Solarphasec Technology
The Solarphasec Solution
The demand for electrical energy in the world is increasing at an exponential rate. As current energy sources reach capacity, alternative sources of electrical power generation must be developed. While innovations with fossil fuels have provided short term solutions to meet current demands, they are limited and costly to the environment. Sustainable energy production methods are being developed, yet a true breakthrough technology is yet to emerge.
Solar power generation, as part of the overall sustainable energy strategy is growing, but with the inefficient methods currently being used, solar energy may never represent a significant amount of the total global energy production. The current methods for generating electrical power with solar energy are done either by using photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight directly to electricity or by using concentrated sunlight to heat a fluid which in turn drives a steam turbine generator, similar to a traditional power plant. This discussion focuses on solar photovoltaic power generation, covering the current market growth, current limitations, and the solutions to these limitations provided by the introduction of Solarphasec Technology.
Growth in the Solar Photovoltaic Market
While providing only a small percentage of the total electrical generating requirements for the world, the amount of revenue in the solar photovoltaic industry is quite large. During the year 2009, photovoltaic electrical generating systems with a total capacity of 9.86 Gigawatts (GW) were installed worldwide with an industry revenue of 40 billion dollars. During the year 2010 another 18.2 GW were installed with an industry revenue of 82 billion dollars. For the year 2011, a forecast of 21 to 26 GW is predicted to be installed.
For reference, a typical crystalline silicon photovoltaic panel produces approximately 150 watts/square meter. Considering the year 2009 installed capacity of 9.86 GW, this represents a surface area of 65 sq. kilometers, or 25 sq. miles, or 16,000 acres.
In the solar photovoltaic market, approximately 80 to 90% of the solar panels are crystalline silicon with sunlight to electrical energy conversion efficiencies of only 15 to 18%. This low efficiency has been the focus of significant investment in development, yet a breakthrough above 20% for production type solar panels has not been achieved. For reference, the retail cost of a typical 225 watt solar module (panel) is approximately 600 dollars as of September 2011.
It is important to note that one of the major driving forces that has stimulated the growth of the solar energy movement has been government incentives, commonly known as feed-in tariffs (FiTs). These incentives were designed to offset the high initial cost of installing solar photovoltaic systems and are now being rolled back.
What is needed to stimulate a significant growth in the solar energy movement is a breakthrough in system efficiency. Solarphasec Technology will provide this opportunity.
Solarphasec Technology
The development of Solarphasec Technology introduces a number of significant, industry stimulating, efficiency increases.
This technology introduces a conic form factor which allows for a larger photovoltaic surface area for a given footprint. This in turn leads to an exponential increase in active area as the Solarphasec system footprint increases. The conic form factor also essentially eliminates the concern of modules shadowing adjacent modules as is the case with ground mounted flat solar panel arrays. Additionally, the conic form factor significantly reduces wind load, allowing for large scale, high power commercial rooftop deployment.
The proprietary electromechanical function of the system increases the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells deployed in the system leading to significantly higher output power compared to an equivalent footprint of a standard solar panel.
The proprietary electromechanical function is designed to provide alternating current output for electrical distribution without the need for inverter equipment normally required to modify the direct current output from the photovoltaic cells. This is a significant design issue as inverters cause an efficiency loss and currently cost $0.70/watt of the total installed system cost of approximately $7.00/watt.
Conclusion
In order for solar energy to gain a larger share of the energy production market it must become more cost-competitive with other primary energy sources. What is needed to cause this to happen is a significant improvement in solar to electrical energy conversion efficiency. Solarphasec Technology provides the revolutionary solutions to allow this breakthrough to occur.