Solar energy

SOLAR ENERGY
An Illustration of The Major Topics and Issues of
both Residential, and Commercial Solar Energy.
ABSTRACT
The paper focus in all aspects of solar energy concerns.
In which the history of the technology from its early
beginnings. The paper mentions the major issues related
to the residential solar energy and the commercial solar
energy. It is covering the types and application of both
types regarding cost related issues, and the future of the
industry.
Suhail Attar
Dr. Heskia Heskiaoff
Industrial Engineering Design I & II
IENG 475-W01
IENG 476-W01

Attar, 1
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................................. 2
Definition.................................................................................................................................................. 2
History....................................................................................................................................................... 2
Modern Solar Concerns ............................................................................................................................ 6
PV introduction......................................................................................................................................... 8
Solar Thermal introduction..................................................................................................................... 10
Residential Solar Energy.......................................................................................................................... 12
Uses and Application of Solar Thermal Panels Panels ........................................................................... 12
Uses and Application of Photovoltaics Panels........................................................................................ 17
Cost related issues of residential solar energy. ....................................................................................... 23
Commercial Solar Energy........................................................................................................................ 35
Uses and Application of Solar Thermal Panels Commercially............................................................... 35
Uses and Application of PV Panels Commercially................................................................................. 38
Cost Related Issues for Commercial Solar Plants .................................................................................. 48
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 55
Works Cited............................................................................................................................................... 61

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Introduction.
Definition.
Solar Energy is a self-explanatory term that can be explained by itself. The world solar as
it is can be defined by itself means, a more in depth definition according the Oxford Dictionary is
“Of, relating to, or determined by the sun,” originated from the Latin word Sol meaning Sun.1
In
regard to the word Energy it can be defined in a simple way, according to oxford, as a, “Power
derived from the utilization of physical or chemical resources,”2
yet as this simple way of defining
the word Energy may be very acceptable in many ways people talk, but power and energy are not
really the same when it comes from a physicist perspective. Energy is, “The stuff that allows you
to do, well, stuff,” while Power means, “a measure of how much we CAN produce,” in the case of
the solar topic power can be defined as how much energy can be produced.3
The distinction
between Energy and Power is necessary to deliver a proper definition to the term Solar Energy due
to the high usage for the term Solar Power as a synonym to it, which it can be justified if the topic
did not involve a high scientific level, such as those of Politics or Economy.
History of Solar Energy
From the definition mentioned the idea of Solar Energy has existed probably since the sun
started lighting in space. In earth, Solar Energy probably was the first source of life to most species
and still is one of the most important if not the most important sources of life. Without the Sunlight,
life as we know it would not exists. The Sunlight is a primary source of energy to plants of nearly
all types, which makes it the major factor that derives the agriculture industry in which humans
1
Search for ‘solar’ in oxforddictionaries.com
2
Search for ‘Energy’ in oxforddictionaries.com
3
SolarChoice.net.au Physics 101 – what is the difference between power and energy?

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eat and clothe from. Other than agriculture utilization of Solar Energy coming from the sun light,
it is was used for lighting, drying, and other personal care, which are still in use nowadays in a
very large scale.1
The First technical application.
Harnessing the Sunlight energy
as known today might has begun way
back in time, according to the Greek
tradition, Archimedes used reflective
mirrors to concentrate sun rays to attack
the Roman ships by burning them due
to the concentrated heat in 212 BCE.2
Regardless of the feasibility argument of whether the Death Rays of Archimedes worked or not,
the same approach has been applied Augustin Mouchot a French mathematician and physicist who
help in building steam engines between 1864 and 1878 using mirrors that were gathered in a cone-
shaped collector that concentrated the sun heat at an object heating it to boiling water temperature,
but it did not last for a long time, “The French government operated the engine for six months but
decided it was too expensive to be practical.” 3
Mouchot was able to demonstrate to an audience
how he can transform heat to cooling where he was able to power a freezer in which he made ice
with.4
1
Solar Energy Sciences and Engineering Application, see page 1
2
See what-when-how.com SOLAR THERMAL ENGINE (Inventions)
3
4
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odeyssey S. 1 Ep. 12
Figure 1.Painted by Giulio Parigi (1571-1635) in the
years 1599-1600 depicting Archimendes's Death Ray

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However, Mouchots works went on to directly influence John Ericsson (1803-1889) who
applied the idea of using mirror concentrated at a point.1
Between 1871 and 1878 Ericsson invented
a steam engine that uses mirrors pointed at a water filled tube, but the engines were running too
slow, which led him to convert them into coal engines to avoid the financial lost.2
The First Successful Attempt.
The major step toward creating a solar plant as known today was made by Frank Shuman
who was also influenced by Mouchots in 1912.3
Shuman who was a wealthy investor and a self-
taught engineer formed the Sun Power Company in 1906, and at the beginning he tested the idea
in a plant where he applied the idea of Ericsson directing the sunlight via mirrors shaped as
parabolic toward a tube, near his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He then he used a Suburb
of Cairo, Egypt called Maadi to conduct the experiment in large scale and the results were
exceptional, “The company finally constructed the improved plant in Meadi, Egypt, a farming
1
See Kryza, The Power of Light, p. 147
2
3
See Kryza, The Power of Light, p. 147
Figure 2. THE 1878 SUN-ENGINE - PRODUCING
ICE FROM HEAT - PRESENTATION-COPY from
Solar Heat and industrial applications. Second Edition
by Mouchot, A
Figure 3 Augustin Mouchot
Image credit: Wikipedia

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district on the Nile River. Five solar collectors, spaced 25 feet apart, were built in a north-south
line. Each was about 200 feet long and 10 feet wide. Trough-shaped reflectors were made of
mirrors held in place by brass springs that expanded and contracted with changing temperatures.
The parabolic mirrors shifted automatically so that the rays were always focused on the boiler.
Inside the 15-inch boiler that ran down the middle of the collector, water was heated and converted
to steam. The engine produced more than 55 horsepower, which was enough to pump 6,000 gallons
of water per minute.” 1
However, due to World War I the project was suspended and unfortunately
Shuman died before the war ended, and such a successful story was unfortunately lost for a long
time.2
This approach is commonly known today as Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), and thanks
to the mentioned scientists and engineers it can be found in many parts of the world nowadays.
CSP is being applied to a number of solar thermal plants, such as the Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant
1
2
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odeyssey S. 1 Ep. 12
Figure 5Frank Shuman - Hagley
Museum and Library - "Direct Acting
Solar Engine: The Prime Mover of the
Immediate Future" published in 1907,
pg. 2
Figure 4 The News from the New York Times in 2 July 1916

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located at Fuentes de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain, and Ivanpah Solar Power Facility located at
Ivanpah, San Bernardino County, California, USA. These plants uses mirror directed at a centrals
tower in which it would allocate the heat from the sun toward a tower or an object and produces
power. (CSP) is in use in many parts of the world mostly in Spain. Due to a Greek legend a great
invention to humans was born and it is now challenging the forces of fossil fuel that has been, for
a long time destroying the efforts to come up with the alternative Energy Source.
Modern Solar Energy Concerns.
Since that start of the industrial revolution the value of energy has risen up due to the ability
of energy to increase the production of goods, and boost transportation to unprecedented levels.
After almost more than 150 year from the industrial revolution the world has changed very much
even though the primary energy sources that is carbon based are still in use and by far more than
any other energy sources. It is the technological advance nowadays and during the 150 years that
Figure 6 The Gemasolar solar thermal power plant
with a molten salt heat storage system in Seville Spain,
which produces 20MW, enough to power 25,000 homes
| Image credit: Wikipedia
Figure 7 Ivanpah Solar Electric
Generating System from Daily Tech

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had the noticeable amount of change that served the ways of which, extracting high amounts of
energy from those sources and how it can be used in an efficient way.
However, in recent years the world has seen a high increase in the topic of clean alternative
energy source and how it can help reducing the harmful effects of carbon based energy sources.1
In addition, the belief that these alternative sources are renewable and cheaper makes it a very
interesting topic to be considered for it benefits. Those economic, environmental, and
technological outcomes have made this issue a very important especially that the world is
witnessing a growth in industrialization and urbanization, in countries such as India, and China
where there is a high demand for a better quality of life, similar to those in rich parts of the world.2
The Technology of Harnessing the Sun’s Energy.
The Sun send great amounts of energy towards earth in about 1×1017
W, according to Paul
A. Lynn author of Electricity from Sunlight, “the Sun provides in about an hour the present energy
requirement of the entire human population for a whole year.”3
Not all of this amount can be
harnessed due to the Earth surface being more than 70% water, yet still the Sun can produce great
amounts of energy. The Sun delivers about a 1000 W/m2
at sea level which is known as the power
density, yet the Sun power density is 1366W/m2
on the atmosphere surface.4
However, due to the
shape of the earth the average power density known as annual mean insolation is about 342W/m2
,
1
Solar Energy Sciences and Engineering Application, see page 1.
2
Solar Energy Sciences and Engineering Application, see page 2.
3
Electricity from Sunlight an Introduction to Photovoltaic, see page 6.
4
Electricity from Sunlight an Introduction to Photovoltaic, see page 6 and 7.

