Solar power

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The PS10 concentrates sunlight from a field of heliostats on a central tower.

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Solar power is the generation of electricity from sunlight. This can be direct as with
photovoltaics (PV), or indirect as with concentrating solar power (CSP), where the sun's
energy is focused to boil water which is then used to provide power. Solar power
provided 0.02% of the total world energy consumption in 2008. The largest solar power
plants, like the 354 MW SEGS, are concentrating solar thermal plants, but
recently[clarification needed] multi-megawatt photovoltaic plants have been built. Completed in
2008, the 46 MW Moura photovoltaic power station in Portugal and the 40 MW
Waldpolenz Solar Park in Germany appear to be characteristic of the trend toward larger
photovoltaic power stations. Larger ones are proposed, such as the 100 MW Fort Peck
Solar Farm[citation needed], the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm, and the 600 MW Rancho Cielo
Solar Farm.

Terrestrial solar power is a predictably intermittent energy source, meaning that whilst
solar power is not available at all times, we can predict with a very good degree of
accuracy when it will and will not be available. Some technologies, such as solar thermal
concentrators have an element of thermal storage, such as molten salts. These store spare
solar energy in the form of heat which can be made available overnight or during periods
that solar power is not available to produce electricity. Orbital solar power collection (as
in solar power satellites) avoids this intermittent issue, but requires satellite launching
and beaming of the collected power to receiving antennas on Earth. The increased
intensity of sunlight above the atmosphere also increases generation efficiency.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Applications
• 2 Concentrating solar power
• 3 Photovoltaics
• 4 Experimental solar power
• 5 Development
o 5.1 1800-1900
o 5.2 1950-1970
o 5.3 1970-2000
o 5.4 2000-Present
• 6 Energy storage methods
• 7 Economics
o 7.1 Energy payback time and energy returned on energy invested
o 7.2 Power costs
o 7.3 Grid parity
o 7.4 Net metering
o 7.5 Financial incentives
o 7.6 Investment
• 8 Environmental impacts
o 8.1 Location
o 8.2 Greenhouse gases
o 8.3 Cadmium
• 9 Solar power usage
o 9.1 Germany
o 9.2 India
o 9.3 Iran
o 9.4 Israel
o 9.5 United States
• 10 See also
 • 11 Notes
• 12 References

• 13 External links

[edit] Applications
Solar power is the conversion of sunlight to electricity. Sunlight can be converted directly
into electricity using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly with concentrating solar power
(CSP), which normally focuses the sun's energy to boil water which is then used to
provide power, and technologies such as the Stirling engine dishes which use a Stirling
cycle engine to power a generator. Photovoltaics were initially used to power small and
medium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to off-grid
homes powered by a photovoltaic array.

The three types of photovoltaic panels are Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline and

Amorphous, each has its advantages and disadvantages. The fact with photovoltaics is
that it is difficult to create a commercially viable system because of the overall cost of the
system required to generate a useful amount of power.[1]

Solar power plants can face high installation costs, although this has been decreasing due
to the learning curve.[2][3] Developing countries have started to build solar power plants,
replacing other sources of energy generation.[4][5][6]

In 2008, Solar power supplied 0.02% of the world's total energy supply. Use has been
doubling every two, or fewer, years. If it continued at that rate, solar power would
become the dominant energy source within a few decades.[7]

Since solar radiation is intermittent, solar power generation is combined either with
storage or other energy sources to provide continuous power, although for small
distributed producer/consumers, net metering makes this transparent to the consumer. On
a larger scale, in Germany, a combined power plant has been demonstrated, using a mix
of wind, biomass, hydro-, and solar power generation, resulting in 100% renewable
energy.[8]

[edit] Concentrating solar power

Main article: Concentrating solar power
Solar troughs are the most widely deployed.

A legend claims that Archimedes used polished shields to concentrate sunlight on the
invading Roman fleet and repel them from Syracuse.[9] Augustin Mouchot used a
parabolic trough to produce steam for the first solar steam engine in 1866.[10]

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to
focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a
heat source for a conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies
exists; the most developed are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear fresnel
reflector, the Stirling dish and the solar power tower. Various techniques are used to track
the Sun and focus light. In all of these systems a working fluid is heated by the
concentrated sunlight, and is then used for power generation or energy storage.[11]

A parabolic trough consists of a linear parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a
receiver positioned along the reflector's focal line. The receiver is a tube positioned right
above the middle of the parabolic mirror and is filled with a working fluid. The reflector
is made to follow the Sun during the daylight hours by tracking along a single axis.
Parabolic trough systems provide the best land-use factor of any solar technology.[12] The
SEGS plants in California and Acciona's Nevada Solar One near Boulder City, Nevada
are representatives of this technology.[13][14] The Suntrof-Mulk parabolic trough,
developed by Melvin Prueitt, uses a technique inspired by Archimedes' principle to rotate
the mirrors.[15]

