1. SEC598 Photovoltaic Systems Engineering Session 01
(SEC501 Solar Engineering and Commercialization, I)
Session 01
Course Overview
August 20, 2018

2. Learning Outcomes SEC598 - PV System Engineering
An understanding of the solar resource
An understanding of the topology and components of photovoltaic systems
An understanding of the design and operation of PV systems at residential and non-residential scales
An introduction to the economics and policies of PV systems

3. Session 01 components Review of course webpage
Course objectives and outcomes
Course organization, texts, assignments, etc.
Energy and Power - Consumption, present and future
Energy and Power - Definitions and calibration

4. Energy Overview Quad = a quadrillion BTUs
BTU = the amount of energy necessary to raise or lower the temperature of one pound of water one degree F
(One four inch wooden kitchen match consumed completely generates approximately 1 BTU)
It does not matter what type of energy we are talking about; they have all been rising quickly

5. Energy Overview

6. Human Development Index
Source: The HDI Figure shows a stark contrast between nations of the world. The developed world, or the industrialized world, is well above 0.8 HDI.  And that has resulted from access to abundant energy. Eighty percent of the world population is well below 0.8 HDI with little or no access to sufficient energy, and that is the root of poverty, war and terrorism. It takes about 3,000 kWhrs per person per year to be above 0.8 HDI, to have what we consider a good life. The developed world is quite wasteful, averaging about 10,000 kWhrs/person/year. Getting everyone in this group down to about 6,000 kWhrs, and everyone else up to 3,000 kWhrs, would achieve an ethical, and sustainable, balance that is more likely to lead to global peace than any other path (Wright and Conca, 2007). The GeoPolitics of Energy: Achieving a Just and Sustainable Energy Distribution by 2040 Paperback – November 20, 2007
The United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) relates energy use to the quality of life to which most humans aspire. The middle class averages about 0.8 on the HDI and requires access to over 3,000 kWhrs per person per year. 80% of the world’s population of over 7 billion people is below 0.8 on the HDI. Source: Wright and Conca, 2007).

7. Energy Overview

8. Human Development Index
The Human Development Index could be used to establish an estimate of the energy needs for the future
Assumptions:
In the near future, the population of the planet will exceed 8 billion
Let us assume we want the HDI for each nation to be 0.90
From the chart on the previous slide, we would require access to 4MWh of electrical energy/per person (per year)
Therefore, the annual electricity requirement is
The current annual electricity generation is approximately 24 PWh, and roughly 23% is produced by renewable sources
With a global effort to carry out more energy efficiency measures and more deployment of renewable energy, the 32 PWh target could be achieved in a year timeframe. However, the population will be much closer to 10 billion by then

9. Current US Solar Power 55.9 GW The Solar Enterprise
Both nationally and globally, the solar business has grown by leaps and bounds in the last two decades
Current US Solar Power
55.9 GW

10. US Photovoltaic (PV) System Installations
SEIA

11. US Photovoltaic (PV) System Installations
SEIA

12. (4% of US electricity demand)
The Solar Enterprise
Both nationally and globally, the solar business has grown by leaps and bounds in the last two decades
Current US Solar Power
55.9 GW
(4% of US electricity demand)

13. The Solar Enterprise
SEIA

14. Advantages to solar power
Inexhaustible input power
The sun’s lifetime is billions of years
Direct conversion to electrical power
Optical energy -> Electrical energy
Zero emissions during operation
No carbon footprint
Earth-abundant raw material supply (for cells)
Silicon is the most abundant element in the earth’s crust
Reliable and durable technology

15. Disadvantages to solar power
It is an intermittent energy resource
Night and day
It adds instability to the electrical grid
Clouds, shadowing produce output with fluctuations
It has low power density
80% of incident sunlight is unused
Its power curve does not match the system demand profile
With higher penetration, its marginal value shrinks to zero
It is a disruptive technology
It produces “load defection”, possibly followed by “grid defection”

16. The Solar Resource – as observed in Phoenix

17. What has fueled this growth?
Technological Factors
Silicon solar cells and modules
Inexhaustible input power at zero cost
Societal Factors
Concerns about fossil fuel and nuclear power plants
An increasing awareness of sustainability issues
Economic Factors
Steady reduction in cost of PV systems
Favorable government policies and business climate

18. What might impede this growth?
PV system components
Dependence on materials that are not earth-abundant
High labor costs
New PV system components
Problems with smart components
Certain economic and business factors
Hostile interactions with utilities, utility regulating bodies
Net metering issues
Power demand charges
Expansion of low cost natural gas supply and use in utility scale electricity generation
Tariffs
Recent analysis showing that solar energy suffers from a “merit order effect” which will shrink its value with increasing penetration into the energy market