process by which the green plant collects energy from sun and the
water present in soil at the day time and can produces their own
food material. By this process they are indirectly providing food to
the human society because we are depending on the green plants for
our food directly or indirectly.

Here we are considering the example for understanding about the

solar tree. This is a tree in which the stems connected acts as the
branches of the tree and the solar panels are like the leaves. Green
leaves are producing food materials for human beings likewise this
leaves are producing energy for the society. So it is very appropriate
to called it as a tree.
 Natural Tree
Solar Tree

WHY IT IS NEEDED

Due to less land requirement:

It is the best option of energy generation because it requires very

less land as compare to the traditional PV system. Now a day’s
land becomes the costliest commodity for the human society
because of high population growth. Example – To generate 2 MW
power from a PV module we requires 10 -12 acres of land for
housing of panels only. But for the same amount of energy we
require only 0.10-0.12 acres of land in case of solar tree. So we
require such a plant which can generate maximum energy using
minimum land.

Efficient energy generation:

It can generate energy very efficiently as compare to traditional

system. Due to the technique called spiraling phyllataxy its efficiency
further increase. We can also use the technique called “SPIRALLING
PHYLLATAXY” to improve the efficiency of the plant. It can be applied
in street lightening system , industrial power supply etc. It is much
better than the traditional solar PV system in area point of view and
also more efficient. Though it is somehow costly but as compare to
all cost involve in traditional system it is more efficient.

It can collect energy from wind:

As the name suggest this is a device to generate energy from sun

but it has some unique feature to generate energy from wind. The
stem are flexible so that they can rotate in any direction and by
shaking themselves they produce energy also from wind as in the
case of a natural tree. The unique technique is that flexible panels
connected to the stem which can be rotated as our desire. So that
flexibility avoidance of wind pressure can be possible. Flexibility
offers manual rotating so that maximum power can be obtained.
 CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING

The solar tree consists of some important parts in its design. They
are as follows:

 Solar panels
 Long tower
 LDEs
 Batteries
 Stems for connecting the panels

WORKING:

 Batteries are charged during the day time.

 LEDs are automatically switched on
 These are used to indicate how much charge/energy remain
left
 Batteries are also used to store the energy so that we can use
it at night and in cloudy days when no sunlight is there.
 LEDs
8.1 Light Emitting Diode (LED)

Light Emitting Diode

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are

used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for
other lighting. Appearing as practical electronic components in 1962,
early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are
available across the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths,
with very high brightness.

Internal Description of LED

When a light-emitting diode is forward-biased (switched on),
electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the
device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is called

electroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to the

energy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of the
semiconductor. An LED is often small in area (less than 1 mm2), and
integrated optical components may be used to shape its radiation
pattern.

Internal description of LED

LEDs present many advantages over incandescent light sources
including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved
physical robustness, smaller size, and faster switching. LEDs powerful
enough for room lighting are relatively expensive and require more
precise current and heat management than compact fluorescent
lamp sources of comparable output.
Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse as aviation
lighting, automotive lighting, advertising, general lighting, and traffic
signals. LEDs have allowed new text, video displays, and sensors to
be developed, while their high switching rates are also useful in
really be advanced communications technology. Infrared LEDs are
also used in the remote control units of many commercial products
including televisions, DVD players, and other domestic appliances.
 WHY IT IS BETTER THAN A TRADITIONAL SYSTEM

India is a highly populated country, so we should take the advantage

of such an energy which requires a very less space to produce energy
efficiently. In this case solar tree could be the best one for us. It is
much better than the traditional solar PV system in area point of
view and also more efficient. So this will be a very good option and
should be implemented.
For the traditional system we require large size of land to generate a
small amount of power. It requires about 1% land as compare to the
traditional system. Solar energy is available in abundance and
considered as the easiest and cleanest means of tapping the
renewable energy. For direct conversion of solar radiation into
usable form, the routes are: solar thermal, solar photovoltaic and
solar architecture. However the main problem associated with
tapping solar energy is the requirement to install large solar
collectors requires a very big space. To avoid this problem we can
install a solar tree in spite of a no of solar panels which require a very
small space.
Example – To generate 2 MW power from a pv module we requires
10 -12 acres of land for housing of panels only but for the same
amount of energy we require only 0.10-0.12 acres of land in case
of solar tree.
 Traditional PV solar System Solar Tree

APPLICATION

 Street light
 House supply
 Industrial power supply
 ADVANTAGES

 No air pollution
 We wouldn’t have to worry as much about future energy
sources
 People in poor country would have access to electricity
 People can save money
 Land requirement is very less

DISADVANTAGES

 Cost is high
 May cause hazards to the birds and insects
 Hazards to eyesight from solar reflectors
 CONCLUSION
• To fulfils the increasing energy demand of the people.
• Saving of land, this project is very successful one.
• This can provide electricity without any power cut problem.
 REFERENCES

1. Projects. Solar Tree Foundation. N.p.Web. 20 Feb

2013. Solar Tree Foundation Projects.
2. Solar Tree Foundation accessed: Feb 20,
2013 Solar Tree Foundation site
3. Solar Tree. Artemide. N.p. Web. 20 Feb
2013. Artemide Brochure.
4.TR Tooke CC Nicholas AV James et al "Tree
structure influences on rooftop-received solar
radiation" Landsc Urban Plann., Vol. 102, no. 2,
pp. 73-81, Aug. 2011.
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_tree