Solar energy characteristic briefly. Options for the use of solar energy in economic activities. Use of solar energy in Russia

We live in the world of the future, although this is not noticeable in all regions. In any case, the possibility of developing new energy sources is being seriously discussed today in progressive circles. One of the most promising areas is solar energy.

On the this moment About 1% of the electricity on Earth is obtained from the processing of solar radiation. So why have we still not abandoned other "harmful" methods, and will we refuse at all? We suggest that you read our article and try to answer this question yourself.

How solar energy is converted into electricity

Let's start with the most important - how the sun's rays are processed into electricity.

The process itself is called "Solar Generation" . The most effective ways to ensure it are as follows:

photovoltaic;
solar thermal energy;
solar balloon power plants.

Let's consider each of them.

photovoltaic

In this case, the electric current appears due to photovoltaic effect. The principle is this: sunlight hits a photocell, electrons absorb the energy of photons (light particles) and set in motion. As a result, we get electrical voltage.

It is this process that occurs in solar panels, which are based on elements that convert solar radiation into electricity.

The very design of photovoltaic panels is quite flexible and can have different sizes. Therefore, they are very practical to use. In addition, the panels have high performance properties: they are resistant to precipitation and temperature extremes.

And here's how it's set up separate solar panel module:

You can read about the use of solar panels as chargers, power sources for private homes, for ennobling cities and for medical purposes at.

Modern solar panels and power plants

Recent examples include the company's solar panels SistineSolar. They can be of any shade and texture unlike the traditional dark blue panels. And this means that they can "decorate" the roof of the house as you please.

Another solution was proposed by the Tesla developers. They put on sale not just panels, but a full-fledged roofing material that processes solar energy. contains built-in solar modules and can also have a wide variety of designs. At the same time, the material itself is much stronger than ordinary roofing tiles; Solar Roof even has an endless guarantee.

As an example of a full-fledged solar power plant, we can cite a recently built station in Europe with double-sided panels. The latter collect both direct solar radiation and reflective. This allows you to increase the efficiency of solar generation by 30%. This station should produce about 400 MWh per year.

Interest is also the largest floating solar power plant in China. Its capacity is 40 MW. Such solutions have 3 important advantages:

there is no need to occupy large land territories, which is important for China;
in reservoirs, the evaporation of water decreases;
the photocells themselves heat up less and work more efficiently.

By the way, this floating solar power plant was built on the site of an abandoned coal mining enterprise.

The technology based on the photovoltaic effect is the most promising today, and according to experts, solar panels will be able to produce about 20% of the world's electricity demand in the next 30-40 years.

solar thermal energy

Here the approach is slightly different, because. solar radiation is used to heat a vessel with liquid. This turns it into steam, which turns a turbine, which results in the generation of electricity.

Thermal power plants operate on the same principle, only the liquid is heated by burning coal.

The most obvious example of the use of this technology is station Ivanpa Solar in the Mojave Desert. It is the world's largest solar solar thermal power plant.

It has been operating since 2014 and does not use any fuel to produce electricity - only environmentally friendly solar energy.

The water cauldron is located in the towers, which you can see in the center of the structure. Around is a field of mirrors that direct the sun's rays to the top of the tower. At the same time, the computer constantly rotates these mirrors depending on the location of the sun.

Sunlight concentrates on the tower

Under the influence of concentrated solar energy the water in the tower is heated and becomes steam. This creates pressure, and the steam begins to rotate the turbine, as a result of which electricity is released. The power of this station is 392 megawatts, which can be compared with the average CHPP in Moscow.

Interestingly, such stations can operate at night. This is possible due to the placement of part of the heated steam in storage and its gradual use to rotate the turbine.

Solar balloon power plants

This original solution, although not widely used, still has a place to be.

The installation itself consists of 4 main parts:

A balloon is located in the sky, collecting solar radiation. Water enters the ball, which quickly heats up, becoming steam.
Steam pipeline - steam under pressure descends through it to the turbine, causing it to rotate.
Turbine - under the influence of steam flow, it rotates, generating electrical energy.
Condenser and pump - the steam that has passed through the turbine condenses into water and rises to the balloon with the help of a pump, where it is again heated to a vapor state.

