UNIT-2

Solar Energy Collection

Flat plate and concentrating collectors

Classification of concentrating collectors

Orientation and thermal analysis

Advanced collectors

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 It is a device for collecting solar radiation and transfer this energy to
fluid passing in contact with it.
It is basically a heat exchanger which transfers the radiant energy to
the work in fluid.
The solar thermal energy can be used in solar waterheating systems,
solar pool heaters, and solar space-heating systems.
Principles of the conversion of solar radiation into heat
The fundamental process now in general use for heat conversion is the
green house effect which brings about an accumulation of energy of the
ground.

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 Types of solar energy collectors

1.Flat plate or non concentrating type solar collectors

a) Liquid collector
b) Air collector

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2.Concentrating or focusing type solar collectors

a) Focusing type
i) Pabolic trough collector
ii) Mirror strip reflector
iii) Fresnel lens collector
iv) Flat plate collector with adjustable mirrors

b) Non focusing type

i) Compound parabolic concentrator

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 Flat plate collector
Flat-plate collectors are the most common solar collector for solar
water-heating systems in homes and solar space heating. A typical flat-
plate collector is an insulated metal box with a glass or plastic cover
(called the glazing) and a dark-coloured absorber plate. These
collectors heat liquid or air at temperatures less than 180°F.

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 Liquid flat-plate collectors
Heat liquid as it flows through tubes in or adjacent to the absorber plate. The
simplest liquid systems use potable household water, which is heated as it
passes directly through the collector and then flows to the house. Solar pool
heating this home in nevada has an integral collector storage (ICS) system
to provide hot water. Also uses liquid flat-plate collector technology, but the
collectors are typically unglazed as in figure below.

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 Air flat-plate collectors
are used primarily for solar space heating. The absorber plates in air
collectors can be metal sheets, layers of screen, or non-metallic materials. The air
flows past the absorber by using natural convection or a fan. Because air conducts
heat much less readily than liquid does, less heat is transferred from an air collector's
absorber than from a liquid collector's absorber, and air collectors are typically less
efficient than liquid collectors.

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 Advantages

There are many advantages of a flat

plate solar collector, including the following
key benefits:
Very low maintenance
Very long lasting (35 years)
Attractive Installation
Proven technology, European Standard
Toughened hail proof glass
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Concentrating collectors

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Solar Concentrating Systems
Concentrate solar energy through use of mirrors or lenses.

Concentration factor (“number of suns”) may be greater than

10,000.

Systems may be small:

e.g. solar cooker
.... or large:
- Utility scale electricity generation ( up to 900 MWe planned)
- Furnace temperatures up to 3800oC (6800oF)

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 Introduction

For applications such as air conditioning, central power generation,

and numerous industrial heat requirements, flat plate collectors
generally cannot provide carrier fluids at temperatures sufficiently
elevated to be effective.
They may be used as first-stage heat input devices; the temperature of
the carrier fluid is then boosted by other conventional heating means.
Alternatively, more complex and expensive concentrating collectors
can be used.
These are devices that optically reflect and focus incident solar energy
onto a small receiving area. As a result of this concentration, the
intensity of the solar energy is magnified, and the temperatures that
can be achieved at the receiver (called the "target") can approach
several hundred or even several thousand degrees Celsius.
The concentrators must move to track the sun if they are to perform
effectively .

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 Concentrating collectors

Concentrating, or focusing, collectors intercept direct radiation over a

large area and focus it onto a small absorber area.

These collectors can provide high temperatures more efficiently than

flat-plate collectors, since the absorption surface area is much smaller.
However, diffused sky radiation cannot be focused onto the absorber.
Most concentrating collectors require mechanical equipment that
constantly orients the collectors toward the sun and keeps the absorber
at the point of focus.

Therefore; there are many types of concentrating collectors [2].

