From the energetic point of view it is an energy alternative to traditional fossil fuels, renewable and clean (green energy) and one of the strengths that supports of the so-called green economy in modern society. It can be properly exploited through different technologies and different purposes although several of its technologies exploitation suffers from variability and intermittency of production that is not fully programmable due to day-night cycles and cloud cover. #SciChallenge2017

1. SOLAR ENERGY
What is and how it works

2. INDEX
 Introduction
 Main technologies used
 Where are used
 Pros and cons
 Types of solar power plants
 Central solar Orbital

3. INTRODUCTION
 Solar energy is the energy
associated to the solar
radiation and it represents the
primary source of energy on
the Earth.
 Solar energy, in fact, is the
one normally used by
autotrophs, or those that
executes the photosynthesis,
commonly indicated as
“vegetables”; the others living
organisms use, instead, the
chemical energy received from
vegetables and others
organisms.

4. INTRODUCTION
 Almost all the others
energy sources derive
from this kind of
energy, like fossil fuel,
wind energy, wave
energy, hydropower,
biomass energy with
the only exceptions of
nuclearenergy, geothermal energy and tidal energy . It can
be used directly to produce heat or electric energy
with different types of systems.

5. INTRODUCTION
 From the energetic point of view it is an energy
alternative to traditional fossil fuels, renewable
and clean (green energy) and one of the
strengths that supports of the so-called green
economy in modern society. It can be properly
exploited through different technologies and
different purposes although several of its
technologies exploitation suffers from variability
and intermittency of production that is not fully
programmable due to day-night cycles and cloud
cover.

6. MAIN TECHNOLOGIES USED
 Solar energy can be used to generate
electricity (photovoltaic) or to generate heat
(solar thermal). There are three main
technologies that transform solar energy into
usable energy :

7. MAIN TECHNOLOGIES USED
 The solar thermal
panel transfers the
solar rays, to heat a
liquid with special
characteristics,
contained in its
interior, which
transfers heat, via a
heat exchanger, to the water contained in a
storage tank

8. MAIN TECHNOLOGIES USED
 The photovoltaic panel transfers the properties of
particular semiconductor elements to produce
electrical energy when stimulated by light.

9. MAIN TECHNOLOGIES USED
 The concentration solar panel, takes advantage of a series
of parabolic mirrors with a linear structure for conveying the
sunlight onto a receiver tube, in which flows, a heat transfer
fluid or a series of flat mirrors, that concentrate the rays at
theend of a tower in which is
placed a boiler, filled with
salts that melts for the
heat. In both cases, "the
receiving device" is heated
to very high temperatures
(400° ~ 600°)

10. WHERE ARE USED
 The photovoltaic panels are used in isolated
systems for powering devices away from the grid
(space probes, telephone repeater in the high
mountains, etc.) or with reduced energy
requirements so that a connection to the grid
uneconomic (road signs light, parking meters, etc.)
and inconvenient from an organizational
standpoint. Obviously, these devices must be
equipped with an accumulator capable of
accumulating the electric current produced in
excess during the day to power the equipment
during the night and during cloudy periods

11. PROS AND CONS
 Solar energy has advantages and
disadvantages. The advantages are mainly
concentrated in the least environmental
impact and the possibility of exploitation of
the perennial source of solar energy. The
disadvantages are, however, concentrated in
the typical discontinuity that characterizes
almost all the renewable energy and solar
energy in the dispersion.

12. PROS AND CONS
The main advantages of solar energy are:
 Huge amounts of energy. The energy from the Sun is
very high. Taking advantage of the 6% of the solar energy
at the surface it could meet the entire energy needs.
 Clean Energy. Unlike fossil fuels and nuclear energy,
solar energy produces no pollution, waste or greenhouse
gases. The environmental impact of solar energy is
limited to the recycling of technological components (solar
panels) and the impact of solar plants on the landscape.
 Poor concentration. While being in direct function of the
latitude, the solar energy is available virtually anywhere
on the planet

13. PROS AND CONS
The disadvantages of solar energy are:
 Dispersion. But arrived a huge amount of solar energy, this is
spread on a wide surface. To meet this challenge it is necessary
to build solar installations on a considerable area of territory.
 Discontinuities. Like other renewable energy sources also it has
a solar energypower inconstant, variable and discontinuous as a
result of the alternation of day and night, the weather conditions
and the cycle of the seasons.
 Intensity variable. The
intensity of solar energy is
maximum in equatorial
and sub-equatorial,
decreases in temperate
zones up to touch the
minimum in the polar
zones.

14. TYPES OF POWER PLANT
 A solar power plant is a power plant that
uses solar energy to produce electricity. Of
this type of power plants, there are two
different types: solar power plants and
thermal power plants.

15. TYPES OF POWER PLANT
Solar power
plant
 The solar power
plants uses
photovoltaic modules
to convert sunlight into
electricity, it uses the
turbine-alternator.
It can have an efficient
between 10 and 15 %
(depends on the
component that you
use).

16. TYPES OF POWER PLANT
Thermal Power Station
(parabolic)
This type of solar power plant uses
the solar energy to warm up the
mineral oil, until it boils, and after it
become gas it is conveyed into a
turbine. The turbine uses the gas’
kinect energy to produce electric
current.

17. CENTRAL SOLAR ORBITAL
 A central solar orbital is a hypothetical power plant consisting of one or
more satellites by means of photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into
electricity and then through an antenna transmit the energy obtained in the
form of microwaves or laser. The advantage to have photovoltaic cells in
spacerelative to that of installing them on
Earth is due to the constancy of the
illumination and to the lack of
atmospheric conditions (clouds, rain,
etc.) That reduces the inflow of
energy to the cells. Obviously the
main drawback is the high cost of
transport in orbit of satellites and
related infrastructure.

18. CENTRAL SOLAR ORBITAL
A central solar orbital is composed of three
parts:
 A large solar energy collector, typically built
with photovoltaic cells
 An antenna for transmitting microwaves
towards the Earth
 An antenna of large size on Earth that
receives the microwaves and converts it into
electricity

19. CENTRAL SOLAR ORBITAL
 Building the solar power station in space
would bring many technical advantages, the
space station would receive direct lighting
and constant for 99% of the year, it would not
receive sunlight only during eclipses and
during the equinoxes. In this case it would be
an interruption lighting of a few hours that
can be compensated with conventional
power plants or other orbital power plants
arranged in different places of the Earth.

20. CENTRAL SOLAR ORBITAL
 Technologically this type of
panel is simpler than a
thermoelectric power plant,
it has neither turbines or
cooling circuits to be
adjusted, the conversion
from electromagnetic
energy current is
performed directly by the
photovoltaic cells that are
components that do not
require virtually no
maintenance. The structure
of this center could also be
very light since space does
not have to overcome the
Earth's gravity.

21. CENTRAL SOLAR ORBITAL
Disadvantages :
 The large cost of launching a satellite into space
 Inaccessibility: Maintenance of an earth-based solar panel is relatively
simple, but construction and maintenance on a solar panel in space
would typically be done telerobotically.
 The space environment is hostile; panels suffer about 8 times the
degradation they would on Earth.
 The large size and corresponding cost of the receiving station on the
ground.