Archive for February, 2011
February 15th, 2011 | 
Author: Before you are able to produce electricity through solar energy, there needs to be some form of solar cell or panel. The solar panels are made of a semi-conductive material, the most common material is silicon. The semi-conductive material contains electrons which are quite happy just sitting there.
When photons (contained within the suns rays) hit the solar cells, the electrons absorb this solar energy, transforming them into conduction electrons. If the energy of these photons is great enough, then the electrons are able to become free, and carry an electric charge through a circuit to the destination. Any electrons that do not receive enough energy simply warm up, which heats your cell or panel, resulting in lowering the efficiency of the cell.
The lowering in efficiency is down to two main factors and they are; that the cell is not working to its full potential (e.g. some electrons may be lost), the second factor is when the electrons release heat, the panel also becomes warm, interfering with other aspects of the solar cells. The more solar cells contained in a solar panel, or solar array, means the more output you will receive.
Quality cells are also a major factor in efficiency. If you purchase more expensive natural energy technologies, you are more likely to have a more efficient cell. Another factor which affects solar panel efficiency is location. Obviously nearer the equator, you will receive a slightly better output with a given cell, but solar cells should always be facing the direction of the sun, and have no objects blocking the suns rays. So there we have a basic understand of how you produce solar electricity from using energy within the suns rays.
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A solar power plant is able to convert photons which are part of the suns rays, into electricity. This process is one of the best and most efficient thermal systems. This varies depending on the type of material in use, but the main principle is that the solar semi-conductor contains electrons, and when photons strike these electrons, if the photon had enough energy, then the electron would be transformed into a conduction electron, which is able to carry an electric charge.
Solar energy plants are just a large collection of solar power panels, all interconnected, which generate energy from the sun, and sell this energy in the form of electricity to the national, or local (depending on your country) grid. You yourself could quite easily construct a mini solar power plant, through the use of several solar panels connected together.
The more energy the suns rays have on your panel (greater energy towards the equator), the more output you would receive, and the fewer solar cells you would require. The most efficient solar energy plants are constructed in countries which receive sunlight for a large proportion of the day. The main issue with these locations is that they are usually hot climate countries along the equator, and heat can affect the efficiency of solar panels.
You can however, generate solar electricity in many parts of the world, and new technologies are making the process of natural energy extraction from solar energy sources easier, in more hostile environments. The main problem associated with solar electricity plants is that they require a large area of space, as many solar power cells need to be laid out and connected together. However, in the U.S.A, a solar power plant company have began to place mini solar energy plants on the flat roofs of large department stores. The second disadvantage, and probably the one which puts developers off the most, is the initial cost and investment into the solar technologies. This would pay off quite significantly over a long period of time, but finding the initial capital can be a tricky process in many cases.