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where it is concentrated at most in
the equator area with about 430
W/m2
and get reduced more towards
the Polar Regions.1
There are two main types of
transforming the sun light to energy
that can be utilized in many ways.
These are the Photovoltaic Cells, and
Solar Thermal Collectors. Both types
come in many shapes and sizes for so
many uses. There are many
technological levels of solar panels
starting from the ones that are very
basic and can be made at home, and
ones that are very complicated and
requires a high level of manufacturing.
Photovoltaic.
The Photovoltaic cells produces energy by allocating the Sun photons and transforming
them in to electrons that gives power to the electronic devices. The cells are made of semiconductor
material mostly based on silicon and germanium. As simple the idea of Photovoltaic may imply,
1
Electricity from Sunlight an Introduction to Photovoltaic see page 7.
Figure 8 Annual mean insolation at the top of Earth's
atmosphere (top) and at the planet's surface. Owned by
William M. Connolley using HadCM3 data

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the idea was not really an easy one where it did not require much
work, rather it is the work of, “half a century” in which a great
amount of work and research was made to reach these level.1
The
PV effect was first discovered by French scientist Edmond
Becquerel in 1839 where he shone light at an electrode in an
electrolyte solution, but a proper understanding to the phenomena
was due to “quantum theory practical application to useful PV
device had to await the arrival of semiconductor electronics in the
1950s. Thus, there was a gap of over a hundred years between
Becquerel’s initial discovery and the development of the PV as
we know it today.”2
The first photovoltaic module as we know it
today was made by Bell Laboratories in 1954, where, “it was
billed as a solar battery and was mostly just a curiosity as it was too expensive to gain widespread
use.”3
The way PV functions
is by having a semiconductor
material most likely silicon
and treat it in a special way to
form an electric field one side
is positive and the other is
negative. When the light hit
1
Electricity from Sunlight an Introduction to Photovoltaic see page 12-17.
2
Electricity from Sunlight an Introduction to Photovoltaic see page 12-17.
3
How do Photovoltaics Work? by Gil Knier, see science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/solarcells/
Figure 9Portrait of physicist
Alexandre Edmond Becquerel
printed by Charles Jeremie
Fuhr.
Figure 10 the operation of a basic photovoltaic cell

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the cells that were made of silicon it goes through the two sides, the
positive one first and the negative one second, where the electron of
the photons go through and reach the current. Thus it creates an
electric current and produces electricity.1
However, the most popular
form of PV panels is the single junction or interface, which, “only
photons whose energy is equal to or greater than the band gap of the
cell material can free an electron for an electric circuit. In other words,
the photovoltaic response of single-junction cells is limited to the
portion of the sun's spectrum whose energy is above the band gap of
the absorbing material, and lower-energy photons are not used.”2
The article author from NASA illustrates the way in which this
limitation can be managed is to use the multifunction one, which
uses a number of cells. “Much of today's research in multifunction
cells focuses on gallium arsenide as one (or all) of the component
cells. Such cells have reached efficiencies of around 35% under
concentrated sunlight.”3
Solar Thermal Collectors.
Solar Thermal Collectors were mentioned heavily in the
solar energy history. Also as mentioned many of the technology
is still has not changed. However, the history part of the paper mentions mainly the Concentrated
Solar Power (CSP) type, which heavily depends on mirrors that reflects the Sunlight on a point
1
2
3
Figure 11 PV devices use
a single junction
Figure 12 multifunction
device is a stack of individual
single-junction cells in
descending order of band gap
(Eg)

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where it would heat a fluid inside a pipe to generate electricity from the circulation of the fluid.
The same way is the other type, which is made of a box that have a glass that allow the Sun’s heat
to go inside and does not come out allocating a high amount of heat that it heats the pipes made
of copper mostly causing the fluid to circulate. It is mostly used for heat generation.
Solar Panel Efficiency.
The efficiency of the solar panel is determent by the amount of sunlight that becomes
electricity, in which it is donated by the percentage of the amount of solar energy that gets
transformed into electric power.1
Most of the solar panels can be between 11% and 15% efficient,2
1
Solar Panel Efficiency. Go to http://pureenergies.com/us/how-solar-works/solar-panel-efficiency/
2
Solar Panel Efficiency. Go to http://pureenergies.com/us/how-solar-works/solar-panel-efficiency/
Figure 13 Advanced Solar Collectors from Alternate Energy Technologies
AE- Series Solar Collectors

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while some go up to 21.57% and low to 3.60%.1
One can infer that with the higher efficiency the
less area can be used, which is considered the main factor of determining what system is the best
for a particular application whether residential or commercial. In scientific labs scientist have
developed some modules that reach up to 40%.
Residential Solar Energy.
The uses of Solar Energy in homes is a very diverse type of utilization, in which it involves
a high level of creativity depending in the situation of the place and many other factors. As
mentioned there are two main types of harnessing the Sun Energy, which are Solar Thermal Panels
and Photovoltaic Panels. Depending on the use these two types can be more efficient and cost
effective than the other mainly the factors of having one better than the other is due to its capability
to harness the Sun Energy and maintenance related issues.
Uses and Application of Solar Thermal Panels.
Most of the uses of Solar Thermal is for heating purposes. The most common ones for
heating is space heating and water heating using the Solar Thermal Panels. The idea of it is to
make the hot Sun radiation concentrated at some kind of a collector, which heats air and water.
The Air-based delivery system is considered the simplest system one that heats air that is drawn
directly into rooms. The Air-based system comes in two main types one by natural ventilation
where the air moves by itself in the pipes or the air path that passes between or under a sun heated
medium to the room, and the other type is the forced ventilation type which uses an air fan that
moves the air.2
This system is appropriate in a winter with many sunny days, which means it must
1
Solar Panel Comparison Table. Go to http://sroeco.com/solar/table/
2
Solar Technology: The Earthscan Expert Guide to Using Solar Energy For Heating, Cooling and Electricity, See
Page 97.

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have some kind of location requirement as shown in the map in figure 8, yet this does not mean
that it would not work in some areas, rather it will work if some adjustment were done such as
increasing the panels area so it could collect more sun radiation. This system requires that the
building it is heating having a sufficient thermal mass to store the heat overnight.1
Methods used in Air-based system.
1. Window box collector.
This system is very
simple, and very easy to
work. It functions by
placing the collators on
the window, in which
the window is open so
that it allows the collector to interact with the air of the room. The collector uses
the air from the home and depending in the ventilation method whether forced
by a fan or not the air will circulate around the sun heated multilayered panel.
“The collector’s layers are, from front to back:glazing, an upper airspace, a
black metal plate, a lower air space, insulation, and base”2
1
Page 98.
2
Page 98.
Figure 14 Window box collector. from
exposingtruth.com

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2. Roof-or wall-mounted collectors. Unlike the Window box collector. This one
uses external air, and the air circulates by a fan that is in many cases uses electric
power drawn from a small PV solar panel making the whole system depending
in solar energy. There are two types of designs of the system, one contains
materials with thousands of tiny capillaries, which absorb the sun’s heat. “The
heated incoming air drawn through ducts into the building where it is
discharged around the floor level of the lower floor.”1
The other design is a one
that is glazed and contains a black plate that heats air much like the window
box.
1
Page 98.
Figure 15 Solar Hot Air Collectors can be mounted on the roof
or/and on the south side of the house

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Water-based delivery system.
Mostly the system function with another source of energy “pre heating the water so another
heat source has less work to do.”1
The hybrid system is combined with electrical, gas or biomass
power sources. Similar to the air-base system the larger the area of the sun panel the faster the
results will show in heating the water, which is stored in tank that gets heated and also depending
on the house usage of hot water. Some cold areas need four times the requirement when compared
with another source. Most of the time of the year the water can be heated mostly by the sun
collectors, yet in the winter the opposite can be true in very cold places. If the combined fuel was
not very efficient such as wood boilers then a large tank is required for the system, so it could store
a higher temperature.
1
Page 100.
Figure 16 A solar water heating system form Florida Solar Energy
Center at UCF fsec.ucf.edu

