Output, solar

A single photovoltaic cell does not produce much voltage and the current output is limited by its size. To augment either the voltage or the current output, solar cells can be connected in either series or parallel. Although it is not always the case, usually the sun-facing surface of the solar cell is negative and the back side is positive. 

The photogenerated current is in the same direction as /, but is always less than because the battier potential under load conditions is always less than F, which results in a larger flow of majority carriers than that in a short-circuited cell. Thus, when a solar cell is under load, the current and voltage are always less than and lU, respectively this condition is the curve-factor loss. Depending on the characteristics of the particularp—n junction and on the cell operating conditions, there is an optimal load resistance that maximizes the power output of the cell, ie, the product of its current and voltage. 

When the temperature of a solar cell rises, cell conversion efficiency decreases because the additional thermal energy increases the thermally generated minority (dark-drift) current. This increase in dark-drift current is balanced in the cell by lowering the built-in barrier potential, lU, to boost the majority diffusion current. The drop in F causes a decrease in and F. Therefore, a cell s output, ie, the product of F and decreases with increasing cell temperature. is less sensitive to temperature changes than F and actually increases with temperature. 

PV systems consist of arrays of cells that ate interconnected in panels or modules to increase total power output. Often the systems include sun-tracking equipment, as well as power-conditioning equipment to convert dc to ac. The systems can range in size from a simple one-panel, fixed-orientation unit to a vast field of modules that accurately track the movement of the sun. Electric utiUties in Europe, Japan, and the United States have hosted several experimental PV power plants. The largest to date was a 5.5-MW plant at Carrisa Plains, California, built by Siemens Solar Industries (formerly ARCO Solar). 

Selenium is also used in thin-film photovoltaic cells (qv) which contain copper indium diselenide [12018-95-0] CuInSe2. Use is quite small as of 1996. However, if the United States solar energy output with such cells were to increase by 100 MW/yr, this would require 8 t of selenium aimuaHy (see... 

Fig. 1. The energy levels in a semiconductor. Shown are the valence and conduction bands and the forbidden gap in between where represents an occupied level, ie, electrons are present O, an unoccupied level and -3- an energy level arising from a chemical defect D and occurring within the forbidden gap. The electrons in each band are somewhat independent, (a) A cold semiconductor in pitch darkness where the valence band levels are filled and conduction band levels are empty, (b) The same semiconductor exposed to intense light or some other form of excitation showing the quasi-Fermi level for each band. The energy levels are occupied up to the available voltage for that band. There is a population inversion between conduction and valence bands which can lead to optical gain and possible lasing. Conversely, the chemical potential difference between the quasi-Fermi levels can be connected as the output voltage of a solar cell. Fquilihrium is reestabUshed by stepwise recombination at the defect levels D within the forbidden gap.

Solar cells the difference between conduction and valence band chemical potentials is the available output voltage of a solar cell. Light creates the chemical potential difference simply by boosting a population of electrons from the valence band into the conduction band (see Photovoltaic cells Solar energy). 

Rather than burning with a steady output, the sun burns hotter and cooler over time. Several cycles of increased or decreased solar output have been identified, including cycles at intervals of eleven years, twenty-two years, and eighty-eight years. 

Though measurements of solar output have been taken only for the past eighteen years, longer trend patterns can be derived from indirect data sources, such as ice cores and tree rings. Cosmic rays, which fluctuate with the sun s activity, also strike constituents of the atmosphere, creating radioactive versions of certain elements. Beiyllium, in particular, is ionized to "Be by cosmic rays. The "Be then gets incorporated into trees as they grow, and is trapped in bubbles in ice masses, as is carbon dioxide. 

A 1995 reconstruction of historical solar output levels from 1600 to 2000 shows that solar irradiance has risen over time, hut with many short-term peaks and troughs in the overall curve of increase, increas-... 

Studies suggest that increased solar output may have been responsible for half of the 0.55°C (1°F) increase in temperature from 1900 through 1970, and for one-third of the warming seen since 1970. 

Solar Thermal from -High output -Complex design Not used. Considered... 

Unlike radioisotope generators, nuclear reactors utilize the much more intense process of nuclear chain reaction. Since this process is controlled in the reactor, the energy output could be regulated depending on the system s requirements. It actually could produce twice its nominal power, if necessai"y. Nuclear reactors can pro dde greater electrical output than radioisotope generators using the same types of thermal converters. This output is comparable to that of fuel cells and solar arrays, while nuclear reactors are more durable and compact. 

The power supply is usually a transformer/rectifier that converts a.c. power to d.c. Typically the d.c. output will be in the range 15-100 V and 5-100 A although 200 V/200 A units are not unknown. Thus fairly substantial driving voltages and currents are available. Where mains power is not available, diesel or gas engines, solar panels or thermoelectric generators have all been used to provide suitable d.c. 

Solar Power With improved technology and production methods considerable use is being made of solar power in remote locations. The output of photovoltaic arrays is used to maintain conventional storage batteries in a state of charge. The cathodic protection system is in turn energised from the batteries. It is usual to incorporate sufficient battery storage to accommodate a number of no-sun days. Whilst in theory the capacity of equipment is unlimited, a practical maximum would be ca. SOO W. 

Single-Crystal Silicon. Silicon is still the dominant material in photovoltaic. It has good efficiency, which is 25% in theory and 15% in actual practice. Silicon photovoltaic devices are made from wafers sliced from single crystal silicon ingots, produced in part by CVD (see Ch. 8, Sec. 5.1). However, silicon wafers are still costly, their size is limited, and they cannot be sliced to thicknesses less than 150 im. One crystalline silicon wafer yields only one solar cell, which has an output of only one watt. This means that such cells will always be expensive and can only be used where their high efficiency is essential and cost is not a major factor such as in a spacecraft applications. 

Efficient a computation that would currently consume all the output from a large nuclear power station could be performed using the output of a single 1 cm solar cell. 

Carbon dioxide does not affect the energy input to the planet because CO2 is transparent to most of the incoming solar radiation. In contrast, CO2 is extremely effective at absorbing infrared radiation, so the energy output from the planet decreases when the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases by even a small amount. 

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