Done by:

Pablo Trasbach SánchezSonia María Romero VidalAntía Ramallo Blanco

Bilingual section of TechnologyGroup 3º ESO-BIes Praia Barraña – Boiro (Spain)March, 2016

Index• Definition of solar energy• Types of solar power• Parts of a solar power plant• How does a solar power plant operate?• Advantages and disadvantages• Production in Europe• Uses of solar energy around the world• Uses of solar energy around Europe• Uses of solar energy around Spain• Conclusions

Solar energy is a renewable energy obtained by the use of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. It is possible to transform it into thermal or electric energy.

Definition of solar energy

Types of solar power• Thermal solar energy: It consists

of using solar energy to produce thermal energy. It can be used to warm water, for heating, etc.

• Photovoltaic solar energy: It’s an energy source that produces electric energy from solar energy by using a semiconductor device called photovoltaic cell.

Parts of a solar power plant

1. Heliostats: They are a series of adjustable mirrors on which the light of the Sun is reflected, making it converge into the boiler.

2. Boiler: It is the part of the solar power station where the solar beams reflected by the heliostats converge, reaching a high temperature. Once they reach this high temperature, they warm up the water that passes through the boiler, transforming it into steam.

Parts of a solar power plant

3. Turbine: The steam generated in the boiler moves the turbine, which is attached to the generator. The movement of the turbine produces mechanical energy that is transformed into electricity in the generator.

4. Generator: It generates electric energy from the rotating movement of the turbine.

5. Accumulator: It stores the thermal energy that has not been used.

Parts of a solar power plant

6. Power adapter: It transforms electric energy in order to be sent to the electric network.

7. Condenser: It transforms the steam from the turbine into water.

8. Water pump: It resends the water to the boiler.

9. Control centre: It is where the process of transformation of solar energy into electric energy is controlled.

Parts of a solar power plant

A set of mirrors that can be orientated, called heliostats, reflect and concentrate the solar beams in a boiler placed in a tower. The boiler heats up the water which evaporates into steam and passes through pipes.The water steam acquires a lot of pressure which is used for moving a turbine connected to the generator.

How does a solar power plant operate?

The movement of the turbine produces electricity, which travels from the generator up to the transformers, raising the tension in order to be transported from the electric network all the way up to the centers of consumption. After moving the turbine, the water steam returns to be condensed again and the process restarts.

How does a solar power plant operate?

It doesn’t pollute.Solar panels do not work at night.

It is safe.In winter, there is less sunshine and less energy.

It is easy to use.In cooler areas, solar panels cannot produce very hot water.Solar panels take up a lot of space.

Advantages / Disadvantages

Production in Europe

In Europe, the leading producers are Germany, Italy, Spain and France.In Spain, the regions with the greatest number of solar power plants are Andalucia and Cataluña.In France, the Solar Oven of Odeillo is a centre of investigation of solar energy. Germany is one of the world leaders in the production of photovoltaic solar energy.

Uses of solar energy around the world

Solar energy has inscreased 20% around the world in the last few years because of the increasing sensibility of our society towards the need to replace fossil fuels, in addition to the advances in the systems (improvement of the quality and reduction of costs). Water warming by means of solar power and its production of electricity, apart from being an ecological alternative, has turned into an economically attractive and competitive technology. Throughout the world, both photovoltaic solar power and thermal solar power are being used.

Uses of solar energy around the world

At least 40GW of PV systems were installed globally in 2014, up from 37GW in 2013, setting a new record for the solar PV sector.China, Japan and the USA were the three top markets in 2014. Cumulative capacity was 178GW in 2014.The 540GW mark at a global level could be reached in five years’ time.Solar Power covers more than 1% of the world’s electricity demand.

Uses of solar energy around Europe

In 2014, for the first time, the United Kingdom led the development of solar power in Europe with 2.4GW, followed by Germany with 1.9GW, and France with 927MW. Europe now installs less solar power capacity than China or Japan individually, but still more than the US. However, Europe is still the world’s largest producer with more than 88GW installed at the end of 2014.Solar Power could grow in Europe by 80 % by 2019.

Uses of solar energy around Europe

Uses of solar energy around Spain

Spain was one of the first countries worldwide in investigation, development and use of solar energy. Due to a favorable legislation, Spain was one of the countries with more photovoltaic power in the world in 2008, with 2708MW installed in that year alone. However, after some political retroactive changes and a type of “solar tax”, this country has virtually disappeared from the European PV map.

Uses of solar energy around Spain

ConclusionsSolar energy has a lot of advantages but it has many disadvantages too. It is an ecological energy which is used to obtain electric and thermal energy, but solar power plants need a lot of space. Solar energy is the third most important renewable energy around the world. In Europe, the biggest producers of solar energy are Germany, Italy, Spain and France. In Spain, there are lots of solar power plants in Andalucia and Cataluña.