SOLAR ENERGY Emily Crick, Rachael Hadden and Jordi Lluch
WHAT IS SOLAR ENERGY? ✕ Energy created and used from the sun ✕ Two types: solar thermal and solar photovoltaic ✕ Solar Thermal: Used to heat water in households Can also make steam which can generate electricity ✕ Solar Photovoltaic: Conversion of sunlight directly into electricity with the use of photovoltaic cells Can be installed on roofs, incorporated in building and vehicle designs
ADVANTAGES ✕ Sustainable and renewable resource ✕ Abundant ✕ Thermal and Photovoltaic ✕ Can be a part of the building ✕ Little maintenance ✕ Worldwide usage ✕ Tax credits
DISADVANTAGES ✕ Expensive facilities
DISADVANTAGES ✕ Not productive during night time ✕ Intermittency of sunlight ✕ Panels with a fixed location ✕ Rare and expensive materials ✕ Just 20% of sun rays converted to electricity
CURRENT USAGE
CURRENT USES OF SOLAR ENERGY ✕ Residential ✕ Industrial ✕ Commercial
WORLD from 2010 to 2014 ✕ Top 10 (units in GW): ✕ 1- Germany (9.8 35.5) ✕ 2- China (0.305 18.3) ✕ 3- Italy (1.2 17.6) ✕ 4- Japan (2.6 13.6) ✕ 5- USA (1.6 12) ✕ 6- Spain (3.4 5.6) ✕ 7- France (0.272 4.6) ✕ 8- Australia (0.125 3.3) ✕ 9- Belgium (0.363 3) ✕ 10- UK (0.027 2.9)
POLICIES TO INCENTIVIZE MORE USE ✕ New Jersey: requires 2.1% of all electricity come from solar energy sources by 2021 ✕ Other states use rebates, production incentives, and tax incentives, loan and grant programs ✕ Federal tax incentives: there is a 30-percent federal investment tax credit (ITC) for solar energy systems Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 ✕ State-level policy support and federal tax incentives in US California leading in US
HOW BRIGHT A FUTURE FOR SOLAR ENERGY? ✕ Within the next years solar energy is expected to become a main source of energy ✕ Global Warming advocates increased dependency ✕ Compete with fossil fuels as a key energy source(?) Price of oil Technology advances Predisposition (politics, conflict of interests … )
EXAMPLE ✕ RiPASSO Energy (Sweden) claims to have developed a system that can convert 32% of solar energy into electricity
HOW BRIGHT A FUTURE FOR SPAIN? ✕ Attempting to scale back the production of solar power ✕ Many produce their own energy for less than what they would have paid the utility company ✕ Many can even produce more than what they need sell to producers ✕ All solar panels now have to be hooked up to the grid to figure out how to tax it If not 30 MILLION Euro fine ($40M)!!!
Interesting Website
SOURCES ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ works.html#.VhblvflViko ✕ ✕ ✕ sights-on-taxing-the-sun/ ✕ ✕ ✕ energy energy
QUESTIONS?