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 Types of concentrating collectors

There are four basic types of concentrating collectors:

Parabolic trough system

Parabolic dish
Power tower
Stationary concentrating collectors

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 Primary Types of Solar Collectors

1. Parabolic Trough
2. Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector new
3. Solar Furnace
4. Parabolic Dish & Engine
5. Solar Central Receiver
(Solar Power Tower)
6. Lens Concentrators

Can be used in conjunction with PV:

Use lenses or mirrors in conjunction with PV panels to
increase their efficiency.

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 FRESNEL REFLECTOR

LENS CONCENTRATORS

PARABOLIC TROUGH

PARABOLIC DISH

PARABOLIC DISH
& ENGINE
SOLAR FURNACE

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SOLAR FURNACE CENTRAL RECEIVER
 Major Components of
Solar Collector Systems
Concentrating mirror(s)
May use primary & secondary concentrators.

Absorber within a Receiver

Receiver contains the absorber. It is the apparatus
that “receives” the solar energy; e.g. evacuated
tube. Absorber absorbs energy from concentrator
and transfers to process being driven (engine,
chemical reactor, etc.); e.g. the pipe within an
evacuated tube.

Heliostats
Flat or slightly curved mirrors that track the sun and
focus on receiver or concentrator. Used with solar
furnaces and power towers.
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 Parabolic trough system
Parabolic troughs are devices that are shaped like the letter “u” . The
troughs concentrate sunlight onto a receiver tube that is positioned
along the focal line of the trough. Sometimes a transparent glass
tube envelops the receiver tube to reduce heat loss [3].

Their shapes are like letter “u” The parabolic trough sytem is
as shown figure 3.1.1 below. shown in the figure 3.1.2 below.

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Figure 3.1.1 Crossection of parabolic trough [4]. Figure 3.1.2 Parabolic trough system [3].
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 Parabolic Troughs - Operation
• Parabolic mirror reflects solar energy onto a receiver (e.g. a evacuated tube).

• Heat transfer fluid such as oil or water is circulated through pipe loop.
(250oF to 550oF)

• Collectors track sun from east to west during day.

• Thermal energy transferred from pipe loop to process.

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 Parabolic troughs often use single-axis or dual-axis
tracking.
The below figure 3.1.3 shows one axis The below figure 3.1.4 shows two
tracking parabolic trough with axis axis tracking concentrator.
oriented E-W.

Figure 3.1.3 One Axis Tracking Parabolic Trough Figure 3.1.4 Two Axis Tracking Concentrator [8].
with Axis Oriented E-W [8].
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 Stationary concentrating solar collectors

Stationary concentrating collectors use compound parabolic reflectors and flat

reflectors for directing solar energy to an accompanying absorber or aperture
through a wide acceptance angle.

The wide acceptance angle for these reflectors eliminates the need for a
sun tracker.

This class of collector includes parabolic trough flat plate collectors, flat plate
collectors with parabolic boosting reflectors, and solar cooker.

Development of the first two collectors has been done in Sweden.

Solar cookers are used throughout the world, especially in the developing
countries [3].

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 Working principles of concentrating
collectors
Unlike solar (photovoltaic) cells, which use light to produce electricity,
concentrating solar power systems generate electricity with heat. Concentrating
solar collectors use mirrors and lenses to concentrate and focus sunlight onto a
thermal receiver, similar to a boiler tube.

The receiver absorbs and converts sunlight into heat. The heat is then
transported to a steam generator or engine where it is converted into electricity.
There are three main types of concentrating solar power systems: parabolic
troughs, dish/engine systems, and central receiver systems.

These technologies can be used to generate electricity for a variety of

applications, ranging from remote power systems as small as a few kilowatts
(kW) up to grid connected applications of 200-350 megawatts (MW) or more.

A concentrating solar power system that produces 350 MW of electricity

displaces the energy equivalent of 2.3sravan
million barrels of oil [5].
The energy from the sun sent to the tube heats oil flowing through
the tube, and the heat energy is then used to generate electricity
in a conventional steam generator.

