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    Solar and Wind Power Questions Answered

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    Sibtain Ul Hassan
    Solar and wind power can provide significant amounts of renewable energy but require substantial land area. A typical 1 MW solar power plant would require about 26.7 square miles of land to generate the same amount of electricity as a coal plant. Similarly, wind turbines need sufficient wind speeds of at least 11 mph to economically generate electricity at utility-scale. Both solar and wind resources vary significantly by location and weather conditions, influencing overall energy output. Proper system sizing and siting are important to optimize renewable energy generation.

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    Solar and Wind Power Questions Answered

    Uploaded by

    Sibtain Ul Hassan
    326 views4 pages
    Solar and wind power can provide significant amounts of renewable energy but require substantial land area. A typical 1 MW solar power plant would require about 26.7 square miles of land to generate the same amount of electricity as a coal plant. Similarly, wind turbines need sufficient wind speeds of at least 11 mph to economically generate electricity at utility-scale. Both solar and wind resources vary significantly by location and weather conditions, influencing overall energy output. Proper system sizing and siting are important to optimize renewable energy generation.

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    Solar and Wind Power Questions Answered

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    Solar and wind power can provide significant amounts of renewable energy but require substantial land area. A typical 1 MW solar power plant would require about 26.7 square miles of land to generate the same amount of electricity as a coal plant. Similarly, wind turbines need sufficient wind speeds of at least 11 mph to economically generate electricity at utility-scale. Both solar and wind resources vary significantly by location and weather conditions, influencing overall energy output. Proper system sizing and siting are important to optimize renewable energy generation.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    326 views4 pages

    Solar and Wind Power Questions Answered

    Uploaded by

    Sibtain Ul Hassan
    Solar and wind power can provide significant amounts of renewable energy but require substantial land area. A typical 1 MW solar power plant would require about 26.7 square miles of land to generate the same amount of electricity as a coal plant. Similarly, wind turbines need sufficient wind speeds of at least 11 mph to economically generate electricity at utility-scale. Both solar and wind resources vary significantly by location and weather conditions, influencing overall energy output. Proper system sizing and siting are important to optimize renewable energy generation.

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Solar and Wind Power Questions Answered

    How much power can a photovoltaic (PV) module (solar panel) produce? PV modules vary in size and output. One of the most common size module is a out !" #$ % &" &$ and produces '&( Watts pea) or a out * Amps for use in a '& volt +, s-stem . How much ener.- can a photovoltaic module produce? Electrical energy is generally measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Thus i! a module produces "## Watts !or " hours it has produced "## Watt-hours or #." kWh. The amount o! energy produced on a given day will depend on location shading and module orientation (direction and tilt). $n a good area !or solar power (such as Phoeni%/ Arizona)/ a properl- oriented module which produces '(( Watts at noon on a clear da- will produce an avera.e of a out (0# )Wh1da- in 2anuar- and (03 )Wh1da- in 4a- and 2une . (%luctuations result !rom the amount o! variation in direct sunlight on a typical day). $n a relatively &poor& area !or solar power (such as 'l(any )*) the same module will still produce a(out #.+, kWh-day in .anuary and #./ kWh-day in .uly. http0--www.etaengineering.com-resources-!a1.shtml 56 How much electricit- does a PV solar ener.- s-stem .enerate in a -ear? $n ideal conditions 2 that is !acing south and tilted at an angle o! 3# degrees 2 in the 45 a typical + kWp (kilowatt power) domestic PV solar energy system will generate ",## kWh (kilowatt hours) per year. " kWh is e1uivalent to " unit o! electricity shown on your electricity (ill. How much ener.- do 7 need? The (est way to !ind out how much electricity your household needs is to look at your electricity (ills or to ask your electricity supplier how many units you use per year. 's a guide an avera.e/ 89 edroom house in the 56 that doesn:t use electricit- for coo)in. or heatin. consumes around 8/8(( )Wh a -ear0 http0--www.solarenergycompany.co.uk-!a1.html Australia How much ener.- will m- Solar S-stem produce? ' " 5ilowatt system will on average produce around 6., 5ilowatts a day. ' "., 5ilowatt system will on average produce around /.7, 5ilowatts o! energy a day. The e8act amount o! energy produced depends on such !actors as panel angle temperature and weather conditions. What is a feed in tariff? %eed $n Tari!!s o!!er one o! the most use!ul ways o! encouraging homeowners to instal photovoltaic solar panels on their homes. %eed $n Tari!!s are a mechanism (y which owners o! grid- connect photovoltaic solar power systems are paid 9:;E than the retail price !or any e8cess electricity production that is !ed (ack into the grid. There is the e8citing new development o! Electricity %eed-$n Tari!!s. ;hese tariffs will e launched earl- in &((3 throu.hout ,an erra/ <ew South Wales and Victoria and -ou will e paid around #! cents for ever- )ilowatt hour of electricit- -ou suppl- ac) to the .rid0 ;his rate is almost four times .reater than what -ou are currentlpa-in. for electricit- from the .rid0 How much will it cost to run? There are no running costs. :nce your <olar Panel <ystem is installed the electricity is !ree. http0--www.solarpanelre(ate.com.au-the-!uture.html

