Different Types of Solar Power Plants and How They Affect You

In 1954, the first solar panel was demonstrated at Bell Labs. Just two short years later, the original commercial solar panels became available. However, they were priced at $300 per watt making them financially unviable for the general public.

Now, the Solar Energy Industries Association estimates that the average cost for solar power is less than $3 per watt, a huge drop from the early incarnations of solar panels. By the end of 2020, there were about 2.7 million homes in the US with solar panel installations. Using solar power helps bring down utility bills and reduces the demand for fossil fuels.

Not everyone is keen on installing solar panels in their home though. Fortunately, more and more energy suppliers are using renewable energy sources to produce electricity now. This means that consumers can choose a supplier that is environmentally friendly to provide their electricity if they are not ready to fully commit to a solar panel installation themselves.

To do this, they build and run solar power plants such as the one owned by SunPower in California which utilizes 1.7 million panels over 3,200 acres to produce 579 MW of energy.

What are solar power plants and how big are they?

These installations are known by several different names but they all add up to the same thing. Solar farms, solar power stations, solar plants, or solar power plants all refer to the same type of installation.

These are industrial-sized commercial installations made to convert solar power into electricity on a huge scale. The world’s biggest solar power plant is in India. Satellite imagery of Bhadla Solar Park started being captured by NASA in 2015. The site is in the Thar Desert, and although it is inhospitable and largely barren, it is perfect for capturing the sun’s power.

The biggest manufacturer of solar photovoltaics, or PV, is China. They are also the world’s biggest producers of solar energy with a capacity of 306,973 MW which equates to nearly 36% of the world’s output. The solar power plant outside of Xining produces around 4 times the solar energy that the previously mentioned SunPower plant in California can.

Together, these solar power plants and others around the world can now generate 1 TW of electricity directly from sunlight. And it just took a single decade to get there.

What are the various types of solar power plants?

There are two main kinds of solar power plants. One converts the sun’s light directly into electricity through the use of photovoltaics or PV panels. The other converts sunlight indirectly. These are known as solar thermal plants.

Solar thermal technology along with photovoltaic panels can both be used in residential homes. Solar thermal power is gaining traction due to its higher efficiency at turning radiation into heat compared to PV.

PV power plants

These solar plants use the same technology that you see on commercial and residential buildings. Photovoltaic solar panels are used on a large scale to convert sunlight into electricity to power commercial enterprises and residential homes.

Sunlight contains photons, and when these hit the PV panels they generate free electrons which then get converted into a direct current or DC. This is then converted to AC so that it can be sent to the grid.

Thermal power plants

Solar thermal power plants work by generating heat as the name implies. To do so they collect heat which is converted into steam. This in turn powers a turbine which then generates electricity.

Different types of solar thermal power plants include linear concentrating systems and parabolic troughs, Both these systems use mirrors that track the sun during the day and use reflectors to focus far higher levels of sunlight than are normally collected.

There are other types of solar power plants using towers and heliostats, solar dishes, and solar ponds. The latter uses large bodies of salt water to trap solar thermal energy for use in a turbine.

How do solar power plants benefit the public?

The SEIA has stated that 1 MW of solar power is enough to power around 164 average-sized homes in the US. Building solar power plants is one way to produce electricity that doesn’t require the use of fossil fuels. Solar power itself is also free.

Many people today want to build an eco-friendly home, and using renewable power is a big step towards this. Not everyone can afford a solar panel installation on their home though. And some people are simply waiting until solar panels become smaller or more efficient.

If more utility companies invest in solar power plants, then more electricity will be generated sustainably. This benefits anyone wishing to buy green electricity, and it should be cheaper.

Not that long ago, coal was the cheapest way to generate electricity. The world’s electricity suppliers still use fossil fuels more to produce electricity than any other source. However, wind and solar are the cheapest energy sources today.

As solar power gets more popular, the benefits to the public should be a power supply that is clean and sustainable, and lower utility bills. In a time when inflation is running riot in many countries, and utility bills are rising, this can’t come soon enough.

Are businesses investing enough into solar power?

There is no doubt that sustainable energy is big business, and is the future for utility companies. The JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. of China is perhaps the biggest producer of PV panels in the world. Their yearly revenue is approximately $4.6 billion and they are just one of many companies manufacturing solar panels today.

Yet despite the huge production of solar panels, renewables aren’t growing fast enough. The UN reported that government support for fossil fuels means that production is at twice the rate needed to slow climate change. And this isn’t now, this is in 2030.

Fortunately, most utility companies have seen the need to look to the future. They are also wise enough to realize that if they don’t invest in green energy they stand to lose billions of dollars and millions of customers. NextEra Energy is the biggest solar energy company in the US with a revenue of over $17 billion. Although they continue to use fossil fuels in the form of natural gas, they use solar energy heavily and have initiatives in place to use alternative forms such as waste heat to produce electricity.

Large corporations are also taking responsibility for sustainable power. Google and Target have invested heavily in solar panel installations and both have a capacity of over 240 GW.

Amazon has also chosen to invest in sustainable energy sources. Their Amazon Wind Farm Texas project generates 1 million MW of clean energy each year for the grid. This is part of a larger project involving solar and wind power that can provide electricity to over 240,000 homes.

Individuals can also make a difference. Even switching external lights for solar-powered versions means less fossil fuel use and lower utility bills.

Summary

Solar power plants not only provide sustainable energy but also make use of land that is largely uninhabitable. Deserts are prime locations for solar farms, as they receive optimum sunlight.

The world is a long way from being able to stop using fossil fuels for electricity generation. But, as more corporations, utility companies, and governments keep investing, more homes will be powered by green energy.

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