Renewable energy resources

Unit 1
UNIT-1: INTRODUCTION & SOLAR CELLS

 Introduction
 Various non-conventional energy resources Introduction, availability,
classification, relative merits and demerits.
 Solar Cell:
 Theory of solar cells
 Solar cell materials
 Solar cell array
 Solar cell power plant, limitations.
What is Renewable Energy?
Renewable energy uses energy sources that are continually replenished by nature—the sun, the wind, water, the
Earth’s heat, and plants. Renewable energy technologies turn these fuels into usable forms of energy—most often
electricity, but also heat, chemicals, or mechanical power.
Why Use Renewable Energy?
Today we primarily use fossil fuels to heat and power our homes and fuel our cars. It’s convenient to use coal, oil, and
natural gas for meeting our energy needs, but we have a limited supply of these fuels on the Earth. We’re using them much
more rapidly than they are being created. Eventually, they will run out. The nation’s energy needs are expected to grow by
33 percent during the next 20 years. Renewable energy can help fill the gap. Even if we had an unlimited supply of fossil
fuels, using renewable energy is better for the environment. We often call renewable energy technologies “clean” or
“green” because they produce few if any pollutants. Burning fossil fuels, however, sends greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere, trapping the sun’s heat and contributing to global warming. Climate scientists generally agree that the Earth’s
average temperature has risen in the past century. If this trend continues, sea levels will rise, and scientists predict that
floods, heat waves, droughts, and other extreme weather conditions could occur more often.
 Renewable Resources Non-renewable Resources
Depletion

Renewable resources cannot be depleted over time. Non-renewable resources deplete over time.

Sources

Renewable resources include sunlight, water, wind and also

Non-renewable resources includes fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum.
geothermal sources such as hot springs and fumaroles.

Environmental Impact

Most renewable resources have low carbon emissions and low carbon
Non-renewable energy has a comparatively higher carbon footprint and carbon emissions.
footprint.

Cost

The upfront cost of renewable energy is high. For instance, generating

electricity using technologies running on renewable energy is costlier Non-renewable energy has a comparatively lower upfront cost.
than generating it with fossil fuels.

Infrastructure Requirements

Infrastructure for harvesting renewable energy is prohibitively Cost-effective and accessible infrastructure is available for non-renewable energy across most
expensive and not easily accessible in most countries. countries.

Area Requirements
Requires a large land/ offshore area, especially for wind farms and
Comparatively lower area requirements.
solar farms.
 Difference between conventional and non-conventional energy sources

Conventional Sources of Energy Non-conventional sources of energy

These sources of energy are also known as a non-renewable These sources of energy are also known as a renewable source
source of energy of energy

They find both commercial and industrial purposes They are mainly used for household purposes

These can be considered to be one of the reasons for the cause

These are not responsible for the cause of pollution
of pollution

Coal, fossil fuels are two examples Wind, solar energy and Biomass are examples
Difference between commercial and non-commercial energy sources
Basis Commercial Energy Non-Commercial Energy
The sources of energy which command a price and
The sources of energy which in general do not command a
Meaning their users have to pay a price for them, are known as
price, are known as Non-commercial Energy.
Commercial Energy.

The sources of energy that individuals utilize for The sources of energy that individuals utilise for domestic
Utilisation
commercial purposes. usage.

The utilisation of commercial energy sources can be

The country’s living standards can be determined by the
Indicator of an excellent indicator of how well the economy of a
usage of non-commercial energy sources.
country is doing.

Villagers often use non-commercial energy as free goods.

Commercial energy is traded in the market(domestic At best, these goods have a local market. However,
Market and international); i.e., a price is demanded for these currently some of the non-commercial sources such as
goods. dried dung and firewood are charged a price in urban
areas and are priced to some extent in rural areas as well.

It is generally an exhaustible source of energy (except

Nature It is generally a renewable source of energy.
hydropower).