What are the advantages of solar energy

The sun will give us its energy for several billion more years. At the same time, people do not need to spend money and resources for its extraction.
Solar energy generation is a completely environmentally friendly process with no risks to nature.
process autonomy. The collection of sunlight and the generation of electricity takes place with minimal human intervention. The only thing to do is to keep the work surfaces or mirrors clean.
End-of-life solar panels can be recycled and reused in production.

Problems of development of solar energy

Despite the implementation of ideas to maintain the operation of solar power plants at night, no one is immune from the vagaries of nature. Cloudy skies for several days significantly reduce electricity generation, and in fact the population and enterprises need its uninterrupted supply.

Building a solar power plant is not a cheap pleasure. This is due to the need to use rare elements in their design. Not all countries are ready to spend their budgets on less powerful power plants when there are working TPPs and nuclear power plants.

To accommodate such installations, large areas are required, and in places where solar radiation has a sufficient level.

How solar energy is developed in Russia

Unfortunately, in our country, coal, gas and oil are still burning to the fullest, and for sure Russia will be among the last to completely switch to alternative energy.

To date solar generation makes up only 0.03% of the energy balance of the Russian Federation. For comparison, in the same Germany, this figure is more than 20%. Private entrepreneurs are not interested in investing in solar energy because of the long payback and not so high profitability, because our gas is much cheaper.

In the economically developed Moscow and Leningrad regions, solar activity is at a low level. There construction of solar power plants is simply impractical. But the southern regions are quite promising.

So one of the largest in our country is. It consists of 100,000 modules delivering a total power of 25 MW. The generated electricity is supplied to the Unified Energy System of Russia (UES).

The most powerful today is SES Perovo located in the Republic of Crimea. It produces more than 105 MW, which was a world record at the time of the station's opening. SPP Perovo consists of 440,000 photovoltaic modules and covers an area of 259 football fields.

In general, solar energy is well developed in Crimea - there are more than a dozen solar power plants with a capacity of 20 MW or more. True, all the electricity received goes purely to the needs of the peninsula.

By 2020, it is planned to build 4 large solar power plants in Russia, the capacity of which will increase the share of solar energy to 1% of the country's total energy balance.

Thus, even today we can say with confidence that solar energy is capable of becoming a full-fledged alternative to traditional methods of generating electricity in the near future. And even in Russia, this industry, although slowly, is developing.

V last years scientists are especially interested in alternative energy sources. Oil and gas will run out sooner or later, so we have to think about how we will survive in this situation now. Windmills are actively used in Europe, someone is trying to extract energy from the ocean, and we will talk about solar energy. After all, a star that we see in the sky almost every day can help us save and improve the ecological situation. The value of the sun for the Earth is difficult to overestimate - it gives heat, light and allows all life on the planet to function. So why not find another use for it?

A bit of history

In the middle of the 19th century, the physicist Alexandre Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect. And by the end of the century, Charles Fritts created the first device capable of converting solar energy into electricity. For this, selenium coated with a thin layer of gold was used. The effect was weak, but this invention is often associated with the beginning of the era of solar energy. Some scholars do not agree with this formulation. They call the founder of the era of solar energy the world famous scientist Albert Einstein. In 1921 he received Nobel Prize for explaining the laws of the external photoelectric effect.

It would seem that solar energy is a promising way of development. But there are many obstacles for it to enter every home - mainly economic and environmental. What makes up the cost of solar panels, what harm they can do to the environment and what other ways to generate energy, we will find out below.

Accumulation methods

The most urgent task associated with the domestication of the energy of the sun is not only its receipt, but also its accumulation. And that is what is most difficult. Currently, scientists have developed only 3 ways to fully tame solar energy.

The first is based on the use of a parabolic mirror and is a bit like playing with a magnifying glass, which is familiar to everyone since childhood. Light passes through the lens, gathering at one point. If you put a piece of paper in this place, it will light up, because the temperature of the crossed sun rays is incredibly high. A parabolic mirror is a concave disk resembling a shallow bowl. This mirror, unlike a magnifying glass, does not transmit, but reflects sunlight, collecting it at one point, which is usually directed to a black pipe with water. This color is used because it best absorbs light. The water in the pipe is heated by the sun's rays and can be used to generate electricity or to heat small houses.

flat heater

This method uses a completely different system. The solar energy receiver looks like a multilayer structure. The principle of its work looks like this.

