In the previous section we considered PV’s requirements for raw materials and land – two environmental issues that surface before PV production even begins. Further important environmental questions arise during a PV system’s lifetime, which starts with extraction and purification of raw materials; proceeds through manufacture, installation, and many years of operation; and ends with […]
Category: Electricity from Sunlight:. An Introduction to. Photovoltaics
Environmental aspects
Raw materials and land The main environmental credentials of PV are established beyond doubt: its important contribution to reducing carbon emissions; cleanliness and silence in operation; lack of spent fuel or waste; and general public acceptability in terms of visual impact. We have already referred to such advantages at various points in this book. But […]
Rural electrification
So far we have been concentrating on economic aspects of grid-connected systems and the ways in which governments in developed nations encourage the development of PV markets. Passing reference has been made to stand – alone PV systems, noting that the chief competitor for supplying electricity in remote areas is generally the diesel generator. But […]
Financial incentives
We have already noted that PV, an exciting new technology with major environmental benefits, both justifies and deserves the support of governments wishing to accelerate market growth and counter the effects of global warming. Japan showed the way in 1994 with a 70 000 solar roofs program. Germany, after succeeding with its own 100 000 […]
Economics and the environment
6.1 Paying for PV 6.1.1 Costs and markets One of the most encouraging aspects of the current PV scene is the steady reduction in costs. Continuing improvements in cell and module efficiencies are making a substantial contribution; but above all it is the sheer volume of production in state-of-the-art factories using highly automated facilities that […]
On land and sea Figure 5.32 Two solar-powered cars, entered by the Universities of Michigan and Minnesota, speed at over 100 kph along a Canadian highway during the 2005 North American Solar Challenge (Wikipedia). Figure 5.33 It has become commonplace for sailors to install PV modules on the decks of ocean-going yachts to power cabin lighting, services, and navigation equipment. There is now growing interest in making the sails themselves ‘photovoltaic’ (EPIA/Shell Solar).  
Figure 5.34 This installation in the Libyan desert provides cathodic protection, an important application of PV that helps minimise corrosion of metal structures including pipelines (EPIA/Shell Solar). In heat and cold Figure 5.35 A PV array produces electricity for a meteorological station in Greenland. In this high northern latitude the vertical array captures much of […]
Far and wide
The applications described in previous sections represent a broad range of technical, economic, and social objectives. Yet the scope and geographical spread of stand-alone Pv systems stretch much wider. We end this chapter with a few more photographs and captions to illustrate some of Pvs past and present successes and help stir the imagination for […]
Solar-powered boats
Boats powered by sunlight represent one of the most successful and attractive applications of PV in the field of sustainable transport. Less well-known to the public than the solar car races that have achieved international fame in Australia and the USA, solar boating has recently made headlines with a growing number of international events and […]