Concentrating Linear Fresnel Reflectors are CSP-plants which use many thin mirror
strips instead of parabolic mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto two tubes with working
fluid. This has the advantage that flat mirrors can be used which are much cheaper than
parabolic mirrors, and that more reflectors can be placed in the same amount of space,
allowing more of the available sunlight to be used. Concentrating linear fresnel reflectors
can be used in either large or more compact plants.[16][17]

A Stirling solar dish, or dish engine system, consists of a stand-alone parabolic reflector
that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned at the reflector's focal point. The
reflector tracks the Sun along two axes. Paraboloidal coordinates ("parabolic") dish
systems give the highest efficiency among CSP technologies.[18] The 500 m2 ANU "Big
Dish" in Canberra, Australia is an example of this technology.[19] The Stirling solar dish
combines a parabolic concentrating dish with a Stirling heat engine which normally
drives an electric generator. The advantages of Stirling solar over photovoltaic cells are
higher efficiency of converting sunlight into electricity and longer lifetime. A solar power
tower uses an array of tracking reflectors (heliostats) to concentrate light on a central
receiver atop a tower. Power towers are more cost effective, offer higher efficiency and
better energy storage capability among CSP technologies.[13] The Solar Two in Barstow,
California and the Planta Solar 10 in Sanlucar la Mayor, Spain are representatives of this
technology.[13][20]

A solar bowl is a spherical dish mirror that is fixed in place. The receiver follows the line
focus created by the dish (as opposed to a point focus with tracking parabolic mirrors).

[edit] Photovoltaics
Main article: Photovoltaics

11 MW Serpa solar power plant in Portugal

At the end of 2009, the cumulative global PV installations surpassed 21-gigawatts.[21]

A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device that converts light into electric current
using the photoelectric effect.[22] This is based on the discovery by Alexandre-Edmond
Becquerel who noticed that some materials release electrons when hit with rays of
photons from light, which produces an electrical current.[23] The first solar cell was
constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s.[24] Although the prototype selenium cells
converted less than 1% of incident light into electricity, both Ernst Werner von Siemens
and James Clerk Maxwell recognized the importance of this discovery.[25] Following the
work of Russell Ohl in the 1940s, researchers Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl
Chapin created the silicon solar cell in 1954.[26] These early solar cells cost 286 USD/watt
and reached efficiencies of 4.5–6%.[27] As of late 2009, the highest efficiency PV cells
were produced commercially by Boeing/SpectroLab at about 41%. Other, similar, multi-
layer cells are close. These are very expensive however, and are used only for the most
exacting applications. Thin film PV cells have been developed which are made in bulk
and are far less expensive and much less fragile, but are at most around 20% efficient.
The most recent development (from Caltech, March 2010) is the experimental
demonstration of a new design which is 85% efficient in plain sunlight and 95% efficient
at certain wavelengths. It has only been produced in experimental laboratory examples,
but may have some possibility for low cost bulk production in the future.[28]
There are many competing technologies, including at least fourteen types of photovoltaic
cells, such as thin film, monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, and amorphous
cells, as well as multiple types of concentrating solar power. It is too early to know which
technology will become dominant.[29]

The earliest significant application of solar cells was as a back-up power source to the
Vanguard I satellite in 1958, which allowed it to continue transmitting for over a year
after its chemical battery was exhausted.[30] The successful operation of solar cells on this
mission was duplicated in many other Soviet and American satellites, and by the late
1960s, PV had become the established source of power for them.[31] After the successful
application of solar panels on the Vanguard satellite it still was not until the energy crisis,
in the 1970s, that photovoltaic solar panels gained use outside of back up power suppliers
on spacecraft.[32] Photovoltaics went on to play an essential part in the success of early
commercial satellites such as Telstar, and they remain vital to the telecommunications
infrastructure today.[33]

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), shown here on the roof of the "Friedenskirche"

in Tübingen, Germany, cover the roofs of an increasing number of homes.

The high cost of solar cells limited terrestrial uses throughout the 1960s. This changed in
the early 1970s when prices reached levels that made PV generation competitive in
remote areas without grid access. Early terrestrial uses included powering
telecommunication stations, offshore oil rigs, navigational buoys and railroad crossings.
[34]
These off-grid applications accounted for over half of worldwide installed capacity
until 2004.[35]

The 1973 oil crisis stimulated a rapid rise in the production of PV during the 1970s and
early 1980s.[36] Economies of scale which resulted from increasing production along with
improvements in system performance brought the price of PV down from 100 USD/watt
in 1971 to 7 USD/watt in 1985.[37] Steadily falling oil prices during the early 1980s led to
a reduction in funding for photovoltaic R&D and a discontinuation of the tax credits
associated with the Energy Tax Act of 1978. These factors moderated growth to
approximately 15% per year from 1984 through 1996.[38]

Since the mid-1990s, leadership in the PV sector has shifted from the US to Japan and
Europe. Between 1992 and 1994 Japan increased R&D funding, established net metering
guidelines, and introduced a subsidy program to encourage the installation of residential
PV systems.[39] As a result, PV installations in the country climbed from 31.2 MW in
1994 to 318 MW in 1999,[40] and worldwide production growth increased to 30% in the
late 1990s.[41]

Concentrating photovoltaics in Catalonia, Spain.

