Solar+Energy

One of the most promising sources of alternative energy is solar power. Solar power takes advantage of the photovoltaic effect to convert the sun’s energy into useful electricity. Solar energy, unlike fossil fuels, is not in danger of being depleted. As Riebeek notes in his book on the subject, “the solar energy falling on the earth’s surface each year is over 20,000 times our current needs,” (Riebeek, 2007). All of this energy cannot be converted into electricity due to space requirements and current conversion efficiencies. However, even with strict assumptions about the amount of land devoted to solar power and the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells, solar power could be the exclusive provider of energy to the global population. In addition, solar power has other benefits. In contrast with other energies, it does not emit harmful greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming, and there are little to no hazardous waste products. Although there is some waste associated with the production of solar cells, this can be reduced by adopting environmentally friendly methods of production. Solar power comes in many forms but this study will consider photovoltaic (PV), solar cells. Solar cells are made from semiconductors, usually some type of silicon. There have been studies that address the issue of using solar power for water treatment in remote areas of the Middle East, including one in Saudi Arabia (Alawaji, Smiai, Rafique, & Stafford, 1995) and one in Oman (Al Suleimani & Nair, 2000). In these studies, small scale, experimental water treatment plants pump brackish water out of the ground and treat it with RO technology. The Saudi Arabian system produces 3,772 gallons per day of drinking water using PV panels that have a peak power of 11.2 peak Kilowatts (kWp). These panels have an adjustable tilt angle to ensure they are always capturing the maximum amount of sunlight (Alawaji et al., 1995). The Oman system produces 1,320 gallons of drinking water during thefive hours it operates each day, using solar panels at a constant tilt angle that produce 3.4 kWp(Al Suleimani & Nair, 2000).