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The proper area of a hybrid collector in a place located at Austria (near southern Europe)
for both mentioned system is 12-20 m2
(129-215 ft2
) for a single family house. In a well-insulated
house the system can cove 40% of heat demand depending also on the area on the collector which
it could reach 100%.1
Other Solar thermal application for homes.
1. Heat pumps for cooling. This system uses the regular system mentioned, but with some
help from electricity is reverse itself and cool a home instead of heating it.
2. Solar Drying. This system is used a long time ago for drying food, yet for a more
protected food and possibly a
faster result the food is put in
side a solar dryer. The solar
dryer is simply a box that is
with a plastic or glass cover
that have some open spaces to
let warm air to go through it,
so it absorbs the liquid from
the food. This system is used
Salsa in large scales where a
tent functions similar to a box.
1
Page 102.
Figure 17 Solar Food Dehydrator from
thisbahamianlife.com

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Figure 18 design of a solar cooker from
ruthtrumpold.id.au
3. Solar pasteurization. This method is used in poor countries where it is hard to find pure
water to drink. The method takes container filed with water put a center of a collector
heating it by the sun to 60ο
C (149ο
F) for about 7 minutes, so it kills all the germs and
viruses.
4. Solar Cocking. Solar
cocking is a simple way of
cooking that only needs to
put a cooking pot in what is
called a cooking dish that
will collect the sun
radiation and direct it to
ward a point where the pot
is located.
Uses and Application of Photovoltaics Panels.
The most efficient use for the residential application is the Building Integrated System
(BIPV), which is a grid connected system (the system where the supply of electricity can be gained
from a central power plant in the case of insufficient power came from the panels). The grid
connected system will be explained in the installation part of this part. BIPV is limited to the
budget of the home owner and the surface available to put the panels on them that is why it is very
recommended that the system be integrated with the building of the home, in which it should,
“form a part of the roof, cladding, overhanging shading or windows of a building.”1
However, this
1
Page 144.

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amount of integration might be very hard to deal with in relation to the quality of the home
products, which is why in Japan some solar energy companies bought construction companies, so
it would guarantee that the products are well made and would not cause leakage and have high
resistance to fire.1
The other popular type in the regular PV panels used in roof tops that are not integrated to
the design of the home. This type has some advantages over the integrated one, mainly they are
being easy to install and uninstall for maintenance issues, and they might function better by being
placed in a way that the sun would cover it for a longer time, which will be very proper for a low
budget. It is fairly simple to see why they could be easy to install and reinstall because they do not
come attached to the build of the home, where it would not be necessary to take out the PV layer
of the roof and leave the home subject to an improperly protected roof, the same case if it was
integrated to a window. However, it is fair to say that the BIPV found solution to the issue, yet still
it is easier to install and reinstall. The main issue is the budgeting issue, when comparing the two
types, by looking at the main purpose of placing the panels, which is absorbing the most possible
sunlight. In the BIPV there would be many places that the sunlight will not reach for a long making
a relatively useless extra space.
However, as mentioned where construction companies are being bought by solar PV
companies, the research and development of the BIPV will become better with time because it will
become, and in many cases it has become aesthetically appealing plus cheaper. It is very highly
predicted that in the future the growth BIPV will rise and it is already being seen in many places
around the world. According to Electricity from the sunlight by Paul A. Lynn, “Future generations
1
Solar Technology: The Earthscan Expert Guide to Using Solar Energy For Heating, Cooling and Electricity, See Page
144.

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will find it entirely natural to see PV arrays on roofs and facades, in gardens and parks… and as
electricity- generated windows and screens inside homes, schools, offices, and public buildings,
most will be grid-connected,” he writes, “PV will become increasingly a part of the urban
experience.”1
Installation of Solar Panels.
Solar thermal installation.
1
Electricity from Sunlight an Introduction to Photovoltaic, see page 115
Figure 19 Shake Shack Westbury, NY which applies BIPV from shakeshack.com/location/Westbury/
Figure 21 BP SOLAR SHOWCASE
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND. It was designed
and built in just six weeks to coincide with the G8
Summit of World Leaders held in Birmingham in
May 1998. It applies the BIPV system.
Figure 20 unintegrated roof top PV, from
http://ccsolar.net/

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The solar thermal installation part is in general less complicated when compared to PV.
The solar thermal panels’ installation and manufacturing are illustrated from the part where the
uses and application part in, which nearly all kinds of solar thermal uses related to homes uses are
shown. However, installing the solar thermal is mostly done by placing the panels at the sunlight
and connecting the panels to the heating source or the object that needs to be heated. Mainly the
components needed for the fairly complicated version of the solar thermal application, which is
the water heating one are as follows.1
 The Solar Collectors or Solar Thermal Panels.
 Solar Pump Station.
 A System controller.
 Expansion Vessel.
 Solar fluid to fill the system.
You may see figure 16.
Photovoltaic installation.
There are mainly two types of PV to be installed in a home one is the on grid, and the other
is the off grid. They all are very similar in installation, yet there are some differences that can make
one bitter than the other. The meaning of on grid and off grid is fairly simple as their names may
apply. The on grid system is the system that uses the solar energy with conjunction with the main
power plant to generate power, where it can be helpful when there is insufficient sunlight in the
winter or at night, so the grid can supply the home with power needed. The other on grid can be
helpful is when in a very sunny environment or times of the year such as summer there would be
1
Grant Solar Thermal Installation procedure. See https://youtu.be/i8kJRnv-hrI

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an excess amount of power that reached beyond the demand of the house. This issue of excessive
produced power is solved by the Net metering system, which protects these amount of power
from being wasted and feed the grid for a compensation, or reusing in the future or probably the
night of the sunny day.1
On the other hand, the off grid system is very much concerned with being
isolated, it may not enjoy the availability of a grid connected system, yet in sunny places around
the world a properly installed off grid system can be by fare very economical.
In installation an on grid system there are a number of component that needs to be
illustrated and explained how they work together as follow.
1. The PV solar Panels.
2. MPPT charge collector: this takes the power from the solar panels and convert DC
to DC, so it can have the right voltage for the system and the batteries.
3. Grid-tie Inverter: this is probably the main component after the panel. It is an
inverter that takes solar power from solar panels and converts the DC to AC and
supply the home, and in feed the grid in the case excess amount many system stop
at this point especially if the home owner was on a low budget and/or does not want
to attach a battery for other technological purposes such as net metering, yet in a
system with batteries the grid-tie inverter supply the battery as well.
4. Normal Inverter: this come in the fourth main step where probably comes after a
breaker for safety issues due to the battery. This invertor interact with the battery,
and it is not connected to the solar panel at all. It takes the power from the batteries
1
How to Solar Power Your Home / House #1 - On Grid vs Off Grid, go to https://youtu.be/bzcTFUcXwIY

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and convert them into AC and supply the home, and in some systems supply the
grid as well.
5. Batteries.
6. Energy monitor. It would show the energy consumption for the home.
A more advanced system is a one that uses micro inverter attached to each panel, where
it would work more efficiently, in which it would get the maximum power from each cell
and would not affect the overall power generation if parts of the panels did not get sufficient
Figure 22 grid tied solar system for aurorapower.net

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sunlight. The other reason is when having one invertor the whole system becomes subject
to failure if the inverter had an issue.1
The off grid system is mainly only concerned with the solar panels, the inventor and
the batteries. In this case all of the mentioned components have to be bigger in size so it
can be self-sufficient under all circumstances.
Cost related issues of residential solar energy.
Installing a solar energy system whether PV or solar thermal, can be very costly, yet the
future benefit of such an issue is very appealing. In addition to that thanks to governmental tax
credits one might end up paying a very small amount compared to the whole amount without
1
How to Solar Power Your Home / House #1 - On Grid vs Off Grid, go to https://youtu.be/bzcTFUcXwIY
Figure 23 Off-Grid Solar system aurorapower.net

