Solar Energy

I need some information for my negative debate speech. The subject is "Should the American goverment support solar energy?" If you could help it would greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Keep in mind I like solar energy, but I’ll give you some points.

1) It costs more
2) panels degrade faster than other energy sources equipment
3) They consume arable land
4) they consume natural habitat to set up
5) They can be unsightly (visual pollution)
6) Higher upkeep costs
7) Can be a hazard in high winds
transimssion issues getting energy from collection point to use point
9) energy only available in good weather
10) seasonality to its generation makes it an irregular energy source

There are good arguments in reply to all these points, but you wanted some negative debate points.

I came accross a new, proven and tested home made wind power system and solar power system which eliminates our electricity bills. It was written by a Renewable energy enthusiasts Michael Harvey the diy called Earth4energy. You can get your copy to save energy and help environment while eliminating your power bills. Get it from here:

http://how-to-build-cheap-solar-energy.blogspot.com/

My friends, if you think the future looks bright consider this:

right now based on recent gas prices and how the economy reacted to it I think its fair to say that we are looking at some serious economic doo doo. Because oil is depleting we need to spend more of that energy on finding better ways to extract it (tar sands, deep oil, etc). And right now oil prices are not high enough to get innovative people to freak out and invest in new technologies that are not nearly as wonderful as petroleum in net energy return. the matter of the fact is that the reason we are living such luxurious lives is because we have a surplus of energy and we do not need as many farmers and such to supply the essentials.

let me put it this way, in midevil times for every 1 calorie humans burnt in their body farming they got 1.2 calories back from a sustainable agriculture system. this meant that their could be kings, nobles, a ruling class, and a large dirt poor class, and SLOW economic growth.

these days for every 1 human NATURALLY burnt calorie on farming we get 100 calories in return…. this allows for massive specialization and massive economic growth. this 1:100 calorie production ration will simply not last any longer because of the access to CHEAP oil. now that the production in cheap oil is on the decline we should be heavily investing in other energy resorces which have about the same energy return. the only two the come remotly close to having the same energy return are wind and solar power. but theres a problem you cant use these for transportation. our other sources of energy and oil have absolutly terrible energy returns for example tar sands 1:1.5 or corn based ethanol 1:1.2. right now the energy return for the cheap oil is 1:30 (it used to be 1:100). with increasing global demand i am quite puzzled at how we are going to be able to sustain humanity’s future.

to put it plainly i think that people are over ignoring this posing problem and are missled by the media that technology will save us. the problem is NOW and the technology sucks in energy return and i think humanity (modern society in particular) is about to… well most people seem to be in complete denial about that because they cant imagine a non-spoiled lifestyle

how do you think this problem will be solved? how will the common folk react to the coming problem? how will you change your life when energy costs go from skyrocketing to moonrocketing?

you know what i dont care , honestly i dont give a F*** !!!
you might consider adopting the same view point.
i feel great really , i dont care what runs out and what dont !!!

Please only reply if you are an homeowner!
Besides the initial cost is there anything other reason you wouldn’t make the conversion?

it’s expensive

So if you had sunlight passing through the atmosphere at the equator on the a solar panel perpendicular to the direction of the light waves, how much energy in watts would it produce? I want the answer so I can speculate as to how much energy we could get out of a dyson sphere.

At the equator, the Sun provides approximately 1000 watts per square meter on the Earth’s surface. 1 kW per m² converted to one km², provides 1,000,000 kW / km² or
1,000 MW / kW² of solar energy at the equator.

Now look at the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells.

Commercially available solar panels are about 20% efficient. Technology breakthroughs may move this to more than 30% in the near future. Below is a list of photovoltaic efficiencies of the various technologies.

Efficiency Report
11.1% Thin Films: Past, Present, Future
17% Sunpower Introduces High-Efficiency Photovoltaic Modules
19% HelioVolt: Thin Film Technology Efficiency Comparison
20.5% Samsung’s Solar Cell Breakthrough
32.3% Photovoltaics: Energy for the New Millennium
72%?? Full Solar Spectrum Photovoltaic Materials Identified

Applying the efficiencies availble today provides the following energy outputs:

1,000 MW / km² x 20% efficiency = 200 MW / km²
1,000 MW / km² x 32% efficiency = 320 MW / km²

You will lose a portion of this in the energy conversion to your utilization equipment. Check out the solarexpert link below for a detailed explanation. of the factors that affect solar performance.