Passing through the glass, the rays fall on the darkened metal, which, as you know, absorbs light better. Solar radiation turns into and heats the water, which is under the iron plate. Further, everything happens as in the first method. The heated water can be used either for space heating or for generating electrical energy. True, the effectiveness of this method is not so high as to be used everywhere.

As a rule, the solar energy obtained in this way is heat. To obtain electricity, the third method is much more often used.

Solar cells

Most of all, we are familiar with just this way of obtaining energy. It involves the use of various batteries or solar panels, which can be found on the roofs of many modern houses. This method is more complicated than previously described, but is much more promising. It is he who enables the sun to produce electricity on an industrial scale.

Special panels designed to capture rays are made from enriched silicon crystals. Sunlight, falling on them, knocks the electron out of orbit. Another one immediately strives to take its place, thus a continuous moving chain is obtained, which creates a current. If necessary, it is immediately used to provide devices or accumulates in the form of electricity in special batteries.

The popularity of this method is justified by the fact that it allows you to get more than 120 watts from just one square meter of solar panels. At the same time, the panels have a relatively small thickness, which allows them to be placed almost anywhere.

Types of silicon panels

There are several types of solar panels. The first are made using single-crystal silicon. Their efficiency is about 15%. These are the most expensive.

The efficiency of elements made of polycrystalline silicon reaches 11%. They cost less, since the material for them is obtained using a simplified technology. The third type is the most economical and has a minimum efficiency. These are panels made of amorphous silicon, that is, non-crystalline. In addition to low efficiency, they have another significant drawback - fragility.

Some manufacturers use both sides of the solar panel to increase efficiency - the back and front. This allows you to capture light in large volumes and increases the amount of energy received by 15-20%.

domestic producers

Solar energy on Earth is becoming more widespread. Even in our country, they are interested in studying this industry. Despite the fact that the development of alternative energy is not very active in Russia, some success has been achieved. Currently, several organizations are engaged in the creation of panels for solar energy - mainly scientific institutes of various kinds and factories for the production of electrical equipment.

NPF "Kvark"
JSC "Kovrovsky Mechanical Plant"
All-Russian Research Institute of Electrification of Agriculture.
NPO of mechanical engineering.
JSC VIEN.
JSC "Ryazan plant of metal-ceramic devices".
AOOT Pravdinsky Experimental Plant of Power Sources "Posit".

This is only a small part of the enterprises that are actively involved in the development of alternative

Environmental impact

The rejection of coal and oil sources of energy is connected not only with the fact that these resources will run out sooner or later. The fact is that they greatly harm the environment - they pollute the soil, air and water, contribute to the development of diseases in people and reduce immunity. That is why alternative energy sources must be safe from an environmental point of view.

Silicon, which is used for the production of photovoltaic cells, is itself safe, since it is a natural material. But after cleaning it, waste remains. They can harm humans and the environment if used improperly.

In addition, in an area completely filled with solar panels, natural lighting may be disturbed. This will lead to changes in the existing ecosystem. But in general, the environmental impact of devices designed to convert solar energy is minimal.

economy

The biggest costs associated with the high cost of raw materials. As we have already found out, special panels are created using silicon. Despite the fact that this mineral is widely distributed in nature, there are big problems associated with its extraction. The fact is that silicon, which makes up more than a quarter of the mass of the earth's crust, is not suitable for the production of solar cells. For these purposes, only the purest material obtained by an industrial method is suitable. Unfortunately, it is extremely problematic to obtain the purest silicon from sand.

In terms of price, this resource is comparable to uranium used in nuclear power plants. That is why the cost of solar panels currently remains at a fairly high level.

Modern technologies

The first attempts to tame solar energy appeared a long time ago. Since then, many scientists have been actively engaged in the search for the most efficient equipment. It should be not only cost-effective, but also compact. Its efficiency should strive to the maximum.

