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Renewable Energy Resources Unit 1 BOE - 074

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGNEERING

RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES

BOE – 074
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Renewable Energy Resources Unit 1 BOE - 074

Unit I
Introduction: Various non-conventional energy resources- Introduction,
availability, classification, relative merits and demerits. Solar Cells: Theory of solar
cells. Solar cell materials, solar cell array, solar cell power plant, limitations.
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Introduction to Renewable Energy Resources

Energy:
Energy is required to do any kind of work. Any physical activity in this world, whether
carried out by human beings or by nature, is caused due to flow of energy. The word
‘energy’ itself is derived from the Greek word ‘en-ergon’, which means ‘in-work’ or
‘work content’. The work output depends on the energy input. The capability to do work
depends on the amount of energy one can control and utilized. Energy is the most basic
infrastructure input for economic growth and development of a country. There exists a
strong relationship between economic development and energy consumption. The more
developed is a country; the higher is the per capita of energy consumption and vice-versa.
Human civilization relies on different sources of energy.
Before the industrial revolution that started around 200 years ago, people were essentially
dependent on manual and animal labour. Human and animal energy requirement were
met through food intake. Life was simple and unsophisticated and environment was
relatively clean. In 1785, the invention of the steam engine by James Watt of Scotland
brought the industrial revolution. It was the beginning of mechanical age or age of
machines. The advent of the internal combustion engines in late nineteenth century gave a
further momentum to the trend. Gradually, the industrial revolution spread to the whole
world. In 1888, Nickola Tesla invented the commercial induction motor. The introduction
of electrical along with the commercial availability of electrical power started the new
electrical age. All this led to an increase of energy requirement.
Energy has been the life blood for continual progress of human civilization. Thus, with
development in the human living standard, the energy consumption also accelerated.
Energy is universally recognized as one of the most important input for economic growth
and human development.

Classification of Energy Resources:

1. Based on Usability of Energy
(a) Primary resources: These resources are generally available in raw forms. This raw
form of energy cannot be used as such. These are located, explored, extracted, processed
and are converted to a form as required by the consumer. Thus some energy is spent in
making the resource available to the user in a usable form. The energy yield ratio of an
energy extraction process is defined as

Energy Yield Ratio =

Examples of primary energy resources are coal, crude oil, sunlight, wind, running rivers,
radioactive material like uranium etc.
(b) Secondary Resources: The energy resources supplied directly to consumer for
utilization after one or more steps of transformation are known as secondary energy, e.g.
electrical energy, thermal energy (in the form of steam or hot water), refined fuels or
synthetic fuels such as hydrogen fuels, etc.
2. Based on Traditional Use
(a) Conventional Energy resources: which are being traditionally used, for many
decades and were in common use around oil crisis of 1973, are called conventional
energy resources, e.g. fossil fuels, nuclear and hydro resources.
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(b) Non-conventional Energy resources: which are considered for large-scale use after
the oil crisis of 1973, are called non-conventional energy sources, e.g. solar, wind,
biomass, etc.
3. Based on Long-Term Availability
(a) Non-renewable: Resources which are finite and do not get replenished after their
consumption, are called non-renewable e.g. fossil fuels, uranium, etc. They are likely to
deplete with time.
(b) Renewable: Renewable energy is energy obtained from sources that are essentially
inexhaustible. Examples of renewable resources include wind power, solar power,
geothermal energy, tidal power and hydroelectric power. The most important feature of
renewable energy is that it can be harnessed without the release of harmful pollutants.
4. Based on origin
(a) Fossil fuels energy (b) Nuclear energy
(c) Hydro energy (d) Solar energy
(e) Wind energy (f) Biomass energy
(g) Geothermal energy (h) Tidal energy
(i) Ocean thermal energy (j) Ocean wave energy

Importance of Renewable Energy Resources:

The concern for environment and rapid depletion of Non-renewable Energy resources,
the development of alternative sources of Renewable Energy Resources are very
important. The importance of renewable energy resources are as follows:
1. Non-renewable Energy resources are finite assets. With present rate of consumption
their availability is rapidly declining.
2. The demand of energy is increasing exponentially due to rapid industrialization and
population growth, the Non-renewable Energy sources of energy alone will not be
sufficient in the long run, to meet the growing demand.
3. Fossil fuels, nuclear also cause pollution leading to degradation of the environment.
Ultimately, their use has to be restricted within acceptable limits.
Due to these reasons it has become important to explore and develop renewable energy
resources to reduce too much dependence on Non-renewable Energy resources.
However, the present trend of developments indicate that these will serve as supplement
rather than substitute for Non-renewable Energy sources.

Merits and Demerits:

Merits
1. Non-Renewable sources are available in nature free of cost.
2. Produce no or very little pollution. Thus by and large they are environment friendly.
3. They are inexhaustible.
4. They have low gestation period.
Demerits
1. In general the energy is available in dilute form from these sources.
2. Though available freely in nature the cost of harnessing energy is generally high.
3. Uncertainty of availability: the energy flow depends on various natural phenomena
4. Difficulty in transporting this form of energy.
5. Difficulty in storage.
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Energy Consumption
Broadly, energy consumption may categorize in four major category, i.e. Agricultural,
Industrial, Residential, and Transportation. Consumption of large amount of energy in a
country indicates more activities in these sectors.

Annual Primary Energy Consumption and GDP of selected countries

The global average consumption trend of various primary energy resources of the world
is indicated in Fig. Though the trend may differs from one country to another.. Looking
at this figure, the heavy dependence on fossil fuels stands out clearly. About 82 per cent
of the world’s energy supply comes mainly from fossil fuels.