Germany became the leading PV market worldwide since revising its feed-in tariffs as
part of the Renewable Energy Sources Act. Installed PV capacity in Germany has risen
from 100 MW in 2000 to approximately 4,150 MW at the end of 2007.[42][43] After 2007,
Spain became the largest PV market after adopting a similar feed-in tariff structure in
2004, installing almost half of the photovoltaics (45%) in the world, in 2008, while
France, Italy, South Korea and the U.S. have seen rapid growth recently due to various
incentive programs and local market conditions.[44] The power output of domestic
photovoltaic devices is usually described in kilowatt-peak (kWp) units, as most are from
1 to 10 kW.[45]

Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) are another new method of electricity generation

from the Sun. CPV systems employ sunlight concentrated onto photovoltaic surfaces for
the purpose of electrical power production. Solar concentrators of all varieties may be
used, which are often mounted on a solar tracker in order to keep the focal point upon the
cell as the sun moves across the sky. Tracking can increase flat panel photovoltaic output
by 20% in winter, and by 50% in summer.[46]

[edit] Experimental solar power

Main articles: Solar updraft tower and Thermogenerator

A solar updraft tower (also known as a solar chimney or solar tower) consists of a large
greenhouse that funnels into a central tower. As sunlight shines on the greenhouse, the air
inside is heated, and expands. The expanding air flows toward the central tower, where a
turbine converts the air flow into electricity. A 50 kW prototype was constructed in
Ciudad Real, Spain and operated for eight years before decommissioning in 1989.[47]

Thermoelectric, or "thermovoltaic" devices convert a temperature difference between

dissimilar materials into an electric current. First proposed as a method to store solar
energy by solar pioneer Mouchout in the 1800s,[48] thermoelectrics reemerged in the
Soviet Union during the 1930s. Under the direction of Soviet scientist Abram Ioffe a
concentrating system was used to thermoelectrically generate power for a 1 hp engine.[49]
Thermogenerators were later used in the US space program as an energy conversion
technology for powering deep space missions such as Cassini, Galileo and Viking.
Research in this area is focused on raising the efficiency of these devices from 7–8% to
15–20%.[50]

A new technology, developed by the Idaho National Laboratory, uses nanoantennas to

harvest solar power. Nanoantennas use the infrared radiation of the sun to convert energy.
During the day the Earth's atmosphere lets some of the infrared radiation to pass through
it and absorbs the rest. At night the earth emits it.[51]

[edit] Development
Main article: Deployment of solar power to energy grids

Nellis Solar Power Plant, the largest photovoltaic power plant in North America

[edit] 1800-1900

Beginning with the surge in coal use which accompanied the Industrial Revolution,
energy consumption has steadily transitioned from wood and biomass to fossil fuels. The
early development of solar technologies starting in the 1860s was driven by an
expectation that coal would soon become scarce. However development of solar
technologies stagnated in the early 20th century in the face of the increasing availability,
economy, and utility of coal and petroleum.[52]

[edit] 1950-1970

In 1965 Ormat Industries established to commercialise the Organic Rankine Cycle

turbine concept.

The 1973 oil embargo and 1979 energy crisis caused a reorganization of energy policies
around the world and brought renewed attention to developing solar technologies.[53][54]
Deployment strategies focused on incentive programs such as the Federal Photovoltaic
Utilization Program in the US and the Sunshine Program in Japan. Other efforts included
the formation of research facilities in the US (SERI, now NREL), Japan (NEDO), and
Germany (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE).[55]

[edit] 1970-2000

Between 1970 and 1983 photovoltaic installations grew rapidly, but falling oil prices in
the early 1980s moderated the growth of PV from 1984 to 1996.[56]

[edit] 2000-Present

Photovoltaic production growth has averaged 40% per year since 2000 and installed
capacity reached 10.6 GW at the end of 2007,[35] and 14.73 GW in 2008.[57]

Since 2006 it has been economical for investors to install photovoltaics for free in return
for a long term power purchase agreement. 50% of commercial systems were installed in
this manner in 2007 and it is expected that 90% will by 2009.[58] Nellis Air Force Base is
receiving photoelectric power for about 2.2 ¢/kWh and grid power for 9 ¢/kWh.[59][60]

Commercial concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) plants were first developed in the
1980s. CSP plants such as SEGS project in the United States have a levelized energy cost
(LEC) of 12–14 ¢/kWh.[61] The 11 MW PS10 power tower in Spain, completed in late
2005, is Europe's first commercial CSP system, and a total capacity of 300 MW is
expected to be installed in the same area by 2013.[62]

