Could solar panels really brighten up your day ?
The introduction of solar panels into the UK first became apparent in the year of 2006 however it has been noted that solar panel installations have fallen by 90% since 2012 (Carrington, 2012). Solar panels work by harnessing the sun’s energy in the form of light and converting energy into electricity. There are a variety of solar panels available to consumers including the use of the smallest unit a photovoltaic or PV cell – an individual cell turning sunlight into electricity. Solar panels can also be used to heat water or space within the home. The individual cells work by arranging themselves into a module or a panel, with the average residential or business solar panels holding up to approximately 40 cells (US department of energy, 2012) However even though this relatively new form of renewable energy technology sounds innovative extravagant they have often been a controversial issue with many considering solar panels having more disadvantages than advantages.
As Hayes and Shikasho (1977) solar panels often require large pumps which may be provided to compensate for the fluid pressure drop appearing across solar collector panels. Furthermore the difficulty of installation and maintenance of solar collector panels due to their relatively large size and integral construction provokes further issues with solar panels. As the solar photovoltaic matures, the economic feasibility of PV projects is increasingly becoming debated (Branker et.al, 2011). It has been estimated by comparemysolar.com (2013) that the cost of solar panels are approximately £15,000 for 16 solar panels highlighting the true extent of this costly invention. With the UK lying at a relatively high latitude, London only receives 0.11 KW/m2 on average in comparison to Athens with 0.19km2 and Cairo which is 0.24km2, considering that the UK’s average electricity demand is 60 million KW, using solar power alone would mean an area nearly 30 times the size of London would need to be covered in solar panels (Edfenergy, 2013).
In comparison to other renewable energy sources solar panels seems a relatively poor source to be used in the UK. Tidal power provides constant energy, low running costs and maintenance costs typically lower than 0.5% of initial capital cost meaning tidal power seems a more feasible option (Hammons, 1993). Biofuel may also provide an excellent alternative with the source already provided in waste products the cost is extremely low. This renewable energy has seen great advances, having first progressed from its first generation of simply using agricultural crops such as rape and sunflower (Biofuels technology platform, 2008) through to its second generation using entire plant species through to the third generation of developing fuels from algae this renewable energy source seems to have great potential for the future (Environment and Energy, 2008). Furthermore other renewable energy such as geothermal energy a relatively new technology may provide alternatives to using fossil fuel as it is available 24 hours a day and is a clean technology, modern plants in production also provide little CO2 and is efficient ( Geothermal engineering, 2013). Considering that it has been estimated by EDF energy (2013) that PV cells only have 10% conversion efficiency it is necessary to revaluate the use of solar power as a renewable energy source to be used in the UK.
References
- Biofuels technology platform (2008) ‘Second Generation Fuel Production’ Biofuels Technology Platform.
- Branker, K. , Pathkak, M, Peace, J. 2011. A review of solar photovoltaic levelised cost of electricity. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews. Vol 15 ( 9)
- Carrington, D (2012). Solar panel demand down nearly 90% following subsidy cut. ( Guardian online) Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/01/solar-panel-demand-subsidy-cut, accessed on : 29th April 2013.
- Comparemysolar, 2013. Solar panel prices: compare prices and savings from Local installers. (online) Available at: http://www.comparemysolar.co.uk/solar-panel-prices/ accessed on: 26th April 2013
- EDFenergy, 2013. How much sunlight can the UK harness. (online) Available at: http://www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/energy-gap-quantity/solar-and-the-energy-gap-quantity accessed on 26th April 2013.
- Environment and Energy (2008) ‘3rd generation biofuel algae’ (Accessed 21st February 2009)
- Geothermal engineering (2013). Geothermal energy environmental benefits.(online) Available at: http://www.geothermalengineering.co.uk/page/environmental-benefits.html accessed on 29th April 2013.
- Hammons, T, 1993. Tidal power. Proceedings of the IEEE. Vol 8 (3)
- Hayes, R. Shikasho,S (1977). Solar Heating/ cooling system. United States Patent.
- US department of energy, 2012. Small solar electric systems. (online) Available at : http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/small-solar-electric-systems Accessed on; 26th April