The first steps towards an ideal device for receiving and converting solar energy were made with the invention of silicon batteries. Of course, the price is quite high, but the panels can be placed on the roofs and walls of houses, where they will not bother anyone. And the effectiveness of such batteries is undeniable.

But The best way increase the popularity of solar energy - make it cheaper. German scientists have already proposed replacing silicon with synthetic fibers that can be integrated into fabric or other materials. The efficiency of such a solar battery is not very high. But a shirt interspersed with synthetic fibers can at least provide electricity to a smartphone or player. Work is also being actively carried out in the field of nanotechnology. It is likely that they will allow the sun to become the most popular source of energy this century. Scates AS specialists from Norway have already stated that nanotechnologies will reduce the cost of solar panels by 2 times.

Solar energy for home

Self-sufficient housing is the dream of many: there is no dependence on centralized heating, no problems with paying bills, and no harm to the environment. Already, many countries are actively building housing that consumes only energy obtained from alternative sources. A striking example is the so-called solar house.

During the construction process, it will require more investments than the traditional one. But on the other hand, after several years of operation, all costs will pay off - you will not have to pay for heating, hot water and electricity. In a solar house, all these communications are tied to special photovoltaic panels placed on the roof. Moreover, the energy resources obtained in this way are not only spent on current needs, but also accumulated for use at night and in cloudy weather.

Currently, the construction of such houses is carried out not only in countries close to the equator, where it is easiest to obtain solar energy. They are also built in Canada, Finland and Sweden.

Pros and cons

The development of technologies that allow the use of solar energy everywhere could be more active. But there are certain reasons why this is still not a priority. As we said above, during the production of panels, substances harmful to the environment are produced. In addition, the finished equipment contains gallium, arsenic, cadmium and lead.

The need to recycle photovoltaic panels also raises many questions. After 50 years of operation, they will become unusable and will have to be destroyed somehow. Will it cause enormous harm to nature? It should also be borne in mind that solar energy is a fickle resource, the efficiency of which depends on the time of day and weather. And this is a significant disadvantage.

But there are also advantages, of course. Solar energy can be mined almost anywhere on Earth, and the equipment to produce and convert it can be small enough to fit on the back of a smartphone. More importantly, it is a renewable resource, that is, the amount of solar energy will remain unchanged for at least another thousand years.

prospects

The development of technologies in the field of solar energy should lead to a reduction in the cost of creating elements. Glass panels are already appearing that can be installed on windows. The development of nanotechnology has made it possible to invent a paint that will be sprayed onto solar panels and can replace the silicon layer. If the cost of solar energy really drops by several times, its popularity will also grow many times over.

Creating small panels for individual use will allow people to use solar energy in any environment - at home, in the car or even outside the city. Thanks to their distribution, the load on the centralized power grid will decrease, since people will be able to independently charge small electronics.

Shell experts believe that by 2040 about half of the world's energy will be generated from renewable resources. Already now in Germany, the consumption of solar energy is actively growing, and the battery power is more than 35 Gigawatts. Japan is also actively developing this industry. These two countries are the leaders in the consumption of solar energy in the world. The United States is likely to join soon.

Other alternative energy sources

Scientists do not stop puzzling over what else can be used to produce electricity or heat. Let us give examples of the most promising alternative energy sources.

Windmills can now be found in almost every country. Even on the streets of many Russian cities, lanterns are installed that provide themselves with electricity from wind energy. Surely their cost is above average, but over time they will make up for this difference.

Quite a long time ago, a technology was invented that allows you to get energy using the difference in water temperatures at the surface of the ocean and at depth. China is actively going to develop this direction. In the coming years, off the coast of the Middle Kingdom, they are going to build the largest power plant operating on this technology. There are other ways to use the sea. For example, in Australia they plan to create a power plant that generates energy from the force of the currents.

There are many others or heat. But against the background of many other options, solar energy is a really promising direction in the development of science.

03.03.2016

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Today we will talk about the sun and solar energy. One of the main natural, and most importantly, inexhaustible generators of energy is the sun. It radiates great amount energy and an impressive part of it falls on the surface of the earth, namely about 700 quadrillion kW / h. And we can use all this solar energy for our own purposes.

