ENERGY 303 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Concentrated Solar Power, Solar Thermal Collector, Photosynthesis
Document Summary
Solar energy efficiencies: solar heating cells: up to 50-74, photovoltaic cells: 15-20% but increasing, plant photosynthesis: 3-5% Breakdown of pv costs: a lot of the costs of solar have to do with other things, a third is solar panels and the rest is labor, inspection, etc. The costs of concentrating solar thermal plants: solar thermal plants, like solar panels are becoming more and more cost competitive. Comparing costs: solar thermal (csp) vs. pv: pretty similar in terms of the estimated cost of total utilities, solar pv cost beats any concentrating solar power plant, most photovoltaic systems now operate at low efficiencies. Big problem with solar: intermittency: the sun"s not always up, so like wind, intermittency is a major issue, consumer expect energy availability at all times, wide use of solar must confront energy storage techniques. There are no perfect energy sources; each has its advantages and disadvantages. Most of our transportation devices don"t rely on electricity but petroleum, gas, etc.
