Oro551 res- unit 1 - environmental impact of solar energy

1. ORO551 - RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
M.KARTHIKEYAN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
AAA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY, SIVAKASI
karthikeyan@aaacet.ac.in
8825676616M.KARTHIKEYAN AP/MECH AAACET
SIVAKASI

2. 1. Role and potential of new and renewable source.
2. The solar energy option.
3. Environmental impact of solar power.
4. Physics of the sun.
5. The solar constant.
6. Extraterrestrial and terrestrial solar radiation.
7. Solar radiation on titled surface.
8. Instruments for measuring solar radiation and sun shine.
9. Solar radiation data.
UNIT I PRINCIPLES OF SOLAR RADIATION
M.KARTHIKEYAN AP/MECH AAACET
SIVAKASI

3. 1. Land use and habitat loss.
2. Water use.
3. Use of hazardous materials in manufacturing.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF SOLAR POWER.
M.KARTHIKEYAN AP/MECH AAACET
SIVAKASI

4. Total land requirements depend on the
1. Technology (PV or CSP)
2. The topography of the site and
3. The intensity of solar resource.
4. Capacity of the plant.
 PV – photovoltaic solar cells.
 CSP – concentrating solar thermal plants.
LAND USE AND HABITAT LOSS.
For PV,
 3.5 to 10 acres per MW
For CSP,
 4 to 17 acres per MW
M.KARTHIKEYAN AP/MECH AAACET
SIVAKASI

5. For CSP,
 2,000 litres of water is required per MW
For PV,
 Just one gram of dust per square meter of solar panel area can
reduce efficiency by 40%.
 Hence solar panel requires constant cleaning to maintain efficiency.
For this purpose,
 20,000 litres of water is required per MW
WATER USE
M.KARTHIKEYAN AP/MECH AAACET
SIVAKASI

6. In PV,
 Chemical like hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid,
hydrogen fluoride and acetone are required to clean and purify
the semiconductor surface.
 Workers also face risk associated with inhaling silicon dust.
 Thin film PV cells contain a number of toxic materials like gallium
arsenide, copper – indium – galliuum - diselenide and cadmium
telluride.
 If they are not handled and disposed properly, these materials could
produce serious environmental effects.
USE OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IN MANUFACTURING
M.KARTHIKEYAN AP/MECH AAACET
SIVAKASI

7. In CSP,
 The escape of heat transfer fluid will result in pollution.
 Steel, copper and aluminium are required for manufacturing solar
collectors.
 These materials cause environmental problems in the form of
emissions like fluorine Compounds, particulates and solid
waste.
M.KARTHIKEYAN AP/MECH AAACET
SIVAKASI