    Page " o! 6

    Solar and Wind Power Questions Answered


    How much land does Solar Power need? $! we assume a '((( 4We electrical .eneration plant/ and we assume it runs &!1* for the entire -ear (no down time)/ then that plant will .enerate a out 303 illion )ilowatthours per -ear . <o we need to calculate the size o! a PV array that will generate the same kW-hrs. 'ssuming the avera.e 5S solar resource of '3(( )W9hr1m&9-ear =how much the sun shines> and a PV system e!!iciency o! "#? one s1uare meter o! PV would generate a(out "@# kW-hr-year. There!ore you would need a(out [email protected] million s1 meters or [email protected] s1uare kilometers. ThatAs "@.@ s1uare miles. %or the sunny southwest we have a yearly average solar resource o! +3## kWh-m+. 'gain assuming a "#? PV system e!!iciency then that would produce a(out +3# kWh-m+-year. <o !or this array you would need 3@ million s1 meters or 3@ s1 km. That is "6.7 s1uare miles. 'ccording to .ohn Turner a solar power specialist at the 4< governmentAs )ational ;enewa(le Energy Ba(oratory http0--www.newscientist.com-(log-environment-+##7-#7-Cust-how-much-land-does-solar-power.html A s-stem calculator A, =ner.> ,ost Savin.s

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    <tation $denti!ication Eity0 <tate0 Batitude0 Bongitude0 Elevation0 PV <ystem <peci!ications HE ;ating0 HE to 'E Herate %actor0 'E ;ating0 'rray Type0 'rray Tilt0 'rray 'zimuth0 Energy <peci!ications Eost o! Electricity0 7.G I-kWh "###.# kW ("9W) #.77# 77#.# kW %i8ed Tilt 66.GF "@#.#F 9inneapolis 9innesota 66.@@F ) G3.++F W +,, m 9onth " + 3 6 , / 7 @ G "# "" "+

    ;esults <olar ;adiation (kWh-m+-day) 3.@, 6.7+ 6.G7 6.G" ,.76 ,.G" ,.@G ,./6 ,.+" 6.+@ +.G, +.@, 'E Energy Energy Value (kWh) (J) "##3,# "#73,3 "+"",3 "#@G+G "+/,3@ "++@G# "+/36G "+"3/G """@6@ G@7G# /77@" 7++3# 7G+7./, @6@#.@G G,7".#G @/#,.3G GGG/.,# G7#@.3" GG@".,7 G,@@.", @@3,.GG 7@#6.6" ,3,6.7# ,7#/."7

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    http0--rredc.nrel.gov-solar-calculators-PVW'TT<-version"-4<-9innesota-9inneapolis.html
    Page + o! 6

    Solar and Wind Power Questions Answered


    4ap of Solar 7nflu%

    http0--www.en-genius.net-includes-images-grneK#73##7.Cpg http0--www.en-genius.net-site-zones-greentechL:)E-editorialKopinion-grneK#73##7

    ,ompare to Wind Power


    How much electricit- can one wind tur ine .enerate? The a(ility to generate electricity is measured in watts. Watts are very small units so the terms kilowatt (kW " ### watts) megawatt (9W " million watts) and gigawatt (pronounced &Cig-a-watt & MW " (illion watts) are most commonly used to descri(e the capacity o! generating units like wind tur(ines or other power plants. Electricity production and consumption are most commonly measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). ' kilowatt-hour means one kilowatt (" ### watts) o! electricity produced or consumed !or one hour. One 50-watt light bulb left on for 20 hours consumes one kilowatt-hour of electricity (50 watts x 20 hours = 1,000 watt-hours = 1 kilowatt-hour) 0 The output o! a wind tur(ine depends on the tur(ineNs size and the windNs speed through the rotor. Wind tur(ines (eing manu!actured now have power ratings ranging !rom +,# watts to , megawatts (9W). E8ample0 A '(9)W wind tur ine can .enerate a out '(/((( )Wh annuall- at a site with wind speeds avera.in. '& miles per hour/ or a(out enough to power a typical household. ;he avera.e 50S0 household consumes a out '(/((( )Wh of electricit- each -ear0

    Page 3 o! 6

    Solar and Wind Power Questions Answered


    A #94W (#((( )W or #((% lar.er than '( )W) tur ine can produce more than '# million )Wh in a -ear --enough to power more than " 6## households. 5tilit-9scale wind power plants re?uire minimum avera.e wind speeds of @ m1s ('8 mph)0 The power availa(le in the wind is proportional to the cu(e o! its speed which means that dou(ling the wind speed increases the availa(le power (y a !actor o! eight. Thus a tur(ine operating at a site with an average wind speed o! "+ mph could in theory generate a(out 33? more electricity than one at an ""-mph site (ecause the cu(e o! "+ (" 7/@) is 33? larger than the cu(e o! "" (" 33"). ($n the real world the tur(ine will not produce 1uite that much more electricity (ut it will still generate much more than the G? di!!erence in wind speed.) The important thing to understand is that what seems like a small di!!erence in wind speed can mean a large di!!erence in availa(le energy and in electricity produced and there!ore a large di!!erence in the cost o! the electricity generated. 'lso there is little energy to (e harvested at very low wind speeds (/-mph winds contain less than one-eighth the energy o! "+-mph winds). =%ampleA ' +,#-kW tur(ine installed at the elementary school in <pirit Bake $owa provides an average o! 3,# ### kWh o! electricity per year. http0--www.awea.org-!a1-wwtK(asics.html

    Page 6 o! 6

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