In August 2009, First Solar announced plans to build a 2 GW photovoltaic system in

Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China in four phases consisting of 30 MW in 2010, 970 MW
in 2014, and another 1000 MW by 2019. As of June 9, 2009, there is a new solar thermal
power station being built in the Banaskantha district in North Gujarat. Once completed, it
will be the world's largest.[63][64]

World's largest concentrating solar thermal power stations

Capacity Technology
Name Country Location Notes
(MW) type
Solar Energy
parabolic Mojave desert Collection of 9
354 Generating USA
trough California units
Systems
Martin Next near
parabolic Expected
75 Generation Solar USA Indiantown,
trough[65] Late 2010
Energy Center [66] Florida
parabolic Las Vegas,
64 Nevada Solar One USA
trough Nevada
parabolic Completed
50 Andasol 1 Spain Granada
trough November 2008
solar power PS20 solar power Completed April
20 Spain Seville
tower tower 2009
 Europe's first
solar power PS10 solar power
11 Spain Seville commercial solar
tower tower
tower

Solar installations in recent years have also begun to expand into residential areas, with
governments offering incentive programs to make "green" energy a more economically
viable option. In Ontario, Canada, the Green Energy Act passed in 2009 created a feed-
in-tariff program that pays up to 80.2¢/kWh to solar PV energy producers, guaranteed for
20 years.[67] The amount scales up based on the size of the project, with projects under
10KW receiving the highest rate. (People participating in a previous Ontario program
called RESOP (Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program), introduced in 2006, and
paying a maximum of 42¢/kWh, were allowed to transfer the balance of their contracts to
the new FIT program.[68] The program is designed to help promote the government's
green agenda and lower the strain often placed on the energy grid at peak hours. In
March, 2009 the proposed FIT was increased to 80¢/kWh for small, roof-top systems
(≤10 kW).[69]

World's largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants[70]

DC
Name of PV power Peak GW·h Capacity
Country Notes
plant Power /year factor
(MW)
Olmedilla
Spain 60 85 0.16 Completed September 2008
Photovoltaic Park
Strasskirchen Solar
Germany 54 57
Park
Lieberose Photovoltaic
Germany 53 53[71] 0.11 2009
Park[71]
Puertollano
Spain 50 2008
Photovoltaic Park
Moura photovoltaic
Portugal 46 93 0.16 Completed December 2008
power station[72]
Kothen Solar Park Germany 45 2009
Finsterwalde Solar
Germany 42 2009
Park
550,000 First Solar thin-
Waldpolenz Solar
Germany 40 40 0.11 film CdTe modules.
Park[73][74]
Completed December 2008
Planta Solar La
Magascona & La Spain 34.5
Magasquila
Arnedo Solar Plant Spain 34 Completed October 2008
Planta Solar Dulcinea Spain 31.8 Completed 2009
Merida/Don Alvaro
Spain 30 Completed September 2008
Solar Park
Planta Solar Ose de la
Spain 30
Vega
Planta Fotovoltaico
Spain 28
Casas de Los Pinos
Planta Solar Fuente
Spain 26 44
Alamo
SunPower. President
DeSoto Next
Obama visited October 27,
Generation Solar USA 25 40
2009. Completed October
Energy Center[75][76]
2009
See also: List of photovoltaic power stations

Financial incentives supporting installation of solar power generation are aimed at

increasing demand for solar photovoltaics such that they can become competitive with
conventional methods of energy production.[citation needed] Another innovative way to
increase demand is to harness the green purchasing power of academic institutions
(universities and colleges). This has been shown to be potentially influential in catalyzing
a positive spiral-effect in renewables globally.[77]

[edit] Energy storage methods

Main articles: Grid energy storage and V2G

This energy park in Geesthacht, Germany, includes solar panels and pumped-storage
hydroelectricity.

Seasonal variation of the output of the solar panels at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Solar energy is not available at night, making energy storage an important issue in order
to provide the continuous availability of energy.[78] Both wind power and solar power are
intermittent energy sources, meaning that all available output must be taken when it is
available and either stored for when it can be used, or transported, over transmission
lines, to where it can be used. Wind power and solar power can be complementary, in
locations that experience more wind in the winter and more sun in the summer, but on
days with no sun and no wind the difference needs to be made up in some manner.[79]

The Solar Two used this method[clarification needed] of energy storage, allowing it to store
enough heat in its 68 m³ storage tank to provide full output of 10 MWe for about
40 minutes, with an efficiency of about 99%.[80] Salts are an effective storage medium
because they are low-cost, have a high specific heat capacity and can deliver heat at
temperatures compatible with conventional power systems, have the potential to
eliminate the intermittency of solar power, by storing spare solar power in the form of
heat; and using this heat overnight or during periods that solar power is not available to
produce electricity. This technology has the potential to make solar power dispatchable,
as the heat source can be used to generate electricity at will. Solar power installations are
normally supplemented by storage or another energy source, for example with wind
power and hydropower.