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government support. The main focus of this paper is to look into the USA and more specifically
the state of New York.
An average monthly home energy consumption in the US is about 903 kWh and in New
York it is 656 kWh, luckily those living in warm places and suffer high energy consumption, such
as Florida with 1081 kWh, Arizona with 1061 kWh, and Louisiana with the highest 1254 kWh.1
All these states have so many issues to conceder such the amount of Sunshine and the proper type
of system it will benefit the most. Of course for the residential application the warm states will
prefer PV because they are not in the need for heat at all probably the only heating they might have
would be available by an air conditioner heater which will be in use for few days in the winter.
The average monthly bill in the US is about $107.28 and it is $106.14 in New York where
it is considered to be high compared to the average monthly energy consumption, yet not as much
as Hawaii, which pays an average of $ 203.15 and it consume monthly on an average of 531 kWh
there are many factors that play a role in the pricings, such as sunshine, availability of fuel,
population and many other factors.
Net Metering
In illustrating the cost related issue of cost in its relation to solar energy, the concept of Net
Metering has to be explained. Net metering was briefly mentioned in the second part of this paper
as a solution for the excessive amounts of energy production a home’s renewable energy system
produces. A proper example in the local environment is the PSEG Solar Metering system which
is the power company of Long Island, NY, which follows the New York State Net Metering Law
1
How Much Electricity Do You Use Each Month? Go to http://insideenergy.org/2014/05/22/using-energy-how-
much-electricity-do-you-use-each-month/

Attar, 25
which have a limit of 25 kW for residential, 2 MW for non-residential for power produced by solar
PV. PSGE credits the customer in the next month’s bill. The meter must be adjusted so it can be
reversed, otherwise there would not be a benefit usually this happens by replacing the standard
kilowatt-hour meter by a net meter, “which accurately registers the flow of electricity in either
direction.”1
The consumer is also able to store the energy in an energy bank which happens in the
case of a home produced more energy than it consumes over the month which can be withdrawn
in the incoming months.
The high demand generated a high competition in the PV installation market, which created
many contractors that provide installation for PV. Those companies can be local, such as Sunation
of Long Island, NY or national, such as Solar City. There are contractors that offer a variety of
1
Solar Net Metering for PSEG. Go to
https://www.psegliny.com/page.cfm/Efficiency/Renewables/Solar/NetMetering
Figure 24 Basic illustration of Saving Money with Solar Energy from solar-energy-at-home.com

Attar, 26
Figure 25 According to NPD
Solarbuzz, Yingli Green Energy
maintained leading module supplier
ranking in 2013. Seven of the Top-10
were c-Si module makers based in
China. From pv-tech.org
choices of brands, specifications and qualities of solar panels and system. In addition, those
contractors will be offering a number of ways they would lease the system they would design.
Figure 26 “U.S. Solar Market Insight:
2013 Year in Review from SEIA/GTM
Research

Attar, 27
Cost of PV installation in Long Island. In a pricing example from Sunation a solar energy
company of Long Island, NY, the following is shown for Solar System 8700 Watt Capacity (30 x
290 watt modules). (The breakdown for solar thermal is similar.)
“Price varies with equipment selection and size of system - your actual costs will differ
from what's below. This is just an example.
Total Retail Price $32,309
NY State Tax Credit
(25% of net cost max. $5,000) $5,000**
Federal Tax Credit
(30% of net) $8,400
Total Investment $18,909
Est. Electrical Production/yr $2,375***
Est. Increased Value of Property $47,500
Simple "TAX FREE"
Return On Investment16.2%
Simple Payback 6.1 years
Projected Lifetime Savings $106,875*
*Based on a 3% annual escalation rate.
**NY State Tax Credit can be carried over multiple years if needed.
***Estimated savings based on PSEG Clean Power Estimator.”1
1
PV Pricing Example from Sunation Solar Systems. Go to http://sunationsolarsystems.com/Pricing

Attar, 28
Figure 27 shows a part of the top 100 US Solar system contractors. The Sunation of
Oakdale, NY located in Long Island is ranked 40th
nationally.1
However, to get a proper idea of
what a customer needs to go through to buy or lease a solar panel system the contractor on top
process might be the most helpful. SolarCity process of installation is done in eight steps as
follows.2
1. Welcome. In this step the customers give the company their home bills to the company
and the company would manage to know what type of system would be better of the
home, in which a consultant would map out the home needs and take care of all the
1
2014 Top 100 Residential Solar Contractors. Go to http://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2014-top-400-solar-
contractors/2014-top-100-residential-solar-contractors/
2
Why SolarCity? Go to http://www.solarcity.com/
Figure 27 2014 The first 10 of Top 100 Residential Solar Contractors from
solarpowerworldonline.com

Attar, 29
necessary permits and inspection. Also after all agreements are done the customers
would be able to check the status of their project online or on a smart phone application.
2. Site Audit. In this step a site auditor will visit the home of the customers to take the
necessary measurement and gather technical information, so the final project would
meet the home aesthetic, and energy needs.
3. System Design. The engineers will then use the information gathered by the auditors
and custom design the system.
4. Building Permit. In this step the company will submit the plans, to get the local permits
and the Home Owner Association approval.
5. Installation.
6. System Inspection. The company will schedule inspection with the local building
department.
7. Utility Inspection. In this step the company will go ahead and inspect the system, so
they connect it to the grid.
8. Turning it on.
The average solar panel system for SolarCity is 5.87 kW and cost about $29,916 with price per
Watt is about $5 depending on the system, when leased the price might increase by 70% because
most of those who would lease would not get the Federal 30% tax credits.1
Buy or Lease, and Tax Credits issues.
The issue of buying or leasing is related to the customer’s financial abilities. However,
buying is in general would make the most economic benefit, in which the return on the investment
1
What is the price cost for a SolarCity PV system? Go to http://www.freecleansolar.com/What-is-the-price-cost-for-
a-SolarCity-PV-system-s/4620.htm

Attar, 30
would be between 10% and 30% each year.1
If the customer is willing to pay the full amount or
take a solar loan then buying is the choice, if the customer does not have the capital then Leasing
is the choice.
The Tax credit issue is one of the major factors in the buying or leasing decision. If ones
IRS tax amount due is greater than the federal solar tax credit then buying is the option, but if the
IRS tax amount due is less than the federal solar tax credit then leasing is the option because there
will be no federal solar tax credit, and in most cases one needs to have a credit score greater than
650.2
Federal Tax Credits (30%) requirement.
For a PV or any Solar-electric system.3
1. If the system was in service after 2008, there would be no maximum credit.
2. The system has to be in effect between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2016.
3. The system does not have to be serving tax payer’s principal residence.
For a Solar water-heating system.4
1. If the system was in service after 2008, there would be no maximum credit.
2. The system has to be in effect between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2016.
1
Should you buy or lease your solar panel system? Go to https://youtu.be/nA9PhZaIee4
2
Should you buy or lease your solar panel system? Go to https://youtu.be/nA9PhZaIee4 or
https://www.energysage.com/solar/financing/should-you-buy-or-lease-your-solar-panel-system
3
RESIDENTIAL RENEWABLE ENERGY TAX CREDIT. Go to http://energy.gov/savings/residential-renewable-energy-
tax-credit
4
tax-credit

Attar, 31
3. “Equipment must be certified for performance by the Solar Rating Certification
Corporation (SRCC) or a comparable entity endorsed by the government of the state in
which the property is installed.”1
4. “At least half the energy used to heat the dwelling's water must be from solar in order for
the solar water-heating property expenditures to be eligible.”2
5. The heating system must not be for heating pools and hot tubs.
6. The system does not have to be serving tax payer’s principal residence.
New York State Solar Energy System Equipment Credit (25%) Requirement.
The credit is 25% of the equipment expenditures with a limit of $5000, and the credit is
nonrefundable, but if the credit was greater than tax due it can be, “carried over for up to five
years.”3
According to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, one is entitled to the benefit
if, “purchased solar energy system equipment, entered into a written agreement for the lease of
solar energy system equipment, or entered into a written agreement that spans at least ten years for
the purchase of power generated by solar energy system equipment not owned you.”4
System that
1
tax-credit
2
tax-credit
3
From NYS Department of Taxation and Finance Solar Energy System Equipment Credit. Go to
http://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/credits/solar_energy_system_equipment_credit.htm
4

Attar, 32
are used for heating, cooling, hot water, or electricity for residential use are the only ones allowed
to get the benefit.1
New York State for Solar Panel Loan for Residential Installation.2
The loan for home owners is up to $13,000, and can reach $25,000 if the cost-effectiveness
was high for periods of 5, 10, and 15 years. The loan options are:
OPTION 1: Residential and Small Business/Not-for Profit On-Bill Recovery Loan.
 Current interest rate is 3.49%.
 The payment will be listed in the utility bill. Which will be monthly instalments.
 “Monthly payments may not exceed the estimated energy cost savings from the energy
upgrades, which means the energy savings may cover most or all of your loan payment.”
 If the home was sold the unpaid amount may be transferred to the new home owner.
OPTION 2: Residential Smart Energy Loan.
 Current interest rate is 3.99%, or 3.49% if paid in automatic payment.
 The payment are made directly to New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority.
A hypothetical home example for an average American house.
A Photovoltaic System.
The average US house size is about 2,520 square feet, with a footprint of about 24’x50’.3
The average US industry price of installation is $4.80 per Watt.4
However, this customer of long

