The sun contributes more energy than needed for human needs. Solar acts as the most attractive, convenient and cheap source of energy compared to other alternative sources of energy. The solar electric generation process is growing tremendously into a multi-billion dollar industry. Advancements in technology and the increasing demand for energy in the world is pushing engineers towards looking for cheaper and efficient alternative sources of energy. Additionally, the high rate of global warming is making fossil fuel as the sources of energy receive major condemnations from environmental experts. How can engineers make solar electric generation more economical and readily available to all people worldwide? The analysis compares and contrasts three sources on making solar energy economical by proposed solution, cost, implementation, conclusion, and future work.
Making solar energy economical has become a great challenge for engineers. Experts in the field of solar electric energy generations are currently involved in developing strategies for making solar energy economical. The article from Grand Challenge for Engineers came up with a solution to making solar energy economical where they argued engineers should come up with new materials for solar cells. The available solar cells used for commercial purposes have 10-20 percent efficiency when it comes to converting solar radiation into electricity. They proposed the use of thick materials in one dimension that absorbs sunlight, and thin materials on the other dimension to allow easier transmission of charges. The new materials will reduce the cost of the solar energy system and increase solar radiation absorption efficiency (Anonymous 7-8). Additionally, the article came up with another solution for making solar energy economical by introducing more efficient storage equipment. These would be made by introducing high-effective capacitors and superconducting magnets.
Solar energy not only finds the application on planet earth but also in space. Space explorers cannot find any other source of electricity apart from the solar energy, which is expensive to install and maintain. Meng, Xia, Sun, and Hou came up with an analysis to determine how to reduce the cost of installing and maintaining space solar power station. The researchers used simulation techniques following the Monte-Carlo Ray tracing method to adjust study parameters to fit space requirements. The research proposed a new arrangement for the transverse truss. Additionally, they tracked errors to help improve solar energy tolerance in space. The research concluded that solar energy may be made economical in space by constructing concentrators that provide wider service area for solar energy collection (Meng, Xia, Sun, and Hou 296). Unlike the research from the Grand Challenges for Engineering that concentrated on improving the quality of solar collecting cells, Meng, Xia, Sun, and Hou focused on the size of the solar collecting platform.
As the cost of electricity generation from fossil fuels and hydroelectric sources increase, the government is asking citizens to turn into solar energy. Solar energy has become more attractive, and improvement in technologies is making it a more economical source of power. The article was written by Lorenz, Pinner and Seitz on the economics of solar power came up with numerous solutions to reducing the cost of solar power generation. The focus of authors was on improving solar cells, just like the Grand Challenges for Engineering’s article. The size of the solar cell matters when it comes to solar absorption, efficiency and cost. Whereas the article from Grand Challenges for Engineers proposed the use of both thick and thin cells, Lorenz, Pinner, and Seitz recommends the use of the new generation nanoscale thin-film photovoltaic. These layers have a higher efficiency and reduce the cost of producing solar power. Additionally, the article called upon engineers to keep on researching new technologies to reduce the cost of solar power generation in the future as the demand for power increases (Lorenz, Pinner, and Seitz 4-5).
Works Cited
Anonymous. “Make solar energy economical.” Grand Challenges for Engineering. n.d. Web:
Lorenz, Peter., Pinner, Dickon., and Seitz, Thomas. “The economics of solar power.” The
McKinsey Quarterly. (June 2008). 1-10
Meng, Xian-Long., Xia, Xin-Lin., Sun, Chuang, and Hou, Xin-Bin. “Adjustment, error analysis
and modular strategy for space solar power station.” Energy Conversation and Management, 85. (2014): 292-301.