Off-grid PV systems have traditionally used rechargeable batteries to store excess

electricity. With grid-tied systems, excess electricity can be sent to the transmission grid.
Net metering programs give these systems a credit for the electricity they deliver to the
grid. This credit offsets electricity provided from the grid when the system cannot meet
demand, effectively using the grid as a storage mechanism. Credits are normally rolled
over month to month and any remaining surplus settled annually.[81]

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity stores energy in the form of water pumped when surplus
electricity is available, from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation one. The
energy is recovered when demand is high by releasing the water: the pump becomes a
turbine, and the motor a hydroelectric power generator.[82]

Combining power sources in a power plant may also address storage issues. The Institute
for Solar Energy Supply Technology of the University of Kassel pilot-tested a combined
power plant linking solar, wind, biogas and hydrostorage to provide load-following
power around the clock, entirely from renewable sources.[83]

[edit] Economics
This section may stray from the topic of the article into the topic of another
article, Renewable energy commercialization. Please help improve this section or
discuss this issue on the talk page. (May 2010)
This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the
claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research
may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (September 2007)
See also: Renewable energy commercialization
US average daily solar energy insolation received by a latitude tilt photovoltaic cell.

In photovoltaics, the solar value added chain is the set of steps from sand or raw silicon
to the completed solar module and photovoltaic system completion and installation.[84]

[edit] Energy payback time and energy returned on energy invested

The energy payback time of a power generating system is the time required to generate as
much energy as was consumed during production of the system. In 2000 the energy
payback time of PV systems was estimated as 8 to 11 years[85] and in 2006 this was
estimated to be 1.5 to 3.5 years for crystalline silicon PV systems[86] and 1-1.5 years for
thin film technologies (S. Europe).[86]

Another economic measure, closely related to the energy payback time, is the energy
returned on energy invested (EROEI) or energy return on investment (EROI)[87], which is
the ratio of electricity generated divided by the energy required to build and maintain the
equipment. (This is not the same as the economic return on investment (ROI), which
varies according to local energy prices, subsidies available and metering techniques.)
With lifetimes of at least 30 years[citation needed], the EROEI of PV systems are in the range of
10 to 30, thus generating enough energy over their lifetimes to reproduce themselves
many times (6-31 reproductions) depending on what type of material, balance of system
(BOS), and the geographic location of the system.[88]

[edit] Power costs

The PV industry is beginning to adopt levelized cost of energy (LCOE) as the unit of
cost. For a 10 MW plant in Phoenix, AZ, the LCOE is estimated at $0.15 to 0.22/kWh in
2005.[89]

The calculated total cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by a photovoltaic

system is a function of the investment cost, cost of capital and depreciation period. The
annual energy output in kilowatt-hours expected from each installed peak kilowatt varies
by geographic region because the average insolation depends on the average cloudiness
and the thickness of atmosphere traversed by the sunlight. It also depends on the path of
the sun relative to the panel and the horizon.
Panels can be mounted at an angle based on latitude,[90] or solar tracking can be utilized to
access even more perpendicular sunlight, thereby raising the total energy output. The
calculated values in the table reflect the total cost in cents per kilowatt-hour produced.
They assume a 10% total capital cost (for instance 4% interest rate, 1% operating and
maintenance cost, and depreciation of the capital outlay over 20 years).

Physicists[who?] have claimed that recent technological developments bring the cost of
solar energy more in parity with that of fossil fuels. In 2007, David Faiman, the director
of the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center of Israel, announced that the Center had
entered into a project with Zenith Solar to create a home solar energy system that uses a
10 square meter reflector dish.[91] In testing, the concentrated solar technology proved to
be up to five times more cost effective than standard flat photovoltaic silicon panels,
which would make it almost the same cost as oil and natural gas.[92] A prototype ready for
commercialization achieved a concentration of solar energy that was more than 1,000
times greater than standard flat panels.[93]

[edit] Grid parity

Further information: Low-cost solar cell and Solar America Initiative

Grid parity, the point at which photovoltaic electricity is equal to or cheaper than grid
power, is achieved first in areas with abundant sun and high costs for electricity such as
in California and Japan.[94]

Grid parity has been reached in Hawaii and other islands that otherwise use fossil fuel
(diesel fuel) to produce electricity, and most of the US is expected to reach grid parity by
2015.[95][96]

General Electric's Chief Engineer predicts grid parity without subsidies in sunny parts of
the United States by around 2015. Other companies predict an earlier date:[97] the cost of
solar power will be below grid parity for more than half of residential customers and 10%
of commercial customers in the OECD, as long as grid electricity prices do not decrease
through 2010.[98]

The fully loaded cost (cost not price) of solar electricity is $0.25/kWh or less in most of
the OECD countries. By late 2011, the fully loaded cost is likely to fall below $0.15/kWh
for most of the OECD and reach $0.10/kWh in sunnier regions. These cost levels are
driving three emerging trends:[98]

1. vertical integration of the supply chain;

2. origination of power purchase agreements (PPAs) by solar power companies;
3. unexpected risk for traditional power generation companies, grid operators and
wind turbine manufacturers.