Attar, 33
island is on a tight budget and aims to spend about $25,000 and decides to go with the average
system that will cost about $4.80 per Watt. This means that the customer will have a system of
5000 watts which means that 500 square feet of the roof top, according to Sunation, “The average
system requires between 400 and 600 square feet of clean roof area or about 100 square feet per
1000 watts.”5
According to the mentioned requirements and purchasing recommendation in this section
there are 2 major options that depend on the situation of the customer.
1. The buying option, which is if the customer already have the money on hand, or gets a loan
depending on credit score. This option will allow the customer to get his or her tax credits
if qualified, and for this intuitive example the customer taxes due are greater that the credit
which is greater than $7,500.
Installation cost (including batteries) $25,000
Fed Tax Credit (30%) $7,500
NYS tax credit (25% with $5000 limit) $5,000
The customer then might not need to buy the system and prefers to finance it with an NY-
Sun Incentive Program Loan. To avoid the complication the customer shows to go with the second
option and to get the lower interest rate of 3.49% he choose to enroll in automatic payment, and to
make the most out of his loan he chooses to pay it in 15 years. Thus, he will have a Loan of
1
2
Financing Options for NY-Sun Incentive Program. Go to http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/NY-Sun-Financing
3
How much does it cost to build a single-family house? Go to http://www.fixr.com/costs/build-single-family-house
4
What is the price cost for a SolarCity PV system? Go to http://www.freecleansolar.com/What-is-the-price-cost-
for-a-SolarCity-PV-system-s/4620.htm
5
SOLAR SYSTEMS COSTS. Go to http://sunationsolarsystems.com/Pricing

Attar, 34
$12,500, 15 years, and an interest rate of 3.49%, in which make his monthly payment comes to
be $89.31 which is calculated by i= 0.0349/12 = 0.00291, n= 12 x 15 = 180 months, the monthly
payment would be
PMT= P * (i / (1 - (1 + i)-n
)) = 12,500 * (0.00291/ (1 - (1 + 0.0029)-180
)) = $89.31
2. The second way the customer would pay for the system is by leasing it. It this not very
reasonable for a customer to lease a unless the company was offering free installation with
the system because the customer would get the state credit, yet Federal tax credit will go
to the company as the provider.1
In this case, the customer would end up paying about
$6.81 per watt, which means he might end up with a 3700 watt system paying more than
20,000.2
With the current status of the market it seems that this time is indeed due to all the government
benefit and the rapidly lower prices of PV a customer must act.
A thermal heating system.
The breakdown for a solar thermal heating system is similar to the PV, yet in the heating
system the customer this time aims to have a system that is appropriate to his home needs. He then
goes online on fixr.com and fill in a form to see what type of information he needs to give to get a
proper system. The information that the customer provided were the size of water heater, whether
the heater will heat pools or hot tubs, the location of the heater, and other question regarding project
readiness and timing. Finally, after dealing with a consultant the home owner got a price and it
1
Federal Solar Tax Credit. go to http://pureenergies.com/us/solar-financing/federal-solar-tax-credit/
2
The Lowest Cost For The Best Solar Panels. Go to http://www.freecleansolar.com/What-is-the-price-cost-for-a-
SolarCity-PV-system-s/4620.htm

Attar, 35
was $17,000.1
Because the system has to be accounted for most of the heating produced to get the
Federal Tax Credit.
Cost of installation $17,000
Fed Tax Credit (30%) $5,100
NYS tax credit (25% with $5000 limit) $4,250
From this point all the matters illustrated in the PV home would fit the same criteria.
Note. All the information in the hypothetical home are from information of the preceding topics
of Cost related issues of residential solar energy part, unless the source is referred with a foot note.
Commercial Solar Energy.
Commercial solar energy is very similar in many characteristics to the residential ones, in
which it is very diverse and have many types of solutions. Similarly, it functions with Solar
Thermal Technology and Photovoltaic.
Uses and Application of Solar Thermal Panels Commercially.
There are mainly two type of solar thermal uses for a large scale commercial uses. The first
one is the one discussed briefly in the introduction which is the Concentrated Solar Power System
1
How much does it cost to install a solar water heater? Go to http://www.fixr.com/costs/solar-water-heater-
installation

Attar, 36
(CSP), and the other is the District Solar Space Heating. Those two are very distinct and functions
differently than each other.
1. The Concentrated Solar Power System (CSP).
In reference to figures 6 and 7, this system is found in a very large scale in many
places around the world. It is simply as mentioned in the history part of the paper uses
mirrors directed at a tube or a central tower heating a fluid that can handle heat well,
which could be oil or molten salt. Then, the fluid is sent to heat water that makes a
steam that pushes a turbine in power system resulting in a production of power making
electricity. Both the steam of the water and the hot fluid is recycled and used again in
the process. The main types of CSP are Towers, Dishes, Linear Mirrors, and Parabolic
Trots.1
According to the U.S. Department of Energy “Sunny skies and hot tempuras
make the Southwest of the US an ideal place for these kind of power plants, many CSP
can be built in the next several years and a single plant can generate 250 MW or more,
which is enough to 90,000 homes.”2
The downside is that CSP is storing the energy whether electric or heat is very
expensive, yet there is an area of development for the coming years. For the US most
of these are located in the desert, where there is a very small of the population compared
to the other parts of the US, in which it creates a challenge to the development of this
1
Energy 101: Concentrating Solar Power from U.S. Department of Energy YouTube channel. See
https://youtu.be/rO5rUqeCFY4.
2
Energy 101: Concentrating Solar Power from U.S. Department of Energy YouTube channel. See
https://youtu.be/rO5rUqeCFY4.

Attar, 37
type energy where people do not live close by meaning that the electricity would need
to be connected for very long distances.1
2. District Solar Space Heating.
DSSH is a very beneficial way of generating power where it functions similar to
the home solar space heating, yet it distribute the heat to a large scale limited to a district
or a neighborhood for about 300 homes.2
It would not be found in the US, rather it is
found in many places in Europe: in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherland, and
Austria. This system is a hybrid one where it works with other sources of energy to
supply heating and hot water to homes. In general it meets up to 60 % of heat demand
in such places. The system does not generate electricity.
It functions by having large colleting fields and store heat underground and
sometimes in caves or reservoirs. It is distributed “via collector circuit, using heat
1
Pros and Cons of Concentrated Solar Power. See https://youtu.be/8sLej0oD1Ak
2
A district heating system with solar energy storage - an energy efficient solution for the community. Got to
https://youtu.be/8XAcYUvRbEQ
Figure 28 district solar heating

Attar, 38
transfer units in individual apartment, or centrally via circulating pipes.”1
Control and
safety systems help prevent over heat to occur in the summer. The heat temperature it
provides for water is 60 degrees Celsius which is 140 Fahrenheit, which is not at boiling
water, yet higher than the recommended safety standard in the US is 120. According to
Health Day, “Water at 140 degrees can lead to a serious burn within three seconds,”2
this shows how hot really this type of solar heating system can be produced.
Uses and Application of Photovoltaics Commercially.
The large PV power plant does not come in a number of types as the Solar Thermal ones
because the technology does not allow for a large space of creativity, in which it is just the regular
PV panels that are manufactured mainly of different types of silicon, monocrystalline silicon and
1
Page 106.
2
Hot Tap Water May Pose Scalding Hazard, go to http://consumer.healthday.com/general-health-information-
16/burn-health-news-87/hot-tap-water-may-pose-scalding-hazard-674893.html
Figure 29 The 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight solar project near
Joshua Tree National Park generates enough electricity to power
160,000 homes. It is the largest PV power plant. From usatoday.com.

Attar, 39
polycrystalline silicon. This system is simply similar to the domestic (residential) system, yet this
one is in a very large scale. What makes this system different than the domestic one is that it have
to take in account some major issues.1
 The clearness index for the atmosphere;
 Whether they track the path of the sun or not;
 The diffuse and direct (beam) radiation amount;
 The time of sunrise and sunset;
 The angle of these relative to the modules.
The tracking system of the large PV power plant is concerned with issues that are related to the
movement of the sun resulting in an increase in the sunlight interaction with the panels. There are
three different directions the PV modules follow the sun with.
 Vertical axis: is where the slightly tilted modules rotates vertically.
 Inclined axis: where the modules are mounted on an axis that from an angle with
the ground and points in the north-south direction in a plane parallel to the axis of
rotation.
1
Page 154.

