RENEWABLE POWER GENERATION

UNIT – 2

Introduction

 solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal – is the same. They absorb raw energy from the sun and use it to
create usable energy
 solar PV systems this is through the creation of electricity, whereas thermal systems are used directly for
heating water or air
 Solar thermal power plants collect and concentrate sunlight to produce the high temperature heat needed to
generate electricity.
 Thermal energy storage (TES) is a technology that stocks thermal energy by heating or cooling a storage medium
so that the stored energy can be used at a later time for heating and cooling applications and power generation.
 A photovoltaic module consists of multiple PV cells connected in series to provide a higher voltage output.
 A photovoltaic array is a system composed of multiple PV modules.
 They can be connected in one or more series circuits, which are connected to a combiner box to provide a single
direct-current output

Solar Radiation
 electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun.
 The sun emits electromagnetic radiations as a black body having a surface temperature of about 6000 K.
 This is because of the nuclear reaction running in it, where the sun is converting hydrogen into helium.
 The total radiation power received from the sun on a unit area perpendicular to the sun rays at the mean earth
sun distance, termed an astronomical unit, is called the solar constant (SC), where 1 astronomical unit = 1AU =
1.496 × 1011 m
 As the solar radiation passes through the atmosphere, it gets absorbed, scattered, reflected, or transmitted. All
these processes result in reduction of the energy flux density.


Insolation is the incident solar radiation onto some object. Specifically, it is a measure of the solar energy that is
incident on a specified area over a set period of time

One unit is kilowatt-hours per square meter (kWh/m2 ) per day which represents the average amount of energy hitting
an area each day. Another form is watts per square meter (W/m2 )

Values for insolation can help to determine the expected output for solar panels and determine where on Earth solar
panels would be most effective

Radiation Measurement

The amount of solar radiation on the earth surface can be instrumentally measured, and precise measurements are
important for providing background solar data for solar energy conversion applications.

There are two important types of instruments to measure solar radiation: 1) Pyrheliometer 2) Pyranometer

Pyrheliometer

is a device used for measuring direct beam radiation at normal incidence. Its outer structure looks like a long tube,
projecting the image of a telescope and we have to point the lens to the sun to measure the radiance
  In the circuit, it can be seen that the black body absorbs the radiation falling from the lens and a perfect black
body completely absorbs any radiation falling on it, so the radiation falling into the tube gets absorbed by the
black object entirely.
 Once the radiation gets absorbed the atoms in the body gets excited because of the increasing temperature of
the entire body
 This temperature increase will also be experienced by the thermocouple junction ‗A‘.
 Now with junction ‗A‘ of the thermocouple at high temperature and junction ‗B‘ at low temperature, a
current flow takes place in its loop.(Thermocouple action)
 This current in the loop will also flow through the galvanometer which is in series and thereby causing a
deviation in it.
 This deviation is proportional to current, which in turn is proportional to temperature difference at junctions.
 The deviation in the galvanometer can be reduced by adjusting the rheostat to change the current in the Metal
conductor.
 Now by adjusting the rheostat until the galvanometer deviation becomes completely void.
 Once this happens we can obtain voltage and current readings from the meters and do a simple calculation to
determine the heat absorbed by the black body.
 This calculated value can be used to determine the radiation, as heat generated by the black body is directly
proportional to the radiation.

Pyranometer
working and Construction

 is a device that can be used to measure both beam radiation and diffused radiation.
 it is used to measure total (beam plus diffuse on a horizontal surface).
 The device looks like a saucer which is the best shape suited for its purpose.
 This device is more popular than the others and most of the solar resource data nowadays are measured using it. The
original picture and internal structure of the Pyranometer is shown in Fig

 the radiation from the surrounding atmosphere passes through the glass dome and falls onto the blackbody
situated at the centre of the instrument.
 The temperature of the body rises after absorbing all the radiation and this rise will also be experienced by the
Thermocouple module present directly beneath the blackbody.
 So one side of the module will be hot and another will be cold because of the heat sink.
 The thermocouple module generates a voltage and this can be seen at the output terminals.
 This voltage received at the output terminals is directly proportional to temperature difference according to the
principle of a thermocouple.
 the temperature difference is related to radiation absorbed by the black body, we can say the output voltage is
linearly proportional to the radiation
 THERMOCOUPLE : device consisting of two dissimilar electrical conductors forming an electrical junction. It
produces a temperature-dependent voltage because of the Seebeck effect,