Availability of resources: (Ref. P-30 TB-2)

1. Conventional Sources 2. Non-conventional Sources
(a) Fossil Fuels (a) Solar Energy
Coal (b) Wind Energy
Oil (c) Biomass Energy
Gas (d) Geothermal Energy
(Shale Gas) (e) Ocean Tidal Energy
(b) Hydro Resources (f) Ocean Wave Energy
(c) Nuclear Resources (g) Ocean Thermal Energy
Renewable Energy Sources are
(a) Solar Energy
(b) Wind Energy
(c) Tidal Energy
(d) Geothermal Energy
(e) Biomass Energy
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(a) Solar Energy

Solar energy can be major source of power and can be harnessed by using thermal and
photovoltaic conversion systems. Maximum solar radiation received on the surface of earth,
normal to it, on bright sunny day, at noon is approximately 1 kW/m2, at sea level. The earth
continuously intercepts solar power of 178 billion MW, which is about 10,000 times the
world’s demand. But so far it could not be developed on a large scale. According to one
estimate, if all the buildings of the world are covered with solar PV panel, it can fulfill
electrical power requirements of the world.
Solar PV power is considered as an expensive source of power. However, the prices are
decreasing steadily. The price of SPV system has dropped from USD 10 per W in year 2000
to USD 3 per W in year 2013. The use of solar energy is growing strongly around the world,
in part due to the rapidly declining solar panel manufacturing costs. The Installed SPV
generating capacity of top few countries is given in Table.

(b) Wind Energy:Wind energy, also known as wind power, is a renewable energy source
that uses wind turbines to convert the wind's kinetic energy into electricity. Wind turbines use
rotors to convert the kinetic energy of air currents into mechanical energy, which is then
converted into electrical energy by a generator. Wind energy is one of the oldest energy
sources used by humans and is considered to be the most efficient renewable energy source.
In 2020, wind farms were generating over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 gigawatts added
each year. Wind farms are often located in rural areas and on agricultural lands, and are made
up of hundreds of turbines spaced out over hundreds of meters. The turbines are
interconnected by a medium-voltage system to generate large quantities of electricity. Most
wind farms are owned by independent power producers who sell the electricity to consumers
and utilities. Wind energy can also be used in other ways, such as pumping water, milling
grain, sailing boats etc. Wind energy can also be generated offshore, in large bodies of water
like the sea. Offshore wind farms can take advantage of more frequent and stronger winds,
and have less of a visual impact on the landscape than land-based projects. However, offshore
wind farms can be more expensive to construct and maintain.
Wind power is used on a commercial basis in more than half of all the countries of the
world. Denmark produced 55% of its electricity from wind in 2022, a larger share than any
other country. Latvia's wind capacity grew by 75%, the largest percent increase in 2022.
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(c) Tidal Energy: Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy
from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various [Link] of 2021,
the global installed capacity for tidal and wave energy was about 530 MW. According to
[Link], the capacity is expected to increase to over 2,238 MW by 2031, with a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 43% from 2023 to 2031. Here are some
countries with high tidal power capacity: South Korea: Leads the world in installed tidal
power capacity France: Has 246 MW of capacity United Kingdom: Has 139 MW of capacity
Canada: Has a capacity of about 40 MW, ranking fourth in the world Belgium: Has 20 MW
of capacity China: Has 12 MW of capacity Sweden: Has almost 11 MW of capacity Tidal
energy is a renewable energy that has great potential for future energy supply because of its
predictability. The tidal cycle occurs every 12 hours due to the moon's gravitational force.
Tidal energy can be converted into electricity using a dam across a river estuary, which is
called a tidal barrage. Water flows through tunnels in the barrage, turning turbines to generate
power.
Currently the world's largest active tidal power project, the Lake Sihwa Tidal Power Station
has a capacity of 254 megawatts (MW). It is located on Lake Sihwa, approximately 4km
outside the city of Siheung in the Gyeonggi Province of South Korea.

(d) Geothermal Energy:

Geothermal energy originates from earth’s interior in the form of heat. Volcanoes, geysers,
hot springs and boiling mud pots are visible evidence of the great reservoirs of heat that lies
within earth. Although the amount of thermal energy within the earth is very large, useful
geothermal energy is limited to certain sites only, as it is not feasible to access and extract
heat from a very deep location. The sites where it is available near the surface and is
relatively more concentrated, its extraction and use may be considered feasible. These sites
are known as geothermal fields. As per US Geological Survey, the entire heat content of the
earth’s crust up to a depth of 10 km above 15 °C is defined as geothermal resource. As such
the geothermal resource is estimated to be more than 2.11 × 1025 J, which is equivalent to
109 MTOE (million tons of oil equivalent). This is a huge amount of energy, enough to
supply our energy needs at current rates for 3,50,000 years.
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(e) Biomass Energy:

Energy resources available from animal and vegetation are called biomass energy resources.
Historically, humans have harnessed biomass derived energy since the time when people
began burning wood to make fire. Even today, biomass is the only source of fuel for domestic
use in many developing countries. This is an important resource for developing countries,
especially in rural areas. The principal biomass resources are:
 Trees (wood, leaves and forest industry waste)
 Cultivated plants grown for energy
 Algae and other vegetation from ocean and lake
 Urban waste (municipal and industrial waste)
 Rural waste (agricultural and animal waste, crop residue, etc.)
Solar energy absorbed by plants (through photosynthesis process) is estimated to be 2 x10 21
J/Year. Biomass material may be transformed by chemical or biological processes to other
usable intermediate bio-fuels such as biogas (methane), producer gas, ethanol, biodiesel and
charcoal etc. At present there are millions of biogas plants, in the world, most of them are
located in China.
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Solar Cell
Solar energy can be utilized directly by two technologies: namely (i) Solar Thermal and (ii)
Solar Photovoltaic