Attar, 40
 Two-axis trucker: the system can move the modules in the east-west direction and
tilt them at an angle from the ground, so that the modules always point at the sun.
There are indeed some commercial applications of the PV system that are other than the
one used in big plant. This type usually comes off grid and found in many places known as Stand-
Alone Photovoltaic. The most common commercially used ones are the telecom companies, in
which it provides power to repeater station, and mobile phone networks. The other type is the street
Figure 30 The Citi Bike docking station in Battery Park City that uses a standalone PV as shown
located at the right. By Thea Glassman/Tribeca Trib

Attar, 41
related one, used for street furniture, street lightning, signs, and many other applications in the
streets, such as the bike rental stations of New York
Construction of commercial solar power plants and Functional Aspects.
Solar plants are very much build as a large product on a national level or a one that
covers large areas of land. They are very expensive and involves corporate and government
contributions. In this paper the main focus will be on the Concentrated Solar Power System, and
the Photovoltaic one because the two systems are the most widely used systems commercially.
The Photovoltaic system does not need that much of an illustration because it only come in one
way of installation, which are illustrated in the uses section of this part. This system uses way
more land that CSP, it can be seen that the Topaz Solar Farm which is the largest PV station to
date uses an area of 19.06 km2
, whereas the largest CSP the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility 14.16
km2
.1
In many applications CSP is used in
very large areas, such as the Ivanpah Solar
Power Facility, which uses 173,500
heliostats with two mirrors hang on them
covering an area of 3,500 acers
(14.2km2
).2
The Ivanpah one uses 3 towers
1
Project Finance. Go to http://www.firstsolar.com/en/technologies-and-capabilities/project-financing
2
Ivanpah Project Facts Go to http://www.ivanpahsolar.com/about
Figure 32 MWe Andasol plant in
Spain the storage system. From Solar
Millennium
Figure 31 The Ivanpah solar thermal power
system from Ivanpah Project Facts
ivanpahsolar.com/about

Attar, 42
with boilers inside. CSP uses highly reflective surfaces to concentrate the sunlight at a point
(tower) or a line (tube). These system has to have a storage system for its heat energy that
is stored in either liquid or soled, such as molten salt, ceramics, water, or concert, which is
then released at times where the sun is not shinning to keep the turbine.1
These thermal
storage systems increase the availability of the of heat energy from 1000 to 2500 hours. In
the 49.9 MW Andasol plant in Spain the storage is achieved with 28,500 tons of molten
nitrate and potassium salt storage, “that keeps it operational up to 7 and a half hours after
the sunset…”2
The outlet temperature of the storage system of this plant is between 290 C
(554 F) and 390 C (734 F), which is why this system is very successful in generating energy
around the clock especially in the summer.3
Regarding the CSP systems most of them
1
190.
2
190.
3
Page 190.

Attar, 43
include the following elements: concentrators, tracing system, a receiver, transport media
or storage, and power conversion.
There are mainly four type of commercial CSP systems, in which the concentrating
mirrors either focus on a line or a point.
a. Parabolic trough. This type is the
type where the history of solar energy
began with. It is very well illustrated
in the History part of the paper. The
parabolic trough collectors
concentrate the sunlight onto Dewar
tube containing fluid, such as
synthetic thermal oil, direct steam or
molten salt. This type tracks the sun in
one axis-east-west and are aligned north to south. The fluid can reach 300-550
C (572-1022 F) and is pumped through heat exchanges to produce very hot
steam. As mentioned in the beginning of this part the steam and in some systems
a combined steam and gas turbine generator is then spins the turbine and
generates electricity.1
The advantages of the system is that it is that it is
commercially available, commercially proven annual net plant efficiency of
14%, good land use factor, lowest material demand when compared to other
types, storage capacity, and the sun is concentrated at the tubes which are right
1
191.
Figure 33 Parabolic trough
illustration from .nrel.gov/csp

Attar, 44
in front of the mirrors unlike the tower ones which the point of concentration
located at a very high tower burning birds that fly nearby. The size of the plant
is typically 50- 400 MW, with total power output capacity of 500MG1
, and
about 500 GWh annual energy generation.
b. Linear Fresnel Reflector
(LFR). This system comes in
rows of flat or slightly concaved
long mirrors. The mirrors are
made on a Fresnel lens principal,
which is used in lighting where
the lenses concentrate the sunlight onto the central ,convex, long recover
located at a focal point which is filled with water that gets heated and turned
into steam at 200 -500 C (390-930 F). Its approach is very similar to the
parabolic trough because they are all in the same category. The size of the plant
is typically 50- 400 MW. The
advantages of the system is that
it is readily available, cheaper to make, very high space efficiency. Its main
disadvantage is that there have not been that much attention to it causing its
development to slow.1
1
192.
Figure 34 Â Kimberlina Solar Thermal
Energy Plant, Bakersfield, California.
AREVA Solar

Attar, 45
c. Central Receiver or Solar Tower. The mirrors are pace in a circular matrix
which focus the sunlight at a point in a high tower. A heat-transfer substance,
such as water/steam molten salt or air is located in the point which generates a
superheated steam for a turbine at temperatures around or over 1000 C (1830
F). Gas can be used in the turbine instead of steam to take advantage of 60%
efficiency or more.1
The largest plant of this type is as mentioned earlier is the
Ivanpah Solar Power Facility with an Annual generation of 1,000 GW·h.2
the
advantages of this system are better potion for use non flat sites, good mid-term
prospect for high conversion efficiencies with an operating temperature beyond
1000 C (1830 F), and it can store high temperatures. Its main disadvantages are
that is needs a large area to be built on and might harm birds that fly over it due
to the heat and its shinny appeal similar to a desert mirage, in which one plant
killed over 500 brides over.3
d. Parabolic dish. This type is simply a dish that is concentrating the sunlight at
a point receiver. This point is similar to all the types has the same type of fluid
that can get supper heated to approximately 750 C (1380 F). This is used to
generate electricity in a small piston or Sterling engine, or a micro turbine
integral with the receiver. The dishes tracks the sun from one axis east-west.
The advantages of this system is that it has a very high conversion efficiencies,
modular (tracks the sun), most effectively integrate thermal storage and large
1
193.
2
Ivanpah Project Facts, go to http://www.ivanpahsolar.com/about
3
California solar power plants ignite birds mid-flight go to http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/california-solar-
power-plants-ignite-birds-mid-flight/

Attar, 46
plants, operational experience of first demonstration projects, easily
manufactured. Disadvantages of this type are that there are not that many
commercial examples, lower delivery potential for grid integration.
Figure 35 AN ARTIST’S rendering of a field of dish-Stirling
engine systems. from share.sandia.gov

Attar, 47
Figure 36 U.S. Solar Resource Maps showing national solar photovoltaics (PV)
resource potential and concentrating solar power (CSP) resource potential for
the United States.

Attar, 48
Cost Related Issues for Commercial Solar Plans.
Costs of large solar systems are very high and they usually be in hundreds of millions. To
illustrate on the cost issue an example of the two most recent and biggest projects in the US can
give a proper idea of cost related issue. These two big projects are the Ivanpah Solar Power
Facility, and the Topaz Solar Farm, which are compared briefly in the previous section.
The type of system the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is CSP, where the Topaz Solar Farm
is a PV system. The Ivanpah plant is located in San Bernardino County, California with an area of
14.16 km2
the Topaz plant is located in Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo County,1
California with
an area of 19.02 km2
.2
The total cost of the Ivanpha project was $2.2 billion with government loans
of $1.6 billion from the US Department of Energy, Google investment of $168 million and NRG
Solar, a subsidiary of NRG Energy invested $300 million in the project,3
while the Topaz project
cost about $2.4 billion paid by the owner MidAmerican Energy Holding Company (now known as
Berkshire Hathaway Energy).4
The DOE offered $1.9 billion in loans but the first developer First
Solar Inc. could not meet the offer deadline Sept. 30, 2011,5
yet the financing was possible due to
the MidAmerican the company that got an investment from billionaire Warren Buffett by the end
of that year the project was purchased.6
1
Ivanpah Project Facts go to http://www.ivanpahsolar.com/about
2
Topaz Solar Farm Overview. http://www.bherenewables.com/include/pdf/fact_sheet_topaz.pdf
3
DOE finalizes $1.6 billion Ivanpah solar loan. From Electric Power Daily or Go to
http://archive.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=146458
4
RECENT PROJECT FINANCING OVERVIEW. Go to http://www.firstsolar.com/en/technologies-and-
capabilities/project-financing
5
TOPAZ SOLAR FARM WILL NOT MEET DOE LOAN GUARANTEE DEADLINE. Go to
http://investor.firstsolar.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=607518
6
Billionaire Buffett Bets on Solar Energy. Go to
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/12/billionaire-buffett-bets-on-solar-
energy?cmpid=SolarNL-Thursday-December8-2011

