Solar Energy – How it works and it’s future
It is normal to be concerned about the long-term future of humanity. By the end of this century, our main energy sources—oil, coal, and other fossil fuels—will be fully depleted. Science fiction writers have frequently predicted that "Resource Wars," in which superpowers compete over the last few drops of gasoline, could cause a global dark period.
These worries are not without merit. The foundation of civilization has always been energy, from the earliest fires thousands of years ago that utilized wood to cook food, to steam in the 20th century that powered ships, to the enormous power plants around the world that support a planet of seven billion people. It provides electricity, cools our food, powers our vehicles, enables communication, and assures us of a bright future in space. In truth, the Kardashev scale, developed by a Russian futurist, rates civilizations according to their capacity to capture energy, first from their planet, then from their sun, and last from their galaxy.
The day society ran out of energy, it would disintegrate. Although it's a frightening concept, it's unlikely to come true. The Department of Energy anticipated that by 2050, the United States would produce the majority of its electricity from renewable sources. Hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources are all contested as the greatest, though.
Solar Energy- The expanding trend
The problems with global warming and the steady increase in carbon emissions increased interest in solar energy on a global scale. The best ways to cut greenhouse gases and carbon emissions are through the use of solar, hydro, and many other renewable energy sources.
The use of solar electricity has dramatically increased globally since the early 2000s. As a result, solar energy, which accounts for around 1% of all energy produced globally, is quickly overtaking hydropower and wind energy as the most widely used source of renewable energy.
Solar energy is now nuclear power's main competitor in the production of energy due to its continued growth. Nuclear energy's capacity in 2015 was just 391 GW (gigawatts), compared to solar energy's 350GW global capacity.
The energy industry believes that solar energy will finally exceed fossil fuels by the year 2050 at its current rate of conversion. Solar energy adoption is anticipated to become a reality globally by this year.
Europe presently holds the top rank in terms of overall use, with Germany dominating all other European nations. Germany set a target of 100 GW in 2016, but ended up with 104 GW instead. It is anticipated that solar energy would surpass the total amount of electricity produced in China and India combined over the next five years.
According to predictions from the International Energy Agency, China may generate up to half of the solar panels deployed globally, and India may surpass Europe in the usage of solar energy in a few years.
Types of equipment important for producing solar energy
Photovoltaic cell
Solar cells, the smaller components that make up a bigger solar panel, are the first step in the process of producing solar electricity. The periodic table's atomic number 14 in the element silicon is typically used to make solar cells. Nearly every computer on the planet uses silicon, a nonmetal semiconductor that can absorb and convert sunlight into electricity. With silicon accounting for 95% of all solar cells produced today, silicon is by far the most popular semiconductor type utilized in solar cells. The two major semiconductor components utilized in the creation of thin-film solar panels are cadmium-telluride and copper indium gallium diselenide.
In photovoltaic cells, two layers of silicon are employed, and the junction between the layers is given particular treatment, or "doping," to produce an electric field. An electrical current is created when this electric field pushes free electrons through the silicon junction of the solar cell. In order to construct the positive and negative sides of a solar cell, boron and phosphorus are frequently utilized as positive and negative doping agents, respectively.
Organic solar cells
Thin-film solar cells of a different kind called organic solar cells use semiconductors made of carbon-based compounds. These organic photovoltaics (OPV) are made by dissolving organic chemicals in ink and printing them onto thin polymers. They are also noted as "plastic solar cells" or "polymer solar cells."
How solar energy is produced- step by step guide
1. Photovoltaic cells convert solar energy from the sun into direct current (DC) power.
The solar cells that make up each solar panel truly do the hard work when it comes to producing power, as was previously stated. Your solar panels produce an electrical current with the aid of the photovoltaic effect.
2. Solar inverters convert the DC energy from your solar modules to the AC energy used by the majority of home appliances.
When it travels through your solar inverter (or inverters, if you're using a microinverter system) it transforms DC electricity into AC power. Transformers, which control the voltage of DC and AC currents, can also be included in inverters.
3. Electronic equipment in your home are powered by electricity.
The generated AC electricity is sent to your home's electrical panel using solar adapters. From there, power is sent throughout your home to all of your circuits so that there is a useful electric current accessible when your devices need to be plugged in.
4. Extra solar-generated electricity is fed into the electrical grid.
Grid-tied solar energy systems allow electricity to flow both to and from the power grid, and extra energy generated by your panels can even generate income for you. You obtain credits from the power grid through an app known as net metering when you transmit electricity back to it, which lowers your overall cost of electricity even further.
Present solar market insights
The size of the worldwide solar power market was estimated at US$ 197.23 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach US$ 368.63 billion by 2030, growing at a projected CAGR of 7.2% from 2021 to 2030.
In 2020, Asia Pacific had a market share of more than 30%, making it the largest solar energy market. More than half of the world's population resides in Asia and the Pacific, creating a sizable consumer base. In addition, the top four nations that use solar energy the most are China, Japan, South Korea, and India. Among the key macroeconomic variables driving the expansion of the solar power market in Asia Pacific are growing urbanization, increased disposable income, and rising internet penetration. However, at present Germany is leading globally for solar energy production.