Abengoa Solar has announced the award of two R&D projects in the field of
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) by the US Department of Energy that total over $14
million. The goal of the DOE R&D program, working in collaboration with partners such
as Abengoa Solar, is to develop CSP technologies that are competitive with conventional
energy sources (grid parity) by 2015.[99] Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) could reach
grid parity in 2011.[citation needed]

Due to the growing demand for photovoltaic electricity, more companies enter into this
market and lower cost of the photovoltaic electricity would be expected.

[edit] Net metering

Main article: Net metering

Net metering is particularly important because it can be done with no changes to standard
electricity meters , which accurately measure power in both directions and automatically
report the difference, and because it allows homeowners and businesses to generate
electricity at a different time from consumption, effectively using the grid as a giant
storage battery. As more photovoltaics are used ultimately additional transmission and
storage will need to be provided, normally in the form of pumped hydro-storage.
Normally with net metering, deficits are billed each month while surpluses are rolled over
to the following month and paid annually.

[edit] Financial incentives

Main article: PV financial incentives

The political purpose of incentive policies for PV is to facilitate an initial small-scale

deployment to begin to grow the industry, even where the cost of PV is significantly
above grid parity, to allow the industry to achieve the economies of scale necessary to
reach grid parity. The policies are implemented to promote national energy
independence, high tech job creation and reduction of CO2 emissions.

Three incentive mechanisms are used (often in combination):

• investment subsidies: the authorities refund part of the cost of installation of the
system,
• Feed-in Tariffs (FIT): the electricity utility buys PV electricity from the producer
under a multiyear contract at a guaranteed rate.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificates ("SRECs")

Rebates

With investment subsidies, the financial burden falls upon the taxpayer, while with feed-
in tariffs the extra cost is distributed across the utilities' customer bases. While the
investment subsidy may be simpler to administer, the main argument in favour of feed-in
tariffs is the encouragement of quality. Investment subsidies are paid out as a function of
the nameplate capacity of the installed system and are independent of its actual power
yield over time, thus rewarding the overstatement of power and tolerating poor durability
and maintenance. Some electric companies offer rebates to their customers, such as
Austin Energy in Texas, which offers $2.50/watt installed up to $15,000.[100]

Feed-in Tariffs (FiT)

With feed-in tariffs, the financial burden falls upon the consumer. They reward the
number of kilowatt-hours produced over a long period of time, but because the rate is set
by the authorities, it may result in perceived overpayment. The price paid per kilowatt-
hour under a feed-in tariff exceeds the price of grid electricity. Net metering refers to the
case where the price paid by the utility is the same as the price charged.

Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs)

Alternatively, SRECs allow for a market mechanism to set the price of the solar
generated electricity subsity. In this mechanism, a renewable energy production or
consumption target is set, and the utility (more technically the Load Serving Entity) is
obliged to purchase renewable energy or face a fine (Alternative Compliance Payment or
ACP). The producer is credited for an SREC for every 1,000 kWh of electricity
produced. If the utility buys this SREC and retires it, they avoid paying the ACP. In
principle this system delivers the cheapest renewable energy, since the all solar facilities
are eligible and can be installed in the most economic locations. Uncertainties about the
future value of SRECs have led to long-term SREC contract markets to give clarity to
their prices and allow solar developers to pre-sell/hedge their SRECs.

Financial incentives for photovoltaics differ across countries and even across states
within the US, including Australia, China,[101] Germany,[102] Israel,[103] Japan, and the
United States

The Japanese government through its Ministry of International Trade and Industry ran a
successful programme of subsidies from 1994 to 2003. By the end of 2004, Japan led the
world in installed PV capacity with over 1.1 GW.[104]

In 2004, the German government introduced the first large-scale feed-in tariff system,
under a law known as the 'EEG' (Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz) which resulted in
explosive growth of PV installations in Germany. At the outset the FIT was over 3x the
retail price or 8x the industrial price. The principle behind the German system is a 20
year flat rate contract. The value of new contracts is programmed to decrease each year,
in order to encourage the industry to pass on lower costs to the end users. The programme
has been more successful than expected with over 1GW installed in 2006, and political
pressure is mounting to decrease the tariff to lessen the future burden on consumers.

Subsequently Spain, Italy, Greece (who enjoyed an early success with domestic solar-
thermal installations for hot water needs) and France introduced feed-in tariffs. None
have replicated the programmed decrease of FIT in new contracts though, making the
German incentive relatively less and less attractive compared to other countries. The
French and Greek FIT offer a high premium (EUR 0.55/kWh) for building integrated
systems. California, Greece, France and Italy have 30-50% more insolation than
Germany making them financially more attractive. The Greek domestic "solar roof"
programme (adopted in June 2009 for installations up to 10 kW) has internal rates of
return of 10-15% at current commercial installation costs, which, furthermore, is tax free.