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The answer depends on where you are located (latitude) and the number of days without clouds. You’ve defined the location as the equator, but it will also depend on how much time has perfect conditions. Solar panels that are track the sun improve performance. Dust and dirt on the panels will greatly reduce the power output.

In southern California, the daily sun profile provides an annual average of 5.5 hours per day of peak conditions. Morning and evening condtions have low sunlight intensity.

hydro projects lead to depletion of natural resources ,the need is to popularize solar energy, as the telecom sector has shown aggresive drive creates demand makes technology cheapand affordable ,similar drive is essential for saving our resources and making a bright lighted world

"Not provided"??????

Are you saying that people in hot climates can’t take care of themselves?

"handy cost effective solar energy tools and electricity/? "

Do you think "people in hot climates" are retarded or something? If it WERE cost effective don’t you think they would already have them??

Maybe "solar energy tools" are NOT cost effective and THEY know it, but YOU obviously don’t.

i need a solar panel (or panels together) that’s no bigger than 16" by 10". the panel(s) need to produce a combined total of at least 7 volts and roughly 50 amps (50000 MA) and higher preferably 8 volts 70 amps. i need the panel(s) to be under $200 if possible. now with the wind generator i need something small like salt shaker size or smaller than i can rig to a fan or something

If this is not a troll or a joke, then to answer seriously, what you want is not possible on earth. The incoming solar flux (light from the sun) has only about 1/3 of what you are requesting, even outside earth’s atmosphere.

However, a lead-acid battery could fit within the dimensions you specify, and provide that kind of power, at that cost. If you’re serious, then post another question with details of your end application, instead of just power specs. People can help you out.

You can hook up fan blades to a small hobby motor, and get something about the size of a salt shaker. It might be enough to recharge a cell phone, in steady wind. Again, if you post details, people can help you.

It seems like you could harness massive amounts of energy in orbit full time, in a controlled orbit.

You’re quite right, the amount of solar energy outside our atmosphere is much more than at the surface.
No atmosphere to filter out some of the radiation, no clouds or pollution to reduce the amount of energy.

Leading edge multi-junction cells are capable of nearly 29% efficiency under ideal conditions for spacecraft.
On the surface, current sunlight conversion rates (module efficiencies) can vary from 5-18% in commercial production.

I hear bigger systems work better so if your a developer near a lake or ocean why not? you could supplement with solar & wind.

Geothermal energy in the United States continues to be an area of considerable activity. The USA is the world leader in online capacity of geothermal energy and the generation of electricity from geothermal energy.

According to 2005 state energy data, geothermal energy provided approximately 16 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity — 0.37% of the electricity consumed in the U.S. As of May 2007, geothermal electric power was generated in five U.S. states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. According to the Geothermal Energy Association’s recent report, there were 75 new geothermal power projects underway in 12 states as of May 2007 . This is an increase of 14 projects in an additional three states compared to a survey completed in November 2006.

The most significant catalyst behind new industry activity is the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act made new geothermal plants eligible for the full federal production tax credit, previously available only to wind power projects. It also authorized and directed increased funding for research by the Department of Energy, and gave the Bureau of Land Management new legal guidance and secure funding to address its backlog of geothermal leases and permits.

If heat recovered by ground source heat pumps is included, the non-electric generating capacity of geothermal energy is estimated at more than 100 GW (gigawatts of thermal power) and is used commercially in over 70 countries.

During 2005, contracts were placed for an additional 0.5 GW of capacity in the United States, while there were also plants under construction in 11 other countries.

Resources

Estimates of exploitable worldwide geothermal energy resources vary considerably. According to a 1999 study, it was thought that this might amount to between 65 and 138 GW of electrical generation capacity ‘using enhanced technology’.