Attar, 49
In terms of labor cost the two project are effected by the type of construction need because
it can be inferred from the type of system and the number of workers. The Ivanpah project had
2,100 constructions workers and reached 2,636, with 65 to 86 in maintenance and operation and
costing them 650 million in total employees’ wages, and earnings over the 30 years of operation.1
This high number of worker is due to the fact that plant has three towers, boilers, turbans, and
many other very large components along with the 347,000 mirror that are hanged on 173,500
heliostat, which each one of them can be a big project by itself involving builders, technicians,
Boilermakers, steel workers from all kind of fields, building the plant in about 5 years from 2010
to 2014.2 3
In the contrary, The Topaz construction project only lasted 4 years from November
2011 to November 2014, with a significantly large area compared to the Ivanpah project, it only
had 400 construction worker and up to 880 in the peak of the construction costing about $192
million.4 5
The low number of worker might be due to the fact that project is a PV one that does
not have the complication of boilers and turbines of a CSP system where it is just concerned with
the panels, its heliostats and the power storage system even though there were 9 PV Million Solar
Panels.6
There are many costs related to maintenance and other related issues that are very high in
costs and are hard to determine the actual price of. For instance the, “Ivanpah uses 32 million
gallons of groundwater each year to keep its boilers full and mirrors clean. In a desert, that’s not
1
2
Ivanpah: Cleaner Air. Jobs for California. Go to https://youtu.be/I00Au_S0joc
3
4
Topaz Turns On 9 Million Solar Panels. http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/topaz-turns-on-9-million-
solar-panels
5
Special report: How the rise of a mega solar panel farm shows us the future of energy. Go to
https://gigaom.com/2015/01/20/a-special-report-the-rise-of-a-mega-solar-panel-farm-why-its-important/
6
Topaz Turns On 9 Million Solar Panels. http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/topaz-turns-on-9-million-
solar-panels

Attar, 50
chump change.”1
Whereas the Topaz plant does not require washing, yet it uses water for
vegetation for dust control which is better because the water is not totally going to waste.
Outcomes of Large Solar Plant.
The same type of illustration can be made in benefits and outcomes of the solar plants using
the two mentioned plants. The Ivanpah project generates power of about 392 MW annually and an
Energy of 1 billion kWh annually,2
yet due to the system’s sensitivity to weather temperature the
system might generate far less of the amount advertised, according to an article written in
November 2014 in Forbs by Contributor James Conca, “Instead of a billion kWhs of electricity,
this year Ivanpah will produce less than 0.4 billion kWhrs, making its capacity factor only 12%,
not the 30% advertised. And certainly not the 90% of base load generators like nuclear power.”3
Whereas the PVsystem of the Topaz plant can generate power of 550 MW annually and it reached
an energy production of 1.05 kWhs.4 5
The Ivanpah project can serve 140,000 of an average
Californian home,6
while the Topaz plant can serve between 160,000 and 180,000 of the average
home in California.7 8
The Ivanpah project will generate about $350 million of tax revenues over
30 years,9
and the Topaz project will generate 16 million in tax revenue.
1
Thermal Solar Energy -- Some Technologies Really Are Dumb from Forbs.
2
3
Thermal Solar Energy -- Some Technologies Really Are Dumb from Forbs. Go to
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/11/11/thermal-solar-energy-some-technologies-really-are-dumb/
4
ELECTRICITY DATA BROWSER. Go to
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/57695?freq=A&ctype=linechart&ltype=pin&maptype=0&pin
=&linechart=ELEC.PLANT.GEN.57695-ALL-ALL.A&columnchart=ELEC.PLANT.GEN.57695-ALL-ALL.A
5
PROJECT OVERVIEW. Go to http://topazsolar.com/en/about-us/projects/topaz-solar-farm
6
7
Topaz Turns On 9 Million Solar Panels. Go to http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/topaz-turns-on-9-
million-solar-panels
8
PROJECT OVERVIEW. Go to http://topazsolar.com/en/about-us/projects/topaz-solar-farm
9

Attar, 51
Figure 37 Monthly energy production in MWhs for the three towers of the Ivanpah
Project for the US Energy Information Admenstration Electricity Data Browser
website. eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/

Attar, 52
Figure 38 Monthly energy production in MWhs for the Topaz Solar Farm
Project for the US Energy Information Admenstration Electricity Data
Browser website. eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/

Attar, 53
The illustration summary, and other cost and economic data.
Ivanpah Solar Power
Facility
Topaz Solar Farm
System CSP PV
Area 14.16 km2
(5.46 mi2
) 19.02 km2
(7.34 mi2
)
Location Ivanpah, San Bernardino
County, California
Carrizo Plain, San Luis
Obispo County, California
Cost Total cost of about $2.2
billion, Government loan $1.6
billion, Google with $168
million, NRG with $300
million.
A total cost of 2.4 paid by the
owner MidAmerican Energy
Holdings, due to Warren
Buffet investment.
(MidAmerican Energy
Holdings now Berkshire
Hathaway Energy)
Labor 2100 worker, and 2,636 in the
peak of construction.
400 worker and 880 in the
peak of construction.
Labor Cost $650 million over 30 years. $192 annually.
Maintenance and operation
cost.
$26.3 million annually.1
$3 to $4 million annually.2
Time taken to build the
project.
5 years form October 2010
till December 2014.
4 years from November 2011
till November 2014.
Size and annual power
generation.
392 MW. 550 MW.
Annual energy output 1 billion kWh. 1.05 billion kWh.
Average homes number it
can serve.
140,000 homes. 160,000 to 180,000 homes.3
Tax Revenue 350 million over 30 years. 16 million annually.
Tons of Co2 displaced
Annually.
13.5 million tons over 30
years.
377,000 tons annually.
Grid company/s dealing
with.
PG & E, Southern California
Edison.
Pacific Gas & Electric.
1
California’s New Solar Plant: Burning Up Taxpayer Money, Land, and Wildlife. Go to
https://www.aei.org/publication/californias-new-solar-plant-burning-up-taxpayer-money-land-and-wildlife/
2
Topaz Solar Farm project datasheet. Download it at http://firstsolar.com/en/about-us/projects/topaz-solar-
farm/documents/topaz%20profile%20sheet?dl=1
3
Topaz Turns On 9 Million Solar Panels. Go to http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/topaz-turns-on-9-
million-solar-panels

Attar, 54
All the infomation of the table are from, Ivanpah Project Facts, and the Topaz Solar Farm
project over view, which are found at ivanpahsolar.com, and topazsolar.com, unless noted with
the end point.
These information regarding the cost related issues of the commercial solar energy for the
two major types of solar energy are meant to give a proper idea of the cost matters, not to compare
them in terms of which project is better. There are many factors that can make the any type better
than the other. Both projects had issues with the government funding as mentioned the deadline
issue of the Topaz and how the project was nearly save by Buffets investment, where the Ivanpah
is having issues with the loans they took from the DOE according to the mentioned Forbes article,
“However, after receiving a controversial tax-payer funded $1.6 billion loan under the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program, Ivanpah investors, NRG Energy, Google and
BrightSource Energy, now want a $539 million federal grant to pay off their federal loan.”1
However, many opinions may support PV power plants, yet the panels of PV were, until recently
known to be very expensive compared to the mirrors of the CSP system. Therefore, it is very early
to judge which one is better, even though that the investments seem to be going in the direction of
PV, such as Warren Buffet’s one.2
This illustration of the major economic factors of the two project must give a proper idea
in regard to the major cost related topics. The illustration covered how government can assist, such
companies in the issues concerning the loans, and how privet investors can make a big difference
in financing the projects. Also the issue of the areas used, the time it took to build it, the total cost,
1
Thermal Solar Energy -- Some Technologies Really Are Dumb from Forbs. Go to
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/11/11/thermal-solar-energy-some-technologies-really-are-dumb/
2
California's Record-Breaking New Solar Plant Is Already Irrelevant. Go to
http://www.businessinsider.com/ivanpah-solar-plant-already-irrelevant-2014-2