The main sources of commercial energy are coal, oil, The main non-commercial energy sources include
Example
natural gas, and hydroelectricity. firewood, charcoal, cow dung, and agricultural waste.
Solar cell
• A solar cell (also known as a photovoltaic cell or PV cell) is defined
as an electrical device that converts light energy into electrical
energy through the photovoltaic effect. A solar cell is basically a p-n
junction diode. Solar cells are a form of photoelectric cell, defined as
a device whose electrical characteristics – such as current, voltage,
or resistance – vary when exposed to light.
• Individual solar cells can be combined to form modules commonly
known as solar panels. The common single junction silicon solar cell
can produce a maximum open-circuit voltage of approximately 0.5 to
0.6 volts. By itself this isn’t much – but remember these solar cells
are tiny. When combined into a large solar panel, considerable
amounts of renewable energy can be generated.
Construction of
Solar Cell
A solar cell is basically a junction
diode, although its construction it
is little bit different from
conventional p-n junction diodes.
Silicon solar cell consists of a
thin slice of crystal p-type
semiconductor into which a very
thin layer of n-type material is
diffused.
Working Principle of Solar Cell
• When light reaches the p-n junction, the light photons can easily enter in the
junction, through very thin p-type layer. The light energy, in the form of photons,
supplies sufficient energy to the junction to create a number of electron-hole
pairs. The incident light breaks the thermal equilibrium condition of the junction.
The free electrons in the depletion region can quickly come to the n-type side of
the junction. Similarly, the holes in the depletion can quickly come to the p-type
side of the junction. Once, the newly created free electrons come to the n-type
side, cannot further cross the junction because of barrier potential of the
junction.
• Similarly, the newly created holes once come to the p-type side cannot further
cross the junction became of same barrier potential of the junction. As the
concentration of electrons becomes higher in one side, i.e. n-type side of the
junction and concentration of holes becomes more in another side, i.e. the p-type
side of the junction, the p-n junction will behave like a small battery cell. A
voltage is set up which is known as photo voltage. If we connect a small load
across the junction, there will be a tiny current flowing through it.
V-I characteristics of
Solar cell:
Isc is the short circuit current and
it is measured by short circuiting
the terminals. Voc is the open
circuit voltage and it is measured
when no load is connected. Pm
is maximum power, Im is
maximum current, Vm is
maximum voltage and it occurs
at the bend of the characteristic
curve.
V-I characteristics
Solar cells fundamentals
Solar cells fundamentals
Materials Used in Solar Cell
• The materials which are used for this purpose must have band gap close
to 1.5ev. Commonly used materials are-
• Silicon.
• GaAs.
• CdTe.
• CuInSe2
• Criteria for Materials to be Used in Solar Cell
• Must have band gap from 1ev to 1.8ev.
• It must have high optical absorption.
• It must have high electrical conductivity.
• The raw material must be available in abundance and the cost of the
material must be low.
Advantages, disadvantages and applications
Advantages of Solar cell:
• It uses renewable energy
• No pollution so it is environment friendly
• It lasts for many years
• No maintenance cost
Disadvantages of Solar cell:
• Energy is not produced during rainy, cloudy days and during night times.
• Cost of installation is high.
Applications of Solar cell:
• It is used in calculators and in wrist watches
• Used in storage batteries
• Street lights
• Portable power supplies
• Satellites
Types of solar cells
Types of solar cells
• A monocrystalline solar cell is fabricated using single crystals of
silicon by a procedure named as Czochralski progress. Its
efficiency of the monocrystalline lies between 15% and 20%. It
is cylindrical in shape made up of silicon ingots.
• PolyCrystalline or MultiCrystalline solar panels are solar panels
that consist of several crystals of silicon in a single PV cell.
Several fragments of silicon are melted together to form the
wafers of polycrystalline solar panels.
• Amorphous silicon solar cells are the most well-developed thin-
film solar cell. The structure usually has the p-i-n (or n-i-p) type
of duality, where p-layer and n-layer are mainly used for
establishing an internal electric field (i-layer) comprising
amorphous silicon.
Solar cell array(solar module)
Solar cell array(solar module)