A 2006 report by MIT that took into account the use of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) concluded that it would be affordable to generate 100 GWe (gigawatts of electricity) or more by 2050, just in the United States, for a maximum investment of 1 billion US dollars in research and development over 15 years.

The MIT report calculated the world’s total EGS resources to be over 13,000 ZJ, of which over 200 ZJ would be extractable, with the potential to increase this to over 2,000 ZJ with technology improvements – sufficient to provide all the world’s energy needs for several millennia.

The key characteristic of an EGS is that it reaches at least 10 km down into hard rock. The MIT report estimated that there was enough energy in hard rocks 10 km below the United States to supply all the world’s current needs for 30,000 years. At a typical site two holes would be bored and the deep rock between them fractured. Water would be pumped down one and steam would come up the other. There seems no reason why the steam should not feed an existing coal, oil or nuclear fired generating plant.

Drilling at this depth is now routine for the oil industry (Exxon announced an 11 km hole at the Chayvo field, Sakhalin. Lloyds List 1/5/07 p 6). The technological challenges are to drill wider bores and to break rock over larger volumes. Apart from the energy used to make the bores, the process releases no greenhouse gases. Compared to the difficulties of developing other forms of energy supply (nuclear, wind, wave, solar etc)EGS seems to be well worth encouragement.

Although geothermal sites are capable of providing heat for many decades, eventually specific locations may cool down. It is likely that in these locations, the system was designed too large for the site, since there is only so much energy that can be stored and replenished in a given volume of earth. Some interpret this as meaning a specific geothermal location can undergo depletion, and question whether geothermal energy is truly renewable, but if left alone, these places will recover some of their lost heat, as the mantle has vast heat reserves. The government of Iceland states It should be stressed that the geothermal resource is not strictly renewable in the same sense as the hydro resource. It estimates that Iceland’s geothermal energy could provide 1700 MW for over 100 years, compared to the current production of 140 MW.

Power plants

Three different types of power plants – dry steam, flash, and binary – can be are used to generate power from geothermal energy, depending on temperature, depth, and quality of the water and steam in the area. In all cases the condensed steam and remaining geothermal fluid is injected back into the ground to pick up more heat.

Dry steam

A dry stream power plant uses hot steam, typically above 455°F, to directly power its turbines. This is the oldest type of power plant and is still in use today.

Flash steam

Flash steam power plants use hot water above 360°F from geothermal reservoirs. As the water is pumped from the reservoir to the power plant, the drop in pressure causes the water to vaporize into steam to power the turbine. Any water not flashed into steam is injected back into the reservoir for reuse.

Binary-cycle

The water used in binary-cycle power plants is cooler than that of flash steam plants. The hot fluid from geothermal reservoirs is passed through a heat exchanger which transfers heat to a separate pipe containing fluids with a much lower boiling point. These fluids, usually Iso-butane or Iso-pentane, are vaporized to power the turbine. The advantage to binary-cycle power plants is their lower cost and increased efficiency. These plants also do not emit any excess gas and are able to utilize lower temperature reservoirs, which are much more common. Most geothermal power plants planned for construction are binary-cycle.

Distribution

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The largest dry steam field in the world is The Geysers, 72 miles (116 km) north of San Francisco. The Geysers began in 1960, has 1360 MW of installed capacity and produces over 750 MW net. Calpine Corporation now owns 19 of the 21 plants in The Geysers and is currently the United States’ largest producer of renewable geothermal energy. The other two plants are owned jointly by the Northern California Power Agency and the City of Santa Clara’s municipal Electric Utility (now called Silicon Valey Power). Since the activities of one geothermal plant affects those nearby, the consolidation plant ownership at The Geysers has been beneficial because the plants operate cooperatively instead of in their own short-term interest. The Geysers is now recharged by injecting treated sewage effluent from the City of Santa Rosa and the Lake County sewage treatment plant. This sewage effluent used to be dumped into rivers and streams and is now piped to the geothermal field where it replenishes the steam produced for power generation.

Another major geothermal area is located in south central California, on the southeast side of the Salton Sea, near the cities of Niland and Calipatria, California. As of 2001, there were 15 geothermal plants producing electricity in the area. CalEnergy owns about half of them and the rest are owned by various companies. Combined the plants have a capacity of about 570 megawatts.

