solar electric panels australia
Each day, the earth receives more energy from the sun that mankind uses in a year. However, solar energy remains a small strip on the combination global energy. Falling prices and improved efficiency could change this, but it can happen fast enough?
When it comes to the needs energy, mankind has not been able to eliminate the middleman. The energy we use today comes from the sun, but we do it indirectly. Sunrays fed of countless generations of plants and microorganisms million years ago, we now use to burn to produce electricity, heat our homes and our cars. Its heat also strikes the winds that used for navigating ships and run turbines. Despite our reliance on the sun, humanity is not yet fully realized the potential for use of sun energy directly.
Global relevance and Future Trends
Even with a steady annual growth, the International Energy Agency says that solar energy – combined with wind and geothermal power – still only provides less than one percent of the world power. In Germany, the global leader in the solar market, solar material about 0.3 percent of the national electricity demand in the United States, which provides less than 0.1 percent.
UN annual "Global Trends in Sustainable Development" report says that the solar sector attracted 16 percent of the 70 billion U.S. $ invested in renewable energy technology in 2006 – behind wind (38 percent) and biofuels (26 percent). According World Energy Council, the market solar water heating is growing at a rate of about 20 percent a year, and solar photovoltaic at 35 percent.
If the costs of solar technology continue to drop, have the opportunity to compete with other forms of energy production. In places like sunny California, solar energy has already reached the "grid parity", which means that production costs are competitive solar energy with conventional energy production, even without government subsidies. Sinking production costs for solar energy would eventually join or even replace coal, gas and oil as primary energy source for the end of the century, which some experts say is possible.
Global Resources and producers
The amount of solar energy reaching earth's surface every 20 days greater than the energy trapped in all the world's coal, oil, and natural gas reserves. The trick is to find cost-effective and efficient ways to convert this abundant resource into usable energy.
Currently, there are two main ways to do so. Photovoltaic (PV) panels, crystalline silicon thin pieces, sunlight directly into electricity transfer. Solar thermal collectors on the other hand, are used to heat water for domestic or industrial use and to run steam power plants.
Germany is the world's leading producer of energy photovoltaic and solar heating technology and energy. In 2006 alone, 968 megawatts (MW) of PV was installed in Germany. Japan, which added 292 MW last year, is also an important market and exporter of PV technology. China is aggressively adding solar to their energy mix. The country already consumes half of all water heated by solar energy in the world, and aims to increase coverage of solar water heaters by 50 percent in 2010. China also is emerging as a major producer and consumer of PV cells, which the Government is integrating in an urban outpost.
Energy Output
The production of heating energy and photovoltaic solar energy depends on the size of the system location. Most areas receive adequate sunlight, but the deserts, which rarely receives cloud cover are more suitable for solar energy production.
Standard photovoltaic cells have a rate of energy conversion of 6 to 8 percent, meaning that 6 to 8 per cent of the absorbed solar energy is converted into energy. Some prototypes have already reached conversion rates of over 40 percent, but still too expensive for mass production market. Solar water heating uses solar collectors that are significantly more efficient. The current collectors turn from 60 to 70 percent of absorbed sunlight into heat.
Concentrated solar thermal systems use mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a tower, resulting in extremely hot temperatures to boil water or other liquids to produce steam to drive a thermal power plant. A concentration of 11 MW solar power plant was completed near Seville, Spain in March 2007. A 154 MW capacity is planned in Australia, and a 500 MW in the Mojave Desert.
Environment Impact and Disadvantages
Manufacture and installation of solar energy systems requires energy, and as with almost any industrial activity involves the handling of hazardous materials, such as arsenic and cadmium. The mass production of photovoltaic cells is sometimes marred by the lack of quality silicon. Plants large scale solar energy also occupy much of the land.
In general, however, the medium environmental change impacts on solar energy is positive. Solar heaters require much less fossil energy input than natural gas and electrical systems. The PV systems are producing cleaner energy compared to coal and oil. Emissions of greenhouse gases of the photovoltaic plant, including production and installation are eight times lower than that of a coal power plant.
The initial costs of solar heating and photovoltaic systems, however, many homeowners install. However, reduced costs and subsidies have helped sustain the market growth in some countries. As with wind turbines, another technical problem is actually the storage of solar energy to power all night and on cloudy days.
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