The Emergence and Growth of Solar Energy in India
Businesses and households have now come to realize the importance of solar energy in India.
Alternative Solar Energy in India
Given the fact that India lies in the sunny region of the world, the country receives about 4-7 wh (kilowatt/hour) of solar radiation for every square meter on a daily basis. Solar energy can be used in two different ways including the Thermal route i.e. using sun’s heat for heating, drying, cooking or for electricity generating purpose or via the Photovoltaic route that converts light in solar energy into electricity that can further be used for various purposes including communication, lighting, and pumping. A lot of households and businesses are now using solar energy effectively for they have come to realize that it is free of pollution, is available in abundance and that too for free of cost and can be globally distributed as well.
Solar energy in India: Solar Photovoltaic Panels
Solar photovoltaic’s (SPV) panels are used for converting solar radiation into electricity with the help of solar cells. A solar cell is basically a semi-conducting device that is made from silicon or varied types of materials. When these solar cells get exposed to the light of the sun then they generate electricity. The higher the solar radiation, the more electricity will get generated by the solar cells. The solar cells are basically connected in a series and combine parallel to form different molecules that give the required amount of power.
Solar Thermal Power systems-Generating Solar energy in India
A variety of solar energy systems are being used in the country today and the Solar Thermal Power systems is just one of them. The solar thermal power systems make use of concentrated solar radiation as a source of energy in order to generate electricity the thermal way. In this process of converting solar energy into heat energy an incident solar irradiance is gathered and then concentrated by way of concentrating mirrors or solar collectors. The heat generated through this process is then used for heating the thermal fluids including heat transfer oil as well as water/air steam (based on the thermal plant being utilized) that basically acts as a heat carrier and/or storage media. The hot thermic fluid is then utilized for the purpose of producing steam or hot gases that are later used for operating a heat based engine.
Solar energy in India- Solar collectors Concentration
Solar energy in India is being produced by way of using solar radiation effectively. Solar collectors form an integral part of the solar energy system. These solar collectors are basically used for generating heat captured from solar radiation. There are basically three types of high temperature solar energy collectors, including Parabolic trough system, Power tower system and Parabolic dish systems. The Parabolic trough systems are capable of reaching a high temperature of 400° C and it produces steam for the purpose of producing electricity. On the other hand, the Power tower system consists of a receiver that is capable of reaching temperatures above 1000° C. These Parabolic dish systems are capable of touching 1000° C and are very efficient when it comes to converting solar energy in India into electricity.
