Solar energy can be harnessed using various technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy and solar architecture. The two most mature solar technologies are non-concentrated photovoltaic solar panels and concentrated solar power. Emerging solar technologies like concentrated photovoltaic systems, dye sensitized solar cells and solar thermoelectricity still face technical challenges to overcome. Solar power is anticipated to become the world's largest source of electricity by 2050.

1. SOLAR ENERGY
TECHNOLOGIES

2. INTRODUCTION
• Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is
harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar
heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy and solar architecture.
• The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the planet is so
vast that in one year it is about
2× as much as will ever be
obtained from all of the Earth's
non-renewable resources of
coal, oil, natural gas, and mined
uranium combined.

3. DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES
Photovoltaic Solar
Panels (PV)
Dye Sensitized
Solar Cell (DSSC)
Concentrated
Photovoltaic
(CPV)
Concentrated
solar power (CSP)
Solar
Thermoelectricity
There are several kinds of solar techniques that are currently
available.
Generally speaking, non-concentrated photovoltaic solar panels
(PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) are the two most mature
technologies.

4. SOLAR THERMOELECTRICITY
• Solar thermoelectricity uses parabolic disc technology to capture
thermal energy based on the thermoelectric effect.
• It produces energy by
converting differences in
temperatures in the two
parts into volts using a
semi-conductor.
• The efficiency of the thermoelectric
materials is still very low, the
recently achieved figure of merit is
only 1.3~2.0.

5. DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL
(DSSC)
A dye-sensitized solar cell is based on a semiconductor formed
between a photo-sensitized anode and an electrolyte, a
photoelectrochemical system.
Overall peak power conversion efficiency for current DSSCs is about
11%.

6. CONCENTRATED
PHOTOVOLTAIC (CPV)
• Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) uses optics to focus the sun’s
power on small high-efficiency, multi-junction solar cells.
• While even the best PV cells have maximized their efficiency at
25%, multi-junction solar cells currently reach efficiencies over
39%. Cells with efficiencies over 40%-45% are just around the
corner.

7. PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR PANELS
(PV)
A photovoltaic
system, is a
power system
designed to
supply usable
solar power by
means of
photovoltaics.
It consists of an
arrangement of
several components,
including solar
panels to absorb and
convert sunlight into
electricity, a solar
inverter to change
the electric current
from DC to AC etc.

8. CONCENTRATED SOLAR
POWER (CSP)
Concentrating solar
power (CSP) is a power
generation technology
that uses mirrors or
lenses to concentrate
the sun’s rays and, in
most of today’s CSP
systems, to heat a fluid
and produce steam.
The steam drives a
turbine and generates
power in the same way
as conventional power
plants.

9. DISCUSSION
Solar power is anticipated to become the
world's largest source of electricity by 2050,
with solar photovoltaics and concentrated
solar power contributing 16 and 11 percent to
the global overall consumption, respectively.
Concentrated photovoltaic systems (CPV),
dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC), and solar
thermoelectricity are emerging technologies
and still have many technical obstacles to
overcome. Some technologies like CPV are
moving from pilot facilities to commercial-
scale applications.

10. COMPARISON
Power grids usually prefer CSPs over
PVs.
CSP has an inherent capacity to
store heat energy for short periods of
time for later conversion to electricity
which enhances energy security.
PVs are more suitable than
CSP for off-grid applications.
The construction process is
simpler for PV than CSP
systems.

11. CONCLUSION
Each technology has its own advantages and drawbacks. Rather than
saying one is better than another, what matters is which one is most
suitable in a given situation.
Emphasis has been put on photovoltaic solar panels (PV) and concentrated
solar power (CSP), since they are the two most commonly deployed
technologies and are expected to have rapid growth in both the short- and
long-terms.
Concentrated photovoltaic systems, dye sensitized solar cells and solar
thermoelectricity systems may occupy a significant share of the market if
technical breakthroughs are achieved and the system can be competitively
priced.