Solar Energy- Photovoltaic Cells Amelia Romero

PV Cells can replace… Coal is dug up and sent on trains and boats. The trains and boats deliver the coal to the power plant. The coal is burned to heat water to make steam. Inside the generator, the steam spins a big fan called a turbine. Mining- Transportation Where does the water go? – Thermal Pollution?? Improvements could bring the costdown from $1.90 to $2.10 per watt to $1.65 per watt. Indirect emissions of coal other fossil fuels used to generate the electricity for PV manufacturing facilities.

It takes power to make power Manufacturing a photovoltaic The energy balance of a PV system is expressed by the Energy Pay-Back Time (EPBT), which is the time it takes for the PV system to generate the amount of energy equal to that used in its production. – EPBT varies according to site

EPBT of a PV system varies between 1-6 years Greenhouse gas emissions in PV life-cycle CO2 Heavy metal emissions in PV life-cycle Heavy metals are emitted directly during the manufacturing process – Cadmium Round-mounted installations in the U.S., subjected to an insolation of 1,800 kW/yr, EPBT was calculated to be only 1.1 years

Advantages Lower your utility bills quiet, reliable, fossil-fuel free avoids greenhouse gas emissions can operate for many years with little maintenance or intervention after their initial set-up locally available renewable resource. Disadvantages Cost location (climate and clouds) – Dependent on the sun. Space (batteries and solar panels) Disposal Transportation of the parts Manufacturing

Works Cited solar-power-system.asp solar-power-system.asp panels.html panels.html solar-cells solar-cells cleaner-way-to-produce-power cleaner-way-to-produce-power