What can solar energy be used for?

There is a huge range of applications of the "power" of the sun to simplify and improve the quality of human life. The most common use of solar energy is water heating. Moreover, water heating can be of completely natural origin - these are mostly ponds, seas, rivers (in general, reservoirs). Since the dawn of mankind, people have used heated water in reservoirs for drinking, washing and other needs. Today, people already use local water heating specifically for their needs. The simplest example, which is probably familiar to everyone, is a black barrel on the roof. Today there are much more effective methods heating hot water than the "black barrel", but more on that later.

Another equally important option for using solar energy is the conversion of solar energy into electric current. The simplest example is the well-known solar-powered calculator. In addition to a calculator, solar energy can be used for lighting, heating, transportation (electric vehicles). To sum up, the sun can replace oil, gas, coal and other not infinite natural resources for us. And I am sure that soon it will be so - the process has already been launched.

How can solar energy be used?

The most well-known use of solar energy is solar panels. They can be installed both on the roof of a building and on the surface of the earth, but mandatory in an open area and, as a rule, installed at a certain angle, which will ensure the maximum collection of solar energy. At the moment, there are already (unfortunately there are not so many of them yet) solar power plants that provide electricity to entire cities. But at the moment it is advisable to create them only in the southern regions, where the largest number sunny days in a year.

Also, many people are starting to use solar panels for their private homes. But so far, as a rule, they are used only as an additional or backup power source. Often, only 1 or 2 solar panels are installed, which can only provide backup lighting in the house. But I repeat - the process has already been launched and this is the main thing. In a relatively short time, the sun will replace modern energy sources.

Other solar panels are used:

in portable batteries (for charging phones and other gadgets)
mounted on lampposts for street lighting, on small garden lanterns, etc.
at traffic lights
generally used with almost all appliances that require a power supply

Another important area of how solar energy can be used is heating and hot water supply. For this, solar collectors can be used, which, like solar panels, are installed on the roof of houses. Only in the collectors does the liquid circulate, which is heated by solar energy and transferred to the storage tank (tank of indirect heating). The second solar heating option is geothermal heat pumps. But they use solar energy indirectly. That is, the heat pump takes the heat of the earth and, due to it, heats the house, heats hot water and can even cool the house. And what about solar energy? Yes, despite the fact that the earth is the main accumulator of solar heat.

Well, the most important thing is that solar energy gives life to all life on earth. Thanks to everyone who read this article, in which I tried to reveal the spectrum of solar energy use. If I missed something or you have questions - write in the comments.

The energy of the sun is just a stream of photons. And at the same time, it is one of the fundamental factors that ensure the very existence of life in our biosphere. Therefore, it is quite natural that sunlight is actively used by man not only in the climatic aspect, but also as an alternative source of energy.

Where is solar energy used

The scope of solar energy is very extensive, and every year it becomes more and more. So, until recently, a country shower with a solar heater was perceived as something extraordinary, and the possibility of using sunlight for home electrical networks seemed fantastic. Today, you will not surprise anyone not only with an autonomous solar station, but also with mobile solar-powered chargers and even small appliances (for example, watches) operating on the photovoltaic effect.

In general, the use of solar energy is very much in demand in such areas as:

Agriculture;
Energy supply of sanatoriums and boarding houses;
Space industry;
Environmental protection and ecotourism;
Electrification of remote and hard-to-reach regions;
Street, garden and decorative lighting;
Housing and communal services (DHW, house lighting);
Mobile technology (gadgets and solar-powered charging modules).

Previously, solar energy was used mainly in the space industry (power supply for satellites, stations, etc.) and in industry, but over time, alternative energy began to be actively developed in everyday life. One of the first objects equipped with solar installations were southern boarding houses and sanatoriums, especially those located in secluded areas.

Solar installations and their advantages

The successful application of the first solar modules proved that solar energy has many advantages over traditional sources. Previously, the main advantages of solar plants were only environmental friendliness and inexhaustibility (as well as free) of sunlight.

