The cost of solar energy production has plunged, but it needs to fall further

Physics Today ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 27-29
Author(s):  
David Kramer
2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-147
Author(s):  
Alina A. Aleksandrova ◽  
Maksim S. Zhuzhin ◽  
Yuliya M. Dulepova

Energy saving today is an integral part of the development strategy of agricultural organizations. Considerable attention is paid to the modernization and automation of technological processes in agricultural enterprises, which can improve the quality of work and reduce the cost of production. The direction of modernization is to reduce the consumption of electric energy by improving the water treatment system in livestock complexes. (Research purpose) The research purpose is to determine the potential of solar energy used in the Nizhny Novgorod region and to determine the possibility of its use for water heating in livestock complexes and to consider the cost-effectiveness of using a device to heat water through solar energy. (Materials and methods) Authors used an improved algorithm of Pixer and Laszlo, applied in the NASA project «Surface meteorology and Energy», which allows to calculate the optimal angle of inclination of the device for heating water. (Results and discussion) Designed a mock-up of a livestock complex with a solar water heater installed on the roof, protected by patent for invention No. 2672656. A mathematical model was designed experimentally to predict the results of the plant operation in non-described modes. (Conclusions) The article reveales the optimal capacity of the circulation pump. Authors have created a mathematical model of the device that allows to predict the water heating in a certain period of time. The article presents the calculations on the energy and economic efficiency of using a solar water heater. An electric energy saving of about 30 percent, in the economic equivalent of 35 percent.


2013 ◽  
Vol 561 ◽  
pp. 614-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Ling Li ◽  
Xiao Qing Xie ◽  
Jun Chao ◽  
Xuan Xin ◽  
Yan Zhou

A numerical study with FLUENT software has been carried out as to air performance in the slope solar energy power plant. The velocity field, temperature and pressure fields in the solar chimney, and the simulated result were compared with the simulated result of traditional solar chimney power generating equipment. The simulation results show that distribution of the temperature field and the velocity field in slope solar energy power plant and traditional solar chimney power generating equipment. In the case of the same height, the velocity of traditional is slightly larger than the slope style's, but there is little difference. In order to achieve the same power generation effect, the overall height of slope style is more than the traditional style, but the vertical chimney height of traditional style is greater than the slope style. The cost of construction of vertical chimney is expensive, and many problems have been considered, like radix saposhnikoviae and earthquake prevention, the heat collector also need to be cleaned on time. The slope style can take full advantage of land, the height of vertical chimney will be reduced, so the construction of the chimney will be relatively easy. Rainwater can clean the heat collector when it runs down from it. All things considered. The slope solar energy power plant has more development prospects.


Author(s):  
Yu. Selikhov ◽  
K. Gorbunov ◽  
V. Stasov

Solar energy is widely used in solar systems, where economy and ecology are combined. Namely, this represents an important moment in the era of depletion of energy resources. The use of solar energy is a promising economical item for all countries of the world, meeting their interests also in terms of energy independence, thanks to which it is confidently gaining a stable position in the global energy sector. The cost of heat obtained through the use of solar installations largely depends on the radiation and climatic conditions of the area where the solar installation is used. The climatic conditions of our country, especially the south, make it possible to use the energy of the Sun to cover a significant part of the need for heat. A decrease in the reserves of fossil fuel and its rise in price have led to the development of optimal technical solutions, efficiency and economic feasibility of using solar installations. And today this is no longer an idle curiosity, but a conscious desire of homeowners to save not only their financial budget, but also health, which is possible only with the use of alternative energy sources, such as: double-circuit solar installations, geothermal heat pumps (HP), wind power generators. The problem is especially acute in the heat supply of housing and communal services (HCS), where the cost of fuel for heat production is several times higher than the cost of electricity. The main disadvantages of centralized heat supply sources are low energy, economic and environmental efficiency. And high transport tariffs for the delivery of energy carriers and frequent accidents on heating mains exacerbate the negative factors inherent in traditional district heating. One of the most effective energy-saving methods that make it possible to save fossil fuel, reduce environmental pollution, and meet the needs of consumers in process heat is the use of heat pump technologies for heat production.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Szabó ◽  
P. Enyedi ◽  
Gy. Szabó ◽  
I. Fazekas ◽  
T. Buday ◽  
...  