Many troughs placed in parallel rows are called a "collector field."

The troughs in the field are all aligned along a northsouth axis so
they can track the sun from east to west during the day, ensuring
that the sun is continuously focused on the receiver pipes.
Individual trough systems currently can generate about 80 MW of
electricity.

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Trough designs can incorporate thermal storage-setting aside the
heat transfer fluid in its hot phase allowing for electricity
generation several hours into the evening.

Currently, all parabolic trough plants are "hybrids," meaning they

use fossil fuels to supplement the solar output during periods of
low solar radiation.

Typically, a natural gas-fired heat or a gas steam boiler/reheater is

used. Troughs also can be integrated with existing coal-fired
plants [5].

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 Parabolic Trough System
- Canbe hybrid solar / natural gas
- New systems include thermal storage.

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Temperatures at the receiver can reach 400 °C and
produce steam for generating electricity. In California,
multi-megawatt power plants were built using parabolic
troughs combined with gas turbines [3].
Parabolic trough combined with gas turbines is shown
figure 3.1.5 below.

Figure 3.1.5 Parabolic trough combined with gas turbines [4].

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Cost projections for trough technology are higher than those for
power towers and dish/engine systems due in large part to the
lower solar concentration and hence lower temperatures and
efficiency.

However with long operating experience, continued technology

improvements, and operating and maintenance cost reductions,
troughs are the least expensive, most reliable solar thermal power
production technology for near-term [4].

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 Parabolic dish systems
A parabolic dish collector is similar in appearance to a large satellite dish, but
has mirror-like reflectors and an absorber at the focal point. It uses a dual
axis sun tracker [3].

The below figure 3.2.1 shows The Parabolic dish collector is

crossection of parabolic dish. shown in the below figure 3.2.2.

Figure 3.2.2 Parabolic dish collector with a mirror-

Figure 3.2.1 Crossection of parabolic dish [4]. like reflectors and an absorber at the focal point
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[Courtesy of SunLabs - Department of Energy] [3].
Point focusing collector (paraboloidal type)

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 Parabolic Dishes

- Plataforma Solar de Almeria – DISTAL I and II

- Dish with receiver forsravan
Stirling Engine
Parabolic Dish/Engine - Operation
Solar energy drives a Stirling engine or Brayton
cycle engine (gas turbine.)

Receiver absorbs solar energy and transfers it to

the engine’s working fluid.

Systems are easily hybridized since Stirling

engines can run on any external heat source.

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 A parabolic dish system uses a computer to track the sun and
concentrate the sun's rays onto a receiver located at the focal point in
front of the dish.
In some systems, a heat engine, such as a Stirling engine, is linked to
the receiver to generate electricity.
Parabolic dish systems can reach 1000 °C at the receiver, and achieve
the highest efficiencies for converting solar energy to electricity in the
small-power capacity range [3].

The right figure 3.2.3

shows the solar dish
stirling engine.

Figure 3.2.3 Solar dish stirling engine [9].

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 Stirling Engines

 Stirling engines are simple, have high efficiency (25% for

industrial heat), operate quietly, have low O&M costs
(~$0.006/kWh)
 Waste heat can easily be recovered by the engine, as well as
from the engine
 According to one manufacturer: $1000-2000/kW installed
But
 They have higher costs for materials and assembly, are larger
for same torque, have longer start up time (needs to warm up)
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Engines currently under consideration include Stirling and Brayton cycle
engines. Several prototype dish/engine systems, ranging in size from 7 to 25
kW have been deployed in various locations in the USA.

High optical efficiency and low start up losses make dish/engine systems the
most efficient of all solar technologies.

A Stirling engine/parabolic dish system holds the world’s record for converting
sunlight into electricity.

In 1984, a 29% net efficiency was measured at Rancho Mirage, California [4].

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Fresnel lens collector

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It has same general characteristics as a flat-plate collector.

The solar radiation absorber is a central steel pipe with a treated

surface. Generally black chrome is advantageous.

