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Solar Power

Background

Solar energy, generally, is the energy that is derived from the Sun. Solar energy is the basis of which all life on Earth can exist, this is so because of the fact that solar energy is utilized directly by the biological organisms of the Kingdom Plantae to manufacture organic compounds through the process of photosynthesis, and they form the primary producer chain of every food chain, therefore, solar energy is the sustenance of all life on Earth. Solar power can be used interchangeably with solar energy, but, in detail, it means the conversion of solar energy into electricity (for the sake of clarity, in the remaining part of this article “Solar Power” will mean the conversion of solar energy into electricity). Usage of solar energy is not new, from records, solar energy was purported to be harnessed as early as the 7th BC, for the rudimentary purpose of starting a fire through concentrating sunlight. However in recent times, the widespread usage of solar energy for needs other than agriculture has declined due to the rise of fossil fuels, although solar energy is not very commonly in use now, the pressing problem of climate change, no less due to the extensive burning of fossil fuels for nearly everything, has allowed its reemergence as a viable form of alternative energy. The sections below will explore the different versions that solar energy can be harnessed.

Introduction
Modern harnessing of solar energy comes in 4 different forms namely in the forms of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), photovoltaics (PV), solar heating and solar lighting. These 4 forms of utilizing solar energy are all viable green alternatives to fossil fuels for all the different domains that fossil fuels are used in, CSP & PV for generation of electricity, solar heating for warming of water and pools and solar lighting for, well, lighting. These 4 forms of harnessing solar energy covers all the areas of which energy is used, which makes it considerably easier to implement than other types of alternative energy sources as certain ways of using it do not need to go through the extra step of converting that energy into electricity first, thus making it a very attractive option of halting and possibly reverse the effects of climate change.

SEGS III-VII power stations in Kramer Junction, in the Mojave desert, CA, USA

SEGS III-VII power stations in Kramer Junction, in the Mojave desert, CA, USA(above). Photo courtesy of the United States of America Federal Government

PS10 Solar power tower in Seville, Spain, the first commerical one in Europe(below).Photo courtesy of AlforesmPS10 Solar power tower in Seville, Spain, the first commerical one in Europe

Concentrating Solar Power

Concentrating Solar Power captures solar energy via large fields of mirror arrays which focuses the sunlight on them onto a single point which heats up to a very high temperature and this heat will be used to generate electricity in a typical steam generator, this form of harnessing solar energy for electricity has a low cost relative to the other forms of generating electricity, making it one of the top options for utilizing solar power as a form of power generation. The mirrors of this system come in parabolic trough systems,
dish/engine systems and power towers, the most common of all the systems and the ones with the most potential for generating electricity. Trough systems focus light onto a pipe which contains a heat transfer fluid; this fluid will in turn carry the heat to a heat engine to be converted into electricity. Dish/engine systems work with the same principles, but it uses a parabolic dish to focus light onto an engine which, in turn, will generate electricity. Power towers, also known as Heliostats, works the same way, in principle, with the parabolic trough design, but only that the light reflected by its mirror array is reflected onto a tower which will store the heat in a medium with a high heat capacity and use it to heat water in a conventional steam generator.

Photovoltaics

On the other hand, photovoltaic technology generates solar power directly, instead of indirectly like the 3 forms mentioned above, through the photoelectric effect which can simply be summed as a electrical current being generated through the release of a electron by the material in question as it absorbs light. Currently, photovoltaics are responsible for about 0.04% of the Total Primary Energy Supply in 2004.

Photovoltaic panels capture energy from the sun and convert it into electrical energy(right). Photo courtesy of David Monniaux

Photovoltaic panels capture energy from the sun and convert it into electrical energy

Solar Heating

Solar heating is a more primitive form of utilizing solar power, people since the ancient Greeks and ancient Chinese were already using solar heating to warm their buildings by building them to face the Sun during winter. Although orienting buildings to face the Sun is still applicable today, the most common use for solar heating is a solar heater for heating water, although this has no direct impact on slowing down global warming, it reduces the amount of electricity consumed by a household and thus reduce the need for electricity which is, currently, one of the larger culprits of carbon emissions, and thus aid the effort to slow down global warming significantly.

Solar lighting is using light directly for interior lighting instead of artificial lamps. It is achieved by designing the building differently or to collect light via different routes which include fiber optics, lenses and reflective pipes, the impact of this is relatively identical to that of solar heating.

Analysis

Although solar power now is not a very popular form of energy, its many different applications make it, in our view, the energy source with the most potential, as it can be used in almost aspect of our lives, from powering homes to the calculator in your hands; and because solar energy only requires sunlight to produce energy, it is a very clean source of energy, which reduces the need for fireplaces to burn firewood for heat during the winter in rural areas. This, in turn, reduces deforestation as the need for firewood has been cut down. This is so as more people would prefer to use a cleaner source of energy, as compared to the traditional method of burning firewood, which not only produces soot but also runs out faster than solar energy. Coupled with the immense amount of solar energy that is radiated from the Sun to the Earth, which far outstrips our current global demand for energy, solar energy, in our opinion, is one of the best ways to go in the effort to mitigate global warming and overall environmental degradation. 
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