But in fact, the list of advantages is much wider:

Autonomy, since no external power communications are required;
Stability of power supply, due to the specifics of the solar current is not subject to power surges;
Profitability, since the funds are spent only once, during the installation of the installation;
Solid service life (over 20 years);
All-weather use, solar installations work effectively even in frosty and cloudy weather (with a slight decrease in efficiency);
Simplicity and convenience of service, as it is required only occasionally to clean the front sides of the panels from contamination.

The only drawback is the dependence on the sun and the fact that such installations do not work at night. But this problem is solved by connecting special batteries, which accumulate the energy of sunlight generated during the day.

photo energy

Photovoltaic is one of two ways to use the sun's radiation. This is a direct current generated by the action of sunlight. Such a transformation takes place in the so-called photocells, which, in fact, are a two-layer structure of two semiconductors. different type. The lower semiconductor is p-type (with a lack of electrons), the upper one is n-type with an excess of electrons.

The electrons of the n-conductor absorb the energy of the rays of the sun incident on them and leave their orbits, and the energy impulse is sufficient for them to pass into the zone of the p-conductor. In this case, a directed electron flow is formed, called a photocurrent. In other words, the whole structure works as a kind of electrodes, in which electricity is generated under the influence of the sun.

Silicon is used for the production of such photocells. This is explained by the fact that, firstly, silicon is widespread, and secondly, its industrial processing does not require large expenditures.

Silicon photocells are:

Monocrystalline. They are made from single crystals and have a uniform structure with a slightly higher efficiency (about 20%), but at the same time they are more expensive.
Polycrystalline. They have an uneven structure due to the use of polycrystals and a slightly lower efficiency (15-18%), but are much cheaper than monovariants.
Thin film. They are made by sputtering amorphous silicon onto a thin-film substrate. They are distinguished by a flexible structure and the lowest production cost, but they have twice the dimensions compared to crystalline counterparts of the same power.

The fields of application of each type of cells are very extensive and are determined by their operational features.

Solar collectors

Solar collectors are also used as solar energy converters, but the principle of their operation is completely different. They convert the incident light not into electrical, but into thermal energy by heating the liquid coolant. They are used either for hot water supply or for heating houses. The main element of any collector is an absorber, which is also a heat sink. The absorber is either a flat plate or a tubular evacuated system, inside which a coolant circulates (this is either plain water or antifreeze). Moreover, the absorber must be painted black with a special paint to increase the absorption coefficients.

It is by the type of absorbers that the collectors are divided into flat and vacuum. For flat heat sinks, the heat sink is made in the form of a metal plate, to which a metal coil with a coolant is soldered from below. Vacuum absorbers are made of several glass tubes connected to each other at the ends. The tubes are made double, a vacuum is created between the walls, and a rod with a coolant is placed inside. All rods communicate with each other by means of special connectors at the pipe joints.

Absorbers of both types are placed in a durable lightweight housing (usually made of aluminum or impact-resistant plastics) and are reliably insulated from the walls. The front side of the body is covered with transparent impact-resistant glass with maximum photon permeability. This ensures better absorption of solar energy.

Features of functioning

The principle of operation of both types of collectors is similar. Heating in the collector to high temperatures, the coolant passes through the connecting hoses to the heat exchange tank, which is filled with water. Through the tank, it passes through a serpentine tube, giving off its heat to the water. The cooled coolant exits the tank and is fed back to the collector. In fact, this is a kind of “solar” boiler, only instead of a heating coil, a coil is used in the tank, and instead of the mains, sunlight is used.

Structural differences determine the difference in the use of vacuum and flat collectors. The use of solar radiation with the help of vacuum models is possible all year round, including in winter and in the off-season. Flat options work better in summer period. However, they are cheaper and simpler than vacuum ones, so they are optimally suited for seasonal purposes.

Solar energy in cities (eco-houses)

Solar energy is actively used not only for private houses, but also for urban buildings. How a person uses solar energy in megacities is not difficult to guess. It is also used for heating and hot water supply of buildings, and often entire blocks.

