Rising electricity rates and environmental considerations drive a
growing interest in photovoltaic (PV) solar technology. There are
plenty resources on this subject scattered throughout the web.
Unfortunately, many of them are superficial,
do not provide hard information about this technology and fail to
explain all its advantages and drawbacks. As the result, too often people either have overly optimistic
expectations for the home use of PV systems, or do not fully realize their benefits. In
reality, generating electricity from sunlight just like every other form of
power generation has both advantages and disadvantages as shown in the table below. |
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PV SOLAR ENERGY PROS
- The operation of photovoltaic
solar power systems
does not
produce any toxic-gas emissions, greenhouse gases, or noise. For
comparison, the conventional production of electricity from coal causes
the release of 1.5 pounds of carbon dioxide for each kilowatt-hour.
- The use of alternative sources reduces our
dependence on foreign oil and therefore reduces the amount of money
flowing to radical and totalitarian regimes of some oil exporters.
- Photovoltaic technology is versatile- it can be
used in broad range of applications from small calculators to power
plants.
- It has ability to generate electricity in
remote locations that are not linked to a grid, as well as in space.
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PV SOLAR ENERGY CONS
- High capital cost,
currently about $8,000 per kilowatt of peak power installed (before
rebates and incentives).
- Requires large surface areas for useful amounts
of electricity generation. Depending on the PV
panel efficiency it ranges from 6 to 12 square meters (65 to
129
square feet) per kilowatt of peak capacity in non-concentrated light.
At an average insolation
of 4.5 sun-hours, this yields total of 0.37 to 0.75 kW-hours per
sq.meter during an
entire day, or just under 16 to 32 watt per sq.m averaged over a
24-hour period (see Solar
Energy Facts).
- Because the amount of sunlight varies with the
time of day, time of year, and weather conditions, solar systems
require either to store large amounts of the produced energy or to
supplement it with other sources.
- The manufacture of PV modules uses some
hazardous materials which can present health and safety hazards, if
adequate precautions are not taken.
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In conclusion, sunlight's powered electricity is environmentally more
friendly than electricity produced from coal. However,
at present, non-concentrated photovoltaic
systems for homes are not cost competitive. While rebates and
incentives can offset more than half of the installation cost, for the
society in general this cost may never be recovered. Currently,
concentrated solar power as well as solar thermal systems seem to be
more cost-effective green energy solutions.
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