SOLAR ENERGY IN ITHACA
Laura Bowler
Sonja Gabrielsen
Alex Geilich
Tim Kozen
Robert Levine
Brian Liebl
ITHACA ENERGY DEMANDS
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Milliken Coal Plant 300 MW
Operating Cost:
$ ,
$13,000,000/yr
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/y
How much coal imported:
900,000 tons/yr
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$11/MWh for fuel for a coal
plant: $2.6 million/yr
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SOLAR RADIATION IN THE US
http://www.nrel.gov/gis/images/map_pv_national_lo-res.jpg
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SELECTED CELL: THIN FILM PV
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Convert absorbed light
into electricity
Made of semiconductor
materials
Efficiencyy 9% industrial
thin film PV
Lifetime of panels: 20
years
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HOW TO MAKE THE PANELS
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Made using thin film deposition processes
Reel to reel manufacturing is possible
Cell Æ Module Æ Farm
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STORAGE
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p
ggas
Compressed
Battery
Hydroelectric pump
storage
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Alternative sources of
electricity if storage
can’t meet demand
Backup natural gas
generators
Use NG power in place
of storage (expensive)
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RESOURCES
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Thin-film module: $
$1.76
per watt-peak
Silicon (chemical
(
precursors)
Stretches production
capacity thin
Water consumption:
80,000 gal/yr
Land area: 7.8 mi2
40 MW thin film solar facility
Juwi Solar, Germany
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CORNELL AND SOLAR ENERGY
Currently: Day Hall has solar
panels (3rd Largest in Tompkins
country, rated at 15 kW)
´ Eight more panels (rated at 2.2
kW each) to be installed over the
loading dock of the Cornell Store
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ECONOMICS OF SOLAR TECHNOLOGY
•Energy Payback
•The amount of time it
takes for a solar panel to
produce the amount of
energy required to make it
•Cost of Maintenance
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COSTS
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Capital Cost: $1.7 Billion
Operation and
Maintenance: $20 /kW yr;
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Concentrated solar power:
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$6 MM/year
MM/
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10 to 14 cents per kWh
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Solar photovoltaic arrays
(installed on homes or
businesses) costs around
25 to 40 cents per
kilowatt-hour
kilowatt
hour
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3 to 5 cents p
per kWh if Si is
replaced with a more
efficient element
(unavailable)
compared with about 4
cents per kilowatt-hour
from a coal or natural gas
power plant.
First order estimate of land
cost: $8 MM
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WORLD SCALE
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400,000 mi2 of thin film PV to make 15 TW of
energy.
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SUGGESTIONS
Wait until panels become cheaper
´ Costs expected to decrease significantly
´ Utilize
Utili other
th renewable
bl sources off energy
g
´ Use solar to compliment fossil fuel energy
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Questions?
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REFERENCES
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Steele, Bill. “Solar panels on Day Hall will make enough electricity to light clock
tower.”
Dec
t
” Chronicle
Ch i l Online.
O li
D 22,
22 2006
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Dec06/DayHallSolar.ws.html
NRDC.
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Solar Ithaca Slide Show 2010 Notes #2 Coal Price: (www.nucleartourist.com courtesy of Nuclear Energy Institute) Milliken Plant Statistics: Milliken Clean Coal Demonstration Project: A DOE Assessment. (http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/cctc/resources/pdfs/milkn/netl1156.
pdf ) #3 Ithaca is in the range of 4‐4.5 kWh/m2/Day, which is at the lower end of the available solar energy spectrum in the United States. #4 Photovoltaics were selected because of their ability to utilize diffuse light in addition to direct light. Thin film PVs were selected due to their scalability and price. Additionally they have a smaller energy payback time than single crystal PVs and there are already solar farms that utilize thin film PVs. One consideration for the Ithaca area is the lower efficiency of the cells. While choosing thin film PVs may cost less and use less energy in production (which may or may not come from renewable sources), the decreased efficiency will mean that a larger land area will be needed for the farm. A land area roughly double in size will be needed for thin film versus single crystal PVs. The Ithaca area residents could be consulted to see which choice they value the most, however our group decided on thin film PVs due to initial capital investment needed. #5 Every company has a different (sometimes patented or are a trade secret) method of producing their cells. Often very complicated and beyond the scope of this class. Some production methods can be reel to reel which will decrease costs and increase ease of production. Cells are first made, then cells are combined into modules. Finally, modules are combined into large scale farms. #6 Storage is essential for solar power, since no electricity can be generated at night. #7 The water consumption was determined given an average water usage of 110 mL per kWh. (Australian Solar Energy Society www.energymatters.com) #8 www.cornell.edu #9 The blue area is the land area of Cornell. The red area is the area necessary for solar panels that could provide all of Ithaca’s electricity demand. These areas are based off the density of solar panel arrangements in existing plants in California (First Solar Plant) and the assumed efficiency was 9%, given a solar radiation of 4.2 kWh/m2 (see slide 3). (Map from googlemaps.com) #10 The graph shows the cost per square meter of solar technology installed vs. the efficiency of the panel. The bubbles labeled I, II, and III represent 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation solar technology and shows how the cost is decreasing and the efficiency is increasing as the technology is improved. The limiting lines represent the theoretical limits of solar panels (blue dashed line) and concentrated solar (green line), which has the capability to concentrate the solar intensity of the sun 46200 times. These lines show the efficiency at which each technology is theoretically limited. (http://www.observatorynano.eu/project/document/2010/ ) #11 The capital cost was determined by scaling up the costs of a current plant in California to the capacity necessary for the Ithaca solar power plant. Costs were assumed to be comparable to those in the southwest portion of the US. #12 This table represents the total cost of building and operating each individual type of plant over the course of its financial lifetime, given the expected cost of the resources in 2016. This slide summarizes the differences in the overall expenses (including all capital cost) between the types of energy development. Also, this table does not include any form of state, federal, or private incentives, such as tax credits. #13 The yellow square shows the area which would be covered by solar panels in order to meet the world’s electricity demand, given similar solar conditions to the Ithaca area. #14 Solar energy is too expensive currently and should be used in conjunction with other technologies until the cost per panel decreases.