Solar Thermal Power Plant

 is a combination of solar energy and thermal energy.
 The sun‘s radiations is used as fuel in the power plant
 Solar energy is converted into heat or thermal energy which is further converted to mechanical energy using turbine
and electrical energy using generators.
 Further categories are based upon the power cycles i.e. low, medium and high temperature cycles. These cycles are
based upon the solar radiations and type of collectors used for collecting the solar radiations.
 In low temperature cycles the temperature is limited to about 100⁰ C in medium temperature, range varies from
150⁰ C to 300⁰ C whereas in high temperature cycles temperature may go above 300⁰ C.
 The cycle operation and different components of the solar thermal power plant are discussed here –
 Solar pond
 Solar energy collectors
 Working fluid
 Evaporator Boiler
 Turbine and Generator
 Condenser and Cooling tower

Solar pond:

solar energy coming from the sun is firstly absorbed by the solar pond.

it is a reservoir of water where sun‘s rays directly focus by using solar energy collectors

solar energy increases the internal energy and raises the temperature of solar pond.

The fluid in the solar pond may be directly used as the working fluid if its temperature reaches up to evaporating
temperature or other way is to use a secondary fluid known as working fluid. The fluid from the solar pond goes into
cyclic process.

Solar energy collectors:

Flat plate collectors

Concentrating collectors

Solar energy collectors are the device used for collecting the solar radiations and focus the solar radiations at particular
location to transfer the heat energy into the solar ponds or fluid.

flat plate type solar collector is used for low temperature cycle and concentrating or focusing type solar collector are
used for medium and high temperature applications.

Flat-Plate Collectors

most common ones.

consist of an absorber, a transparent cover and insulation.
The main use of the technology is usually in residential buildings where the demand for hot water is big and affects bills.
Commercial application of flat-plate collectors is usually seen in car washes, laundromats, military laundry facilities or
restaurants.

The parts of a flat plate collectors are

 Black surface - absorbent of the incident solar energy

 Glazing cover - a transparent layer that transmits radiation to the absorber, but prevents radiative and convective
heat loss from the surface
 Tubes containing heating fluid to transfer the heat from the collector
 Support structure to protect the components and hold them in place
 Insulation covering sides and bottom of the collector to reduce heat losses Flat-plate solar collectors show a good
price-performance ratio and also give a lot of mounting options.

Concentrating type Collectors

1. Parabolic Trough Collector

2. Power Tower Receiver
 3. Parabolic Dish Collector
4. Fresnel Lens Concentrating Collector

Parabolic Trough Collector

 It is a line focusing type collector. In this type of collector, the solar radiations falling on the area of the parabolic
reflector are concentrated at the focus of the parabola.
 When the reflector is manufactured in the form of a trough with the parabolic cross-section, the solar radiations gets
focused along a line.
 An absorber pipe is placed along this line and a working fluid (usually synthetic oil or water) flows through it.
 When the focused solar radiations fall on the absorber pipe, it heats the fluid to a high temperature. Then the heat
absorbed by the working fluid is transferred to water for producing steam.
 The focus of solar radiations changes with the change in sun‘s elevation.

Power Tower Receiver

It has a large number of independently-moving flat mirrors (heliostats) spread over a large area of ground to focus the
reflected solar radiations on the receiver.

The heliostats are installed all around the central tower.

Each heliostat is rotated so as to track the sun.

The solar radiations reflected from heliostats are absorbed by the receiver mounted on a tower.

The tower supports a bundle of vertical tubes containing the working fluid.

The working fluid is converted into the high-temperature steam of about 600oC – 700oC.

