Using Solar Energy to Produce Electricity for Ohioans Eric Romich Extension Educator, Community Development Ohio State University Extension, Wyandot County

Community Development 11-CMD-732 Using Solar Energy to Produce Electricity for Ohioans Eric Romich Extension Educator, Community Development Ohio State University Extension, Wyandot County

Introduction the United States at 8% (U.S. Department of Energy, Because it is a virtually unlimited, clean, and renew- Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, 2009). able resource, the sun has the potential to provide an Like many other locations in the United States, Ohio important source of energy to help power our way possesses exceptional solar potential, with an annual of life. Interest in solar energy is growing among average solar resource of roughly 1600 kWh/kW of generation scale electric producers in Ohio and solar energy. In comparative terms, Ohio’s solar re- throughout the United States. Solar energy systems source would be similar to that of Spain. Furthermore, are quiet, dependable, contain no moving parts, and advancements in thin film photovoltaic technology produce no pollutant emissions, which is a tremen- continue to compliment the climate in Ohio, thus dous advantage. making solar more viable than ever. Historically, our major sources of energy have consisted of coal, oil, and natural gas. In Ohio, for Solar Benefits to Utilities instance, 87% of our electricity is generated from coal. Public awareness of environmental impacts and These energy sources originated from ancient plants benefits, new energy policies, and advancements and animals, and the energy that comes from plants’ in research and development are all factors that are absorption of sunlight and conversion of this sunlight continually reshaping the solar industry as a whole. into energy (photosynthesis). Therefore, most of the Generation scale solar energy offers a number of fossil fuel energy sources we utilize today, originated significant benefits to utilities who are constantly from harnessing the sun’s solar energy. By streamlin- evolving with the complex issues of today’s energy ing today’s current solar technologies, we are able to landscape. Some of these benefits include the follow- maximize the sun’s resource by directly converting ing (Pernick and Wilder, 2008): its energy into heat or electricity. According to the t 4PMBSQPXFSDBOPGGFSBQSJDFIFEHFBHBJOTUWPMBUJMF National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “more energy and increasing costs for fossil-fuel resources like from the sun falls on the earth in one hour than is coal and natural gas. Once installed, solar power used by everyone in the world in one year.” In 2008, provides stable fixed prices to utilities and users. Germany produced 39% of the world’s total cumula- t 4PMBS QPXFS JT CFDPNJOH B DPTUFGGFDUJWF QFBL tive solar capacity (MW) followed by Spain at 24% and generation resource.

t 8JUIJOBEFDBEF TPMBSQPXFSXJMMCFDPTUDPN- and enabling it to be framed and mounted. petitive in most regions of the United States on a 2. Post and Mounting Brackets—There are a num- kilowatt-hour (kWh) basis. ber of factors (such as topographic layout, soil t $PNQBSFEUPDPBM OVDMFBS BOEHBTGJSFEQPXFS types, power grid infrastructure, and system size) plants, solar power has no fuel costs, low mainte- that will impact the design of a solar system. As a nance costs, and will provide credits, rather than result, there are countless ways solar systems can costs, in a carbon-regulated world. be planned and configured. However, each system t 4PMBS1IPUPWPMUBJDJTBXJEFMZBWBJMBCMFSFTPVSDF will have a mounting system tailored to meet the suited to most locales around the nation. needs of that specific project. t 4PMBS1IPUPWPMUBJDDBOFBTFDPOHFTUJPOJOSFHJPOT 3. Inverter—An inverter is required to convert the where energy demands have stressed the grid. system’s (DC power) direct current to match the power grid’s (AC power) alternating current. Types of Technologies 4. Step-Up Transformer—This may be required to There are two basic types of technologies currently increase the voltage to that of the power grid. used to produce generation scale electricity from solar PV solar technologies are extremely versatile and energy: Solar Photovoltaic (PV) and Concentrating can power something as small as a wristwatch or as Solar Power (CP). Only one of the two, PV, is currently large as an entire community. Utility generation scale used as a generation scale energy source in Ohio. PV systems are now becoming more feasible as considerable efficiency improvements have been made, Solar Photovoltaic Technology (PV) increasing the percent of sunlight falling onto a solar PV technologies work by absorbing sunlight into cell that is converted into electricity. Ultimately, these photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight directly advancements in technology have extended the reach into electricity. When light hits the photovoltaic of solar power from high-intensity Sunbelt regions material, it dislodges electrons, creating movement. to virtually anywhere the sun shines. The movement of these electrons then generates an electric current (Komor, 2004). Solar energy systems Concentrating Solar Power can be installed anywhere the sun shines and are the These technologies harness heat from the sun to least resource-constrained of all forms of renewable provide electricity for large power stations. Many energies. traditional power plants burn fossil fuels such as coal The major components of a commercial scale solar to heat and boil water, thus transforming it to steam. PV system consist of the following: This steam is then used to turn a giant turbine that is 1. Photovoltaic modules—These modules are the attached to a generator, which generates electricity. fundamental component of a solar system. The two Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems work in a most common types of PV modules are crystal- similar manner to the traditional coal-fired power line silicon and thin film. Crystalline silicon solar plant. However, instead of using coal to create steam, modules are made from silicon (which starts out CSP systems use the sun. as sand) and generally are more efficient than thin CSP systems harvest the sun’s energy using a film panels. However, thin film modules are made system of collection mirrors. There are a number of with materials such as cadmium telluride and different types of collection systems, such as linear require much less material to manufacture. This trough systems, dish systems, and power tower sys- ultimately reduces the cost of a thin film module tems. Regardless of which collection system is being in comparison to a traditional crystalline silicon used, the mirrors basically track the sun, channel- module. Solar cells are combined into a unit that is ing sunlight energy on collection tubes filled with a typically bonded to glass, thus forming a PV module fluid inside. The hot fluid is then used to boil water