In 2006 California approved the 'California Solar Initiative', offering a choice of

investment subsidies or FIT for small and medium systems and a FIT for large systems.
The small-system FIT of $0.39 per kWh (far less than EU countries) expires in just 5
years, and the alternate "EPBB" residential investment incentive is modest, averaging
perhaps 20% of cost. All California incentives are scheduled to decrease in the future
depending as a function of the amount of PV capacity installed.

At the end of 2006, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA, Canada) began its Standard Offer
Program (SOP), the first in North America for small renewable projects (10MW or less).
This guarantees a fixed price of $0.42 CDN per kWh over a period of twenty years.
Unlike net metering, all the electricity produced is sold to the OPA at the SOP rate. The
generator then purchases any needed electricity at the current prevailing rate (e.g., $0.055
per kWh). The difference should cover all the costs of installation and operation over the
life of the contract. On October 1, 2009, OPA issued a Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program,
increasing this fixed price to $0.802 per kWh.[105]

The price per kilowatt hour or per peak kilowatt of the FIT or investment subsidies is
only one of three factors that stimulate the installation of PV. The other two factors are
insolation (the more sunshine, the less capital is needed for a given power output) and
administrative ease of obtaining permits and contracts.

Unfortunately the complexity of approvals in California, Spain and Italy has prevented
comparable growth to Germany even though the return on investment is better.

In some countries, additional incentives are offered for BIPV compared to stand alone
PV.

• France + EUR 0.16 /kWh (compared to semi-integrated) or + EUR 0.27/kWh

(compared to stand alone)
• Italy + EUR 0.04-0.09 kWh
• Germany + EUR 0.05/kWh (facades only)

[edit] Investment

There is an International Conference on Solar Photovoltaic Investments organized by

EPIA.[106]

[edit] Environmental impacts

The siting of solar power plants is an issue. Placement in environmentally sensitive
locations can be an issue, as can the noise they produce. Unlike fossil fuel based
technologies, solar power does not lead to any harmful emissions during operation, but
the production of the panels leads to some amount of pollution.

[edit] Location

The location of solar power plants is an issue as more plants were built or planned.
Locating a solar power plant in a pristine location such as the Mohave Desert raised
objections. More acceptable to environmentalists is use of farmland taken out of
production due to salinization or lack of water, or other contaminated locations such as
reclaimed landfills or mines.[107] Noise, such as that caused by hundreds of sterling
engines, is another issue.[108]

[edit] Greenhouse gases

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions are now in the range of 25-32 g/kWh and this could
decrease to 15 g/kWh in the future.[86] For comparison (of weighted averages), a
combined cycle gas-fired power plant emits some 400-599 g/kWh,[109] an oil-fired power
plant 893 g/kWh,[109] a coal-fired power plant 915-994 g/kWh[110] or with carbon capture
and storage some 200 g/kWh, and a geothermal high-temp. power plant 91-122 g/kWh.
[109]
Only wind and geothermal low-temp. are better, emitting 11 g/kWh and 0-
1 g/kWh[109] on average. Including the energy needed to mine uranium and the energy-
intensity of power plant construction and decommissioning, some place nuclear power
plants' life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions below 40 g/kWh, but others give much higher
figures.[111] Using renewable energy sources in manufacturing and transportation would
further drop carbon emissions. BP Solar owns two factories built by Solarex (one in
Maryland, the other in Virginia) in which all of the energy used to manufacture solar
panels is produced by solar panels. A 1-kilowatt system eliminates the burning of
approximately 170 pounds of coal, 300 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released
into the atmosphere, and saves up to 105 gallons of water consumption monthly.[112]

[edit] Cadmium

One issue that has often raised concerns is the use of cadmium in cadmium telluride solar
cells (CdTe is only used in a few types of PV panels). Cadmium in its metallic form is a
toxic substance that has the tendency to accumulate in ecological food chains. The
amount of cadmium used in thin-film PV modules is relatively small (5-10 g/m²) and
with proper emission control techniques in place the cadmium emissions from module
production can be almost zero. Current PV technologies lead to cadmium emissions of
0.3-0.9 microgram/kWh over the whole life-cycle.[86] Most of these emissions actually
arise through the use of coal power for the manufacturing of the modules, and coal and
lignite combustion leads to much higher emissions of cadmium. Life-cycle cadmium
emissions from coal is 3.1 microgram/kWh, lignite 6.2, and natural gas 0.2
microgram/kWh.
Note that if electricity produced by photovoltaic panels were used to manufacture the
modules instead of electricity from burning coal, cadmium emissions from coal power
usage in the manufacturing process could be entirely eliminated.[citation needed]