According to the challenge of the reduction of greenhouse gases, the structure of energy production should be revised and the increase of the ratio of alternative energy sources can be a possible solution. Redistribution of the energy production to the private houses is an alternative of large power stations at least in a partial manner. Especially, the utilization of solar energy represents a real possibility to exploit the natural resources in a sustainable way. In this study we attempted to survey the roofs of the buildings with an automatic method as the potential surfaces of placing solar panels. A LiDAR survey was carried out with 12 points/m2 density as the most up-to-date method of surveys and automatic data collection techniques. Our primary goal was to extract the buildings with special regard to the roofs in a 1 km2 study area, in Debrecen. The 3D point cloud generated by the LiDAR was processed with MicroStation TerraScan software, using semi-automatic algorithms. Slopes, aspects and annual solar radiation income of roof planes were determined in ArcGIS10 environment from the digital surface model. Results showed that, generally, the outcome can be regarded as a roof cadaster of the buildings with correct geometry. Calculated solar radiation values revealed those roof planes where the investment for photovoltaic solar panels can be feasible.


Author(s):  
Philip Agee ◽  
Leila Nikdel ◽  
Sydney Roberts

This paper provides an open dataset of measured energy use, solar energy production, and building air leakage data from a 328 m2 (3,531 ft2) all-electric, zero energy commercial building in Virginia, USA. Over two years of energy use data were collected at 1-hour intervals using circuit-level energy monitors. Over six years of solar energy production data were measured at 1-hour intervals by 56 microinverters. The building air leakage data was measured post-construction per ASTM-E779 Standard Test Method for Determining Air Leakage Rate by Fan Pressurization and the United States Army Corps (USACE) Building Enclosure Testing procedure; both pressurization and depressurization results are provided. The architectural and engineering (AE) documents are provided to aid researchers and practitioners in reliable modelling of building performance. The paper describes the data collection methods, cleaning, and convergence with weather data. This dataset can be employed to predict, benchmark, and calibrate operational outcomes in zero energy commercial buildings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 255 ◽  
pp. 01048
Author(s):  
Nataliia Savina ◽  
Yevheniia Sribna ◽  
Volodymyr Yemelyanov ◽  
Svitlana Dombrovska ◽  
Dmytro Mishchenko

The purpose of the article is to assess the pace of capital contribution and investment in solar energy in order to increase the energy security of national economies. The study analyzes the development of the global solar industry for years 2009-2019 in the context of investment support. The main stages of development of world solar energy are marked and the priority of countries and regions is determined. Factors of attractiveness of solar energy for private investment are noted, namely the investment climate is formed at the expense of legislative maintenance of this sphere, and in the economic plan at the expense of introduction of the «green» tariff. Two main investment processes in the development of solar energy are noted. First, these are large private companies that implement large-scale projects from solar stations. Secondly, this small private investment to provide electric for households that identified a small city urbanization and climatic conditions. It was found that the solar energy market depends more on capital intensity than on resource intensity. The result of economic calculation is indicated, which allowed to determine the term of reduction of the cost price of 1 kW of photovoltaic power station electricity to the level of NPP production cost for ten years.


Author(s):  
І. Puhoviy ◽  
М. Makhrov

Problems. Windows in the summer let through a large amount of solar energy into the room, which causes an additional cost of cooling the air by conditioning. It is known that the limit of comfort is the temperature of 26 oC. To reduce the temperature, use air conditioners, which are required 0,3...0,5 kW of electrical power for 10 m2 of housing. The study deals with the capture of solar energy by water and its use for domestic water purposes (DHW). The goal of the research. Experimental verification of patented developments and calculations of hot water quantity obtained per day, energy savings and economic indicators. Methods of implementation. Experiments were conducted on the south window of the room, with water pumping by a pump and periodic measurement of air and water temperatures at the outlet of the system by mercury thermometer. The calculations were performed using the methods developed by the authors. The studies were conducted within three days of November. The temperature inside ranged a room from 19 to 23 °C. The system was operated in circulating mode on a water battery tank located below the absorber. Isolation of the absorber from the side of the room was made of a transparent food film. Research results. Water temperature reached 45 °C per 1,5-2 hours. Water consumption is enhanced by the thermosiphon effect when water moves from the bottom up. On a clear day of spring and autumn, you can heat for 50-70 % more water than the average for the average day of months of the warm season. For preparing DHW with 1 m2 of absorber, it is possible to get 45-50 kW∙h of heat for each month from March to September, taking into account cloudiness. The savings from the use of hot water and from reducing the consumption of electricity in the air conditioner are calculated. Conclusions. The payback period of the system, taking into account the cost of the heat for DHW and electricity savings for an electric air conditioner, is approximately 4-5 years. The cost of the system is close to the cost of a home air conditioner, for a premise with a single window oriented south. To the energy-saving factor, an additional advantage is the environmental friendliness of the system compared to the air conditioner.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Godin ◽  
James R. Durrant

The energy cost of lifetime gain in solar energy conversion systems is determined from a breadth of technologies. The cost of 87 meV per order of magnitude lifetime improvement is strikingly close to the 59 meV determined from a simple kinetic model.


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