Copyright © 2010, The Ohio State University Using Solar Energy to Produce Electricity for Ohioans—page 3 into steam, ultimately turning a conventional steam- Future of Solar turbine generator to produce electricity. Essentially, Currently, solar power still represents a very small the tubes serve as heat exchangers, using the sun’s amount of the total U.S. energy supply generation, energy to produce heat and to run a power generator accounting for less than one-tenth of one percent of much like the traditional fossil fuel power generation total energy generation. However, research performed plant (The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renew- by Clean Edge Inc. shows, “Solar power has been able Energy, 2008). expanding rapidly, growing an average of 40 percent Larger, utility-scale CSP applications can provide per year since the beginning of this decade. In the past hundreds of megawatts (MW) of electricity for the five years, global solar installations have expanded power grid. One significant advantage of CSP sys- more than fourfold from approximately 600 MW tems is their ability to harness and store the sun’s in 2003 to nearly 3000 MW (the equivalent of three heat throughout the day. This also allows CSP power conventional power plants) in 2008. Furthermore, plants to provide high-value dispatchable power at research indicates that the solar contribution could be night when the sun is not shining. These attributes quite considerable, realistically reaching 10 percent of make CSP an attractive renewable energy option in the total U.S. electricity generation by 2025 by deploying a southwestern United States and other high-intensity combination of solar photovoltaics and concentrating sunbelts worldwide. solar power” (Pernick and Wilder, 2008).

Generation Scale Solar in Ohio Summary On August 19, 2010, the PSEG Wyandot Solar Farm In summary, significant obstacles (such as current was dedicated to operation, representing Ohio’s first cost per kWh, inability to produce energy during generation scale solar plant feeding the power grid. evening hours, and the availability of PV panels rela- The PSEG Wyandot Solar Farm is owned by PSEG tive to developer demand) to the utility scale solar Solar Source, a subsidiary of PSEG (NYSE: PEG). The generation projects still exist. However, there are solar generation facility consists of 159,200 ground- many positive indicators (such as improvements in mounted PV thin-film solar panels on 83.9 acres technology, reductions in cost per kWh, development adjacent to the Wyandot County Airport. Providing of supportive policies and business models, and en- carbon- and pollution-free energy when the sun is vironmental awareness) for the advancement of solar shining, the 12-MW facility provides enough elec- power. Perhaps more importantly, there seems to be tricity to serve more than 9,000 homes (PSEG Solar a fundamental change in our culture, which seems Source LLC.). This landmark project represents the to be gravitating toward self-sustaining, alternative largest solar generation facility in the Midwest, and energy sources such as solar energy. This unified one of the largest east of the Mississippi River. commitment from utilities, communities, developers, and consumers is vital to establishing a partnership approach toward the implementation and advancement of alternative energy sources in U.S. markets such as Ohio.

Bibliography Komor, P. (2004). Renewable Electricity—Generating Technologies: Cost and Performance. In P. Komor, Renewable Energy Policy (pp. 39–40). New York: Diebold Institute for Public Policy Studies.

PSEG Wyandot Solar Farm in Wyandot County, Ohio

National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (n.d.). Open The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable PV Visualization Gallery. Retrieved September Energy. (September 16, 2008). Energy Efficiency 20, 2010, from The National Renewable Energy and Renewable Energy, Concentrating Solar Power Laboratory: openpv.nrel.gov/gallery.php. Basics. Retrieved February 15, 2010, from U.S. Pernick, R., and Wilder, C. (2008). Utility Solar Department of Energy: www1.eere.energy.gov/ Asessment (USA). Study Reaching Ten Percent solar/csp_basics.html. By 2025. Washington D.C.: Clean Edge Inc. and U.S. Department of Energy, Alliance for Sustainable Co-op American Foundation. Energy, LLC. (October 7, 2009). Learning About PSEG Solar Source LLC. (n.d.). PSEG Wyandot Solar Renewables—Solar Energy Basics. Retrieved Farm. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from PSEG February 15, 2010, from National Renewable En- Energy Holdings: www.pseg.com/family/holdings/ ergy Laboratory: www.nrel.gov/learning/re_solar. global/solar_source/pdf/wyandot_factsheet.pdf. html. Solar Energy Industries Association. (n.d.). About Solar Energy. Retrieved February 15, 2010, from Additional Resources Solar Energy Industries Association: www.seia.org/ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (www.nrel.gov) cs/about_solar_energy/industry_data. American Solar Energy Society (www.ases.org) Solar Energy Industries Association (www.seia.org)

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