Attar, 55
and the labor costs, which are all the major factors of all solar project. The outcome of such project
is dealt with in the illustration in the topics of the number of homes it would serve, the power and
energy generated annually, the tax revenues, and the effect of nature on the systems, which are
similarly considered to be the major factors of a project, in fact as mentioned these are the factors
that determine if the project can be good or bad.
Conclusion.
In dealing with a highly technical, and highly debated issue such as solar energy it is hard
to come up with a come up with a proper conclusion to determine in which direction the next step
of the industry of solar energy is going to be. In the US and some other countries it might be very
hard to see a certain image of future. In general there are five major key players in the issue of
solar energy, and they are the owners whether individual or big corporate companies, investors,
the utility company, the government, and the technology. Those five play a large role in the future
of solar and as they interact together it makes it very difficult to come up with clear image of the
future of solar energy.
In many industries individual owners or end users find themselves governed by the major
service provider, or by government regulation, such as the car fuel, and public utility or service
providers. However, the solar energy industry has naturally given a great amount of power to the
end users by allowing them to produce their own power and either feed the grid and get money for
it, or store the energy.

Attar, 56
For example, Hawaii the state that its people use very low amount of energy and pay the
most with an average monthly consumption of 544 kWh and pay $203 monthly,1
is now witnessing
a battle between most of the mentioned key players, yet as mentioned it seem as the end user might
win. In Hawaii utility companies are trying to slow the development of residential PV solar panels
by not approving the customers’ requests to install the panels and connect them to the grid, because
unlike many cold places net metering in Hawaii has become harmful to the grid companies.2
Due
to the loses the utility companies have when giving back amounts of money to customer who
generated excessive amounts of energy, and the infrastructure that cannot handle power going in
two directions, “In solar-rich areas of California and Arizona, as well as in Hawaii, all that solar-
generated electricity flowing out of houses and into a power grid designed to carry it in the other
direction has caused unanticipated voltage fluctuations that can overload circuits, burn lines and
lead to brownouts or blackouts.”3
In the case of Hawaii the state government did not stand still,
and pushed the utility companies to approve, “the lengthy backlog of solar applications”4
yet what
makes this case more appealing in terms of how the major five key player are present in it, is the
usage of batteries by the end users. Due to the complication of the issue of net metering, and
extremely high prices, according to the article of the New York Times by Diane Cardwell,
“Customers are increasingly asking about the batteries that he often puts in along with the solar
panels, allowing them to store the power they generate during the day for use at night. It is more
1
How Much Electricity Do You Use Each Month? Go to http://insideenergy.org/2014/05/22/using-energy-how-
much-electricity-do-you-use-each-month/
2
Solar Power Battle Puts Hawaii at Forefront of Worldwide Changes. Go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/business/energy-environment/solar-power-battle-puts-hawaii-at-forefront-
of-worldwide-changes.html
3
Solar Power Battle Puts Hawaii at Forefront of Worldwide Changes. See the video at the article page
4

Attar, 57
expensive, but it breaks consumer reliance on the
utility’s network of power lines.”1
In which it
allowed the major solar power companies of
Hawaii to go in that direction and take the
customers completely of the grid.2
All this gives
an idea of how customers can effect the industry
to their benefit, even though Hawaii comes in a
sunny place as shown in the US solar map customer
can go of the grid in many places in the US.
Mentioning the issue of batteries
the market of batteries, which is the main
factor of why customers can go of the
grid and manage their energy
consumption with saving money, it
become necessary to go over the
development of the batteries and the new
intentions by Tesla to probably dominate
the market in the future. Elon Musk the CEO of Tesla Motors and Energy has lately introduced a
set of options of batteries, with mainly two residential types and a small commercial type for big
1
2
Figure 40 Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Photograph by
Ringo H.W. Chiu — AP
Figure 39 Multiple batteries may be
installed together. From
teslamotors.com/powerwall

Attar, 58
buildings coming in 7 kWh for $3000 and 10 kWh sizes for $3500 called Powerwall and the
commercial one sold in 100 kWh called Powerpack costing about $25,000.1
The most appealing thing about the new batteries is that, they are by fare aesthetically
appealing and they are also the cheapest in the market for good batteries to assets a solar energy
system. The way these two types of home batteries can assists a solar energy system is that, “The
1
Elon Musk: Demand for Tesla's home battery is 'crazy off the hook' go to https://fortune.com/2015/05/06/elon-
musk-tesla-home-battery/

Attar, 59
10 kWh home unit is designed as a source of backup power, while 7 kWh-unit can be used daily
to extend the environmental and cost benefits of solar after the sun has gone down.”1
To illustrate more in the issue of the government the Residential Renewable Energy Tax
Credit will end at December, 31 2016 which is a very close date for such project that might take a
long time to be done. However, Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) along with some other
senators most of whom are democrats two independent and none republican including a
presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), urged the Senate Committee on Finance to extend
1
Elon Musk: Demand for Tesla's home battery is 'crazy off the hook' go to https://fortune.com/2015/05/06/elon-
musk-tesla-home-battery/
Figure 41 Tesla Powerwall Price vs Battery Storage Competitor Prices (Residential & Utility-
Scale) from Clean Technica

Attar, 60
the time of the tax credit in December 16, 2013, but their move did not work because the time is
still the same.1 2
This could give an indication that the residential solar energy upcoming will face
many challenges because the credit is very high and with 30% of the total cost of the system, which
means either buy now or suffer the system expenses. Luckily to the customers they may save 25%
with a limit of $5000 in New York State, which many other states can have a similar system.3
As mentioned in the cost part of large commercial solar plants many investors a hesitated
in regard to the issue of CSP, and preferring PV. According to David Crane, NRG’s chief,
responded when asked about another investment in CSP similar to the Ivanpah one they invested
in: “We’ve got $300 million invested in Ivanpah — let me see that work for a few months and
then we’ll decide whether we want to be involved in more.”4
“I don’t think that we’re going to see
large-scale solar thermal plants popping up, five at a time, every year in the U.S. in the long-term
— it’s just not the way it’s going to work,” said Matthew Feinstein, a senior analyst at Lux
Research a leader firm in providing strategic advice and ongoing intelligence on emerging
technologies, he also added talking about the CSP of Ivanpah in particular, “Companies that are
supplying these systems have questionable futures. There’s other prospects for renewables and for
solar that look a lot better than this particular solution.”5
1
Blumenthal wants extension of Renewable Energy Production Tax Credits for solar, fuel cell industries.
http://www.nhregister.com/business/20150102/blumenthal-wants-extension-of-renewable-energy-production-
tax-credits-for-solar-fuel-cell-industries
2
The proposal itself, http://action.sierraclub.org/site/DocServer/PTC_ITC_letter.pdf?docID=14702
3
Solar Energy System Equipment Credit NYS DTF. GO TO
4
A Huge Solar Plant Opens, Facing Doubts About Its Future. Go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/14/business/energy-environment/a-big-solar-plant-opens-facing-doubts-
about-its-future.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1
5
A Huge Solar Plant Opens, Facing Doubts About Its Future. Go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/14/business/energy-environment/a-big-solar-plant-opens-facing-doubts-
about-its-future.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1

Attar, 61
All these factors and the ones yet to come a very unstable due to the interest of the key
players over each other and how they are connected, makes it hard to see a clear image for solar
energy in the future. Even SolarCity with Musk as its chairman is refusing to use Tesla’s new
batteries due to preference for their customers to connect to the grid and benefit from net metering.1
Thus, for a relatively new industry it is very difficult to judge now of how the future may be
especially the there are many issues that are not really similar to most technological industries,
such as the issue of solar panels efficiency. According to Pure Energy, “These days the media
loves to hype emerging technologies, but the truth is we’re still using the same solar technology
we were back in the 1960’s. Since then, solar has become only moderately more efficient (unlike
computers or cellphones which experience dramatic improvements in short periods of time).”2
All
the signs, however, point that this time might be the best to join the market and benefit from the
tax credits and other major factors.
1
Tesla's New Battery Doesn't Work That Well With Solar. Go to http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-
05-06/tesla-s-new-battery-doesn-t-work-that-well-with-solar.
2
Solar Myths. Go to http://pureenergies.com/us/home-solar/solar-basics/solar-myths/

Attar, 62
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