This steam is supplied to a conventional steam power plant coupled to an electric generator to generate electric power.
Parabolic Dish Collector

 In these collectors, the receiver is placed at the focal point of the concentrator.

The solar beam radiations are focused at a point where the receiver (absorber) is placed. The solar radiations are
collected in the receiver.

 A small volume of fluid is heated in the receiver to a high temperature. This heat is used to run a prime mover coupled
with a generator.

 temperatures up to 3000⁰ C.

Fresnel Lens Concentrating Collector

 In this collector, a Fresnel lens which consists of fine, linear grooves on the surface of refracting material of optical
quality on one side and flat on the other side is used.

 The solar radiations which fall normally to the lens are refracted by the lens and are focused on a line where the
absorber tube (receiver) is placed to absorb solar radiations.
SOLAR DIRECT THERMAL APPLICATIONS

1. ELECTRICITY GENERATION

Concentrated solar power facilities are a kind of thermal power plant to generate electricity. Then concentrated solar
power systems use solar thermal collectors to obtain heat

2. HEATING OF SWIMMING POOL

Heating a swimming pool can consume a big amount of energy. Can be heated using black body object to absorb heat

3. SOLAR UNDERFLOOR HEATING

4. HEATING WATER FOR DOMESTIC PURPOSE

5. SOLAR ENERGY IN AGRICULTURE

Drying, heating purpose

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS: BASIC PRINCIPLE OF SPV CONVERSION

A photovoltaic (PV) cell is an energy harvesting technology that converts solar energy into useful electricity (DC) through
a process called the photovoltaic effect.

made up of semiconductor materials such as silicon, gallium arsenide and cadmium telluride, etc. These cells vary in size
ranging from about 0.5 inches to 4 inches.

Photovoltaic cell concepts:

Layers of a PV Cell :

semiconductor layer - It is comprised of two distinct layers of p-type and n-type, and is what actually converts the Sun's
energy into useful electricity through a process called the photovoltaic effect.
Conducting material layer - On either side of the semiconductor is a layer of conducting material which "collects" the
electricity produced

anti-reflection layer coating - Since all semiconductors are naturally reflective, reflection loss can be significant. anti-
reflection coating is used to reduce the amount of solar radiation that is reflected off the surface of the cell.

PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFECT

is a process that generates voltage or electric current in a photovoltaic cell when it is exposed to sunlight.

solar cells are composed of two different types of semiconductors—a p-type and an n-type that are joined together to
create a p-n junction

When light IS incident on these cells, energy from the photon is transferred to an electron of the semiconducting
material, causing it to jump to a higher energy state known as the conduction band. In the conduction band, these
electrons are free to move through the material, and it is this motion of the electron that creates an electric current in
the cell.

CELL: most basic unit of a solar PV system. they produce a voltage output when exposed to light. Each cell produces
approximately 1/2 a volt and a solar module can have any number of solar cells.

MODULE : consists of multiple PV cells connected in series to provide a higher voltage output.
A solar module designed for charging a 12 volt battery will typically have 36 solar cells
By increasing the number of solar cells the module voltage and wattage increases.
 OPERATION OF PV SYSTEMS

1. Solar or Photovoltaic Module is the essential component of any solar PV system that converts sunlight directly into
DC electricity.
2. Solar Charge Controller regulates voltage and current from solar arrays, charges the battery, prevents battery from
overcharging and also performs controlled over discharges.
3. Battery stores the energy produced from solar arrays for using when sunlight is not visible, night time or other
purposes.
4. Inverter is a critical component of any solar PV system that converts DC power output of solar arrays into AC for AC
appliances.
5. Lightning protection prevents electrical equipment from damages caused by lightning or induction of high voltage
surge. It is required for the large size and critical solar PV systems, which include efficient grounding.

*Net metering is a billing mechanism that credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the grid

TYPES OF PV SYSTEMS
1. PV Direct System : water pump, mobile charging, solar light, solar fan

2. Solar Off Grid System : (stand-alone systems) /independent of the power grid. Batteries are used to store energy.
regular attention to battery electrolyte levels and terminal corrosion
3. On grid system