A hollow steel plug within the absorber pipe restricts the flow of the
heat-transfer fluid to a narrow annular region.

The absorber pipe is usually enclosed in a glass(pyrex) jacket in order

to decreas thermal losses by covection and radiation.

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 Solar Furnaces

Centre National de Recherche Scientifique - Odeillo, France

Largest solar furnace in the world (1 MWt)
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 Solar Furnaces - Operation
Solar furnaces are used for:
- High temperature processes  “Solar Chemistry”
- Materials testing

A field of heliostats tracks the sun and focuses

energy on to a stationary parabolic concentrator
which refocuses energy to the receiver.

Receivers vary in design depending on process:

 Batch or continuous process
 Controlled temperature and pressure
 Collection of product (gas, solid, etc.)

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Why Run Processes in a Solar Furnace?
Higher Temperatures (up to 3800oC)
 Higher temperatures are possible in solar furnace
than in conventional combustion furnace or
electric arc furnace.

Cleaner Processes
 e.g. Electric arc furnaces use carbon electrodes which often contaminate
product.

Energy Sustainability
 Use of renewable energy for industrial processes.

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 Electricity through Solar
Chemistry
Example: Water splitting: 2H2O → 2H2 + O2

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Compact Linear Fresnel Reflectors
Ausra, Inc.
http://www.ausra.com/

Makes moot some of the design challenges and

weaknesses of parabolic
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 Compact Linear Fresnel Reflectors
Lower costs compared to parabolic troughs
Several mirrors share the same receiver

Reduced tracking mechanism complexity

Stationary absorber

No fluid couplings required

Mirrors do not support the receiver

Denser packing of mirrors possible


Half the land area

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 Power tower system
A heliostat uses a field of dual axis sun trackers that direct solar
energy to a large absorber located on a tower.
To date the only application for the heliostat collector is power
generation in a system called the power tower [3].
The Power tower system is Heliostats are shown in
shown in the figure 3.3.1 below. the figure 3.3.2 below.

Figure 3.3.1 Power tower system [4]. Figure 3.3.2 Heliostats [4].
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Solar Central Receivers
“Power Towers”
Plataforma Solar de Almeria, Spain

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A power tower has a field of large mirrors that follow the sun's path across
the sky.
The mirrors concentrate sunlight onto a receiver on top of a high tower. A
computer keeps the mirrors aligned so the reflected rays of the sun are
always aimed at the receiver, where temperatures well above 1000°C can
be reached.
High-pressure steam is generated to produce electricity [3].
The power tower system with heliostats is shown in the figure 3.3.3 below.

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Figure 3.3.3 Power tower system with heliostats [4].
 Dish Systems
Dish systems use dish-shaped parabolic mirrors as reflectors to concentrate
and focus the sun's rays onto a receiver, which is mounted above the dish at
the dish center.

A dish/engine system is a stand alone unit composed primarily of a collector, a

receiver, and an engine. It works by collecting and concentrating the sun's
energy with a dishshaped surface onto a receiver that absorbs the energy and
transfers it to the engine.

The engine then converts that energy to heat. The heat is then converted to
mechanical power, in a manner similar to conventional engines, by
compressing the working fluid when it is cold, heating the compressed working
fluid, and then expanding it through a turbine or with a piston to produce
mechanical power.

An electric generator or alternator converts the mechanical power into electrical

power.
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Each dish produces 5 to 50 kW of electricity and can be used independently or
linked together to increase generating capacity.
A 250-kW plant composed of ten 25-kW dish/engine systems requires less
than an acre of land.
Dish/engine systems are not commercially available yet, although ongoing
demonstrations indicate good potential.
Individual dish/engine systems currently can generate about 25 kW of
electricity. More capacity is possible by connecting dishes together .
These systems can be combined with natural gas, and the resulting hybrid
provides continuous power generation [5].

The right figure 4.2.1

shows the combination of
parabolic dish system.