[edit] Solar power usage

Grid-Connected Solar PV Capacity (MW)[113][114]
No Country 2006 2007 2008 2009
1 Germany 3,063 3,846 6,019 9,830
2 Spain 118 733 3,421 3,520
3 Japan 1,500 1,700 2,000 2,600
4 United States 300 500 700 1,200
5 Italy 58 120 458 1,032
6 Czech Republic 1 4 55 466
7 South Korea <100 100 400 400
— Others 100 500 700 2,000
— World 5,100 7,600 13,500 21,000
Solar heating (kWth)[115][116][117][113]
Country 2009 2008
China 105,000,000
Germany 8,896,300 7,765,800
Turkey 7,500,000
Japan 4,100,000
Greece 2,851,940 2,707,740
Turkey 2,600,000
Brazil 2,400,000
Austria 2,517,812 2,268,231
United States 2,000,000
Total World 149,000,000

Grid-connected solar photovoltaics had an installed capacity of nearly 21,000 MW at the

end of 2009, compared to 600 MW of concentrating solar thermal[113] and 149,000 MW of
Solar heating. Germany and Japan have been leading in terms of cumulative PV capacity,
China in solar heating. In recent years many countries (notably in Western Europe) have
begun to enact financial incentives encouraging solar power.

[edit] Germany

Main article: Solar power in Germany

Germany is one of the world's top photovoltaics (PV) installers, with a solar PV capacity
in 2009 of 8,877 megawatts (MW), and 6,200 GWh of electricity generated in 2009.[118]
Solar power now meets about 1.1 percent of Germany's electricity demand, a share that
some market analysts expect could reach 25 percent by 2050.[119]

[edit] India

Main article: Solar power in India

India is both densely populated and has high solar insolation, providing an ideal
combination for solar power. In solar energy sector, some large projects have been
proposed, and a 35,000 km² area of the Thar Desert has been set aside for solar power
projects, sufficient to generate 700 to 2,100 gigawatts.

In July 2009, India unveiled a $19 billion plan, to produce 20 GW of solar power by
2020.[120] Under the plan, solar-powered equipment and applications would be mandatory
in all government buildings including hospitals and hotels.[121] On November 18, 2009, it
was reported that India was ready to launch its National Solar Mission under the National
Action Plan on Climate Change, with plans to generate 1,000 MW of power by 2013.[122]

[edit] Iran

The average solar radiation for the whole of Iran is about 19.23 Mega joules per square
meter, and it is even higher in the central part of Iran. The variation of radiation varies in
the south-east part to 5.4 kWh/m in central region from 2.8 kWh/m. The calculations
show that the amount of useful solar radiation hours in Iran exceeds 2800 hours per year.

For this reason, the first Photovoltaic (PV) site, with capacity of 5 kW DC was
established in the central region of Iran in Doorbid village Yazd in 1993. Following this,
in 1998, the second photovoltaic site with 27 kW AC capacity was installed in
Hosseinian and Moalleman villages in Semnan, 450 Km inland from Tehran. The
capacity of these power plants has recently increased to 10 kW AC and 92 kW AC
respectively. The power plant installed at Doorbid, works independently from the grid
system, while the one installed at Hosseinian and Moalleman, is connected to grid. It is
worth mentioning that all equipment of these sites is made in Iran.[123]

Iran took its first step toward the large scale realization of that potential recently(2009)
with the inauguration of its first solar energy plant. The plant was constructed with
domestic materials and labour in Shiraz, the Fars province. This solar thermal plant joins
some 4,075 small scale solar thermal installations throughout Iran–3,781 residential solar
water heaters and 294 public baths heated with solar thermal energy. Iran makes less use
of photovoltaic energy, but the Ministry of Energy News Agency mentions a 40 house
solar village supplied with photovoltaic energy.[124]

[edit] Israel
Solar water heaters on a rooftop in Jerusalem

As of the early 1990s, all new residential buildings were required by the government to
install solar water-heating systems, and Israel's National Infrastructure Ministry estimates
that solar panels for water-heating satisfy 4% of the country's total energy demand.[93]
Israel and Cyprus are the per-capita leaders in the use of solar hot water systems with
over 90% of homes using them.[125]

Israeli research has advanced solar technology to a degree that it is almost cost-
competitive with fossil fuels.[93] Its abundant sun made the country a natural location for
the promising technology. The high annual incident solar irradiance in the Negev Desert
has spurred an advanced solar research and development industry, with Harry Tabor and
David Faiman of the National Solar Energy Center two of its more prominent members.
At the end of 2008 a feed-in tariff scheme was approved, which resulted in the building
of residential and commercial solar energy power station projects.

[edit] United States

Main article: Solar power in the United States

Solar power in the United States accounted for less than 0.1% of the county's electricity
generation in 2006.[not in citation given (See discussion.)] Renewable resources (solar, wind, geothermal,
hydroelectric, biomass, and waste) provided nearly 12 percent of the nation's electricity
supply in 2003.[126][not in citation given (See discussion.)] The DoE has established the goal of generating
10-15% of the nation's energy from solar sources by 2030.[citation needed]