The Basin and Range geologic province in Nevada, southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, Arizona and western Utah is now an area of rapid geothermal development. Several small power plants were built during the late 1980s during times of high power prices. Rising energy costs have spurred new development. Plants in Nevada at Steamboat near Reno, Brady/Desert Peak, Dixie Valley, Soda Lake, Stillwater and Beowawe now produce about 235 MW.

Geothermal power is very cost-effective in the Rift area of Africa. Kenya’s KenGen has built two plants, Olkaria I (45 MW) and Olkaria II (65 MW), with a third private plant Olkaria III (48 MW) run by geothermal specialist Ormat. Plans are to increase production capacity by another 576 MW by 2017, covering 25% of Kenya’s electricity needs, and correspondingly reducing dependency on imported oil.

Geothermal power is generated in over 20 countries around the world including Iceland (producing over 50% of its electricity from geothermal sources in 2006), the United States, Italy, France, New Zealand, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Russia, the Philippines (production capacity of 1931 MW (2nd to US, 27% of electricity), Indonesia, the People’s Republic of China and Japan. Canada’s government (which officially notes some 30,000 earth-heat installations for providing space heating to Canadian residential and commercial buildings) reports a test geothermal-electrical site in the Meager Mountain–Pebble Creek area of British Columbia, where a 100 MW facility could be developed.

Water injection

In some locations, the natural supply of water producing steam from the hot underground magma deposits has been exhausted and processed waste water is injected to replenish the supply. Most geothermal fields have more fluid recharge than heat, so re-injection can cool the resource, unless it is carefully managed.

Benefits

Geothermal energy a number of advantages over traditional fossil fuel based sources. From an environmental standpoint, the energy harnessed is clean and safe for the surrounding environment. It is also sustainable because the hot water used in the geothermal process can be re injected into the ground to produce more steam. In addition, geothermal power plants are unaffected by changing weather conditions. From an economic view, geothermal energy reduces reliance on foreign fossil fuel imports. Given enough excess capacity, geothermal energy can also be sold to outside sources such as neighboring countries or private businesses that require energy. It also offers a degree of scalability: a large geothermal plant can power entire cities while smaller power plants can supply more remote sites such as rural villages.

Environmental concerns

There are several environmental concerns behind geothermal energy. Construction of the power plants can adversely affect land stability in the surrounding region. For example, increased seismic activity can occur because of well drilling and land subsidence can become a problem as older wells begin to cool down.[9]. Dry steam and flash steam power plant also emit low levels of carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, and sulfur, although at roughly 5% of the levels emitted by fossil fuel power plants!!!!!!!!!

The earth does it in several ways. One is that it traps the radiant energy and uses it to heat the earth. Plants trap the solar energy and convert it to sugars that are used by higher life forms. The same thing for plankton and fish.

Then, there are the direct methods that man can use to create other forms of energy. He can use solar cells to create electricity. He can focus the suns rays and heat with them. And, he can take advantage of the other energy systems that are driven indirectly by the sun like wind and hydro-electric.

So, the true answer to your question lies in what you really meant by ‘generate energy from the heat of the sun’.

im doing a report on solar power energy so if you would help me by either giving me answers to theses questions or giving me links that will answer them that will be great! Thankz!
-Who are the people or groups of people that came up with the idea of using the sun for energy?
-Do the costs of solar panels make it functional?
-Is solar power energy widely accepted today? Why or Why Not?
-What are the advantages and disadvantages of using solar power energy vs. fossil fuels?
-Were there different designs of solar panels in the past versus today?

THANX

Solar energy was a direct outcome of early observations of semiconductors at Bell Laboratories where they invented the transistor.

Solar energy is economical now, and it is functional. The economy must be viewed as something where the payback is a few years.

Solar energy is widely accepted.

Solar energy does not produce greenhouse gases. It is not controlled by someone else. It will not run out. The energy source is freely available to everybody.

The direction of solar electric panels is toward amorphous (as opposed to crystaline) photoelectric cells. Of course, there are new projects starting that use the thermal energy to heat water and other materials, producing electricity with boilers and generators.