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Figure 4.2.1 Combination of parabolic dish system [4].
 Central Receiver Systems

Central receivers (or power towers) use thousands of individual sun-tracking

mirrors called "heliostats" to reflect solar energy onto a receiver located on top
of tall tower.

The receiver collects the sun's heat in a heat-transfer fluid (molten salt) that
flows through the receiver.

The salt's heat energy is then used to make steam to generate electricity in a
conventional steam generator, located at the foot of the tower.

The molten salt storage system retains heat efficiently, so it can be stored for
hours or even days before being used to generate electricity [5].

In this system, molten-salt is pumped from a “cold” tank at 288 deg.C and
cycled through the receiver where it is heated to 565 deg.C and returned to a
“hot” tank.

The hot salt can then be used to generate electricity when needed. Current
designs allow storage ranging from 3 to 13 hours [4].
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Figure 4.3.1 shows the process of molten salt storage.

Figure 4.3.1 The process of molten salt storage [11].

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Non focusing type concentrating collector

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Compound parabolic concentrator: non focusing
type

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Unlike the single parabolic trough reflector described earlier, the CPC
is non focusing, but solar radiation from many directions is reflected
towards the bottom of the trough.

In addition to collecting both direct and diffuse radiations, an advantage

of the CPC is that it provides moderately good concentration,
although less than a focusing collector, In an east west direction
without adjustment for sun tracking.

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 Concentrating Solar Photovoltaic

• 500 kW now installed in Arizona (APS)

• Concentrating sunlight 250x to 500x reduces cell cost
• Amonix CPV cells are 26% efficient.
•Most efficient in world for silicon until… (see next slides)
• With multi-junction cells, efficiency can be increased to 40%

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 Advantages of concentrating collector
1.Reflecting surface required less material and are structurally simpler than flat-
plate collectors.
2.As the absorber area of a concentrator system is smaller than that of a flat-
plate system the insolation intensity is high.
3. The working fluid can attain higher temperature in a concentrating systems.
4. Owing to the small area of absorber causes in reduction of heat losses and
improve collector efficiency.
5. Focusing or concentrating systems can be used for electric power
generation when not used for heating or cooling.
6.The amount of heat which can be stored per unit volume is larger and
consequently the heat storage costs are less.
7.Lower cost
8. Little or no anti freeze is required to protect the absorber in a concntrator
system .

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 Disadvantages

1. Only beam component is collected in case of focusing collectors because

diffuse component cannot be reflected and is thus lost.
2. Costly orienting system have to be used to track the sun rather than in
stationary reflecting systems.
3. Additional requirements of maintenance particular to retain the quality of
reflecting surface against dirt,weather,oxidation etc.
4. Non uniform flux on the absorber whereas flux in flat plate collectors is
uniform.
5. Additional optical losses such as reflectance loss,so they introduce
additional factors in energy balances.
6. High initial cost.

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 Technology Comparison

Towers and troughs are best suited for large, grid-connected power projects in
the 30-200 MW size, whereas, dish/engine systems are modular and can be
used in single dish applications or grouped in dish farms to create larger multi-
megawatt projects.

Parabolic trough plants are the most mature solar power technology available
today and the technology most likely to be used for near-term deployments.

Power towers, with low cost and efficient thermal storage, promise to offer
dispatchable, high capacity factor, solar-only power plants in the near future.

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The modular nature of dishes will allow them to be used in smaller, high-value
applications.

Towers and dishes offer the opportunity to achieve higher solar-to-electric

efficiencies and lower cost than parabolic trough plants, but uncertainty
remains as to whether these technologies can achieve the necessary capital
cost reductions and availability improvements.

Parabolic troughs are currently a proven technology primarily waiting for an

opportunity to be developed. Power towers require the operability and
maintainability of the molten-salt technology to be demonstrated and the
development of low cost heliostats.

Dish/engine systems require the development of at least one commercial

engine and the development of a low cost concentrator [4].