In recent years, the concept of eco-houses, fully powered by alternative energy sources, has been actively developed and implemented. They use combined systems that provide efficient production of solar, wind and thermal energy of the earth. Often, such houses not only fully cover their energy needs, but also transfer the surplus to city networks. And more recently, projects of such eco-buildings have appeared in Russia.

Heliostations and their types

In the southern regions with high insolation, not just individual solar plants are being built, but entire stations that generate energy on an industrial scale. The amount of solar energy produced by them is very large, and many countries with a suitable climate have already begun the gradual transition of the entire energy system to such an alternative. According to the principle, the operation of the station is divided into photothermal and photovoltaic. The former work according to the collector method and supply heated water for hot water supply to the houses, while the latter generate electricity directly.

There are several types of solar stations:

Tower. They allow to receive superheated water vapor supplied to generators. A tower with a water tank is based in the center of the station, heliostats (mirror) are placed around it, which focus the rays on the tank. These are quite efficient stations, their main drawback is the difficulty of accurately positioning the mirrors.
Disc-shaped. They consist of a solar energy receiver and a reflector. Reflector - a dish-shaped mirror that concentrates radiation at the receiver. Such solar energy concentrators are located at a small distance from the receiver, and their number is determined by the required power of the installation.
Parabolic. Tubes with a coolant (usually oil) are placed at the focus of a long parabolic mirror. The heated oil gives off heat to the water, which boils and rotates the generators.
Balloon. In fact, these are the most efficient and mobile solar stations on Earth. Their main element is a balloon with a photovoltaic layer filled with water vapor. It rises high into the atmosphere (usually above the clouds). The heated steam from the ball is fed through a flexible steam pipeline to the turbine, at the outlet of it it condenses and the water rises back into the ball with a pump. Once in the ball, the water evaporates and the cycle continues.
On photobatteries. These are solar-powered installations that are already familiar to everyone, which are used for private houses. They provide electricity and water heating in the required volumes.

Today, various kinds of solar stations (including combined ones, combining several types) play an increasing role in the energy production of many countries. And some states are restructuring their energy in such a way that in a few years they will almost completely switch to alternative systems.

The use of solar energy on Earth a brief report that will tell you about the possibilities of its use for the benefit of humans.

The use of solar energy on Earth

The sun is a luminous huge ball of gas in which quite complex processes take place and energy is constantly released. Thanks to it, life exists on our planet: the atmosphere and surface of the planet heat up, winds blow, oceans and seas heat up, plants grow, and so on.

Solar energy contributes to the formation of fossil fuels, is converted into heat and cold, electricity and driving force. The luminary evaporates water, turns moisture into water drops, forms fogs and clouds. In a word, the energy of the Sun creates a gigantic circulation of moisture on the planet, a system of air and water heating of the planet.

When sunlight hits plants, it causes them to process photosynthesis, growth and development. By warming the soil, it shapes its climate, giving vitality to microorganisms, plant seeds and all the creatures that inhabit the soil. Without solar energy, living organisms would be in a state of hibernation (anabiosis).

Examples of the use of solar energy in the national economy

Solar energy is a naturally renewable source of energy and, importantly, environmentally friendly. Scientists from all over the world are working to expand the possibility of its use. Many countries have created government programs for the development of technologies for the use of solar energy.

The highest consumption of solar energy is observed in Turkey and Israel. And a record number of houses equipped with a solar water heating system is in Cyprus.

Solar energy is also used in agricultural activities, namely in the agro-industrial complex. It is planned to introduce it in all branches of the national economy. Free areas of walls and roofs of houses, outbuildings allow you to accumulate sufficient amounts of electricity, and free of charge. Photovoltaic systems can be used to operate an electric shepherd on pastures, pumps, electric knives, honey extractors in an apiary, to provide residential buildings with electricity.

Solar-powered air collectors create an environment for people and farm animals to live, as well as maintain humidity and temperature at the same predetermined level.

Greenhouses and greenhouses equipped with solar panels accumulate and retain heat, providing a microclimate for plants.

Devices based on solar energy are used for ventilation and heating of vegetable and granaries, maintaining the set parameters by a person.

We hope that the “Using the Energy of the Sun” essay helped you prepare for the lesson. And you can leave your message about solar energy through the comment form below.