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 Economic and Environmental Considerations

The most important factor driving the solar energy system design process is
whether the energy it produces is economical.

Although there are factors other than economics that enter into a decision of
when to use solar energy; i.e. no pollution, no greenhouse gas generation,
security of the energy resource etc., design decisions are almost exclusively
dominated by the ‘levelized energy cost’.

This or some similar economic parameter, gives the expected cost of the
energy produced by the solar energy system, averaged over the lifetime of the
system.

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Commercial applications from a few kilowatts to hundreds of megawatts are
now feasible, and plants totaling 354 MW have been in operation in California
since the 1980s.

Plants can function in dispatchable, grid-connected markets or in distributed,

stand-alone applications.

They are suitable for fossil-hybrid operation or can include cost-effective

storage to meet dispatchability requirements.

They can operate worldwide in regions having high beam-normal insolation,

including large areas of the southwestern United States, and Central and South
America, Africa, Australia, China, India, the Mediterranean region, and the
Middle East,.

Commercial solar plants have achieved levelized energy costs of about 12-
15¢/kWh, and the potential for cost reduction are expected to ultimately lead to
costs as low as 5¢/kWh [6].
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 Conclusions

Concentrating solar power technology for electricity generation is ready for the
market. Various types of single and dual-purpose plants have been analysed
and tested in the field.

In addition, experience has been gained from the first commercial installations
in use worldwide since the beginning of the 1980s.

Solar thermal power plants will, within the next decade, provide a significant
contribution to an efficient, economical and environmentally benign energy
supply both in large-scale gridconnected dispatchable markets and remote or
modular distributed markets.

Parabolic and Fresnel troughs, central receivers and parabolic dishes will be
installed for solar/fossil hybrid and solar-only power plant operation.

In parallel, decentralised process heat for industrial applications will be

provided by low-cost concentrated collectors.
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Following a subsidised introduction phase in green markets, electricity costs
will decrease from 14 to 18 Euro cents per kilowatt hour presently in Southern
Europe towards 5 to 6 Euro cents per kilowatt hour in the near future at good
sites in the countries of the Earth’s sunbelt.

After that, there will be no further additional cost in the emission reduction by
CSP.

This, and the vast potential for bulk electricity generation, moves the goal of
longterm stabilisation of the global climate into a realistic range.

Moreover, the problem of sustainable water resources and development in arid

regions is addressed in an excellent way, making use of highly efficient, solar
powered co-generation systems.

However, during the introduction phase, strong political and financial support
from the responsible authorities is still required, and many barriers must be
overcome [7].

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 UNIT-3 SOLAR ENERGY STORAGE AND
APPLICATIONS

Different methods, Sensible, Latent heat and

stratified storage
Solar ponds. Solar Applications
Solar heating/cooling technique
Solar distillation and drying
Photovoltaic energy conversion

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Basic hot water space heating

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Basic hot air system

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Solar cooling of buildings

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Absorption refrigeration

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Solar pond electrical power plant

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Low temperature solar power plant

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Central tower receiver associated with a field of flat
mirrors and a gas turbine

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Power generation using thermal storage

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Solar pumping

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Turbine driven pump using solar energy

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Solar green houses

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 CONVERSION EFFICIENCY AND POWER OUTPUT

J i = JO [ exp( Ve / KT -1) ]
JO is the saturation current when peak negative voltage is
applied across diode

V is the voltage across junction

E is the electronic charge

K is the boltzmann’s constant

T is the absolute temperature

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Voc = [KT/e] ln (JL/JO)
Open circuit voltage of the cell decreases with
increasing temperature.
The maximum power that can be derived from the
device is given by
P max= Vmp * Jmp
Where Vmp and Jmp are the voltage and current at
maximum power point.

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 UNIT-4- WIND ENERGY

Sources and potentials

Horizontal and vertical axis wind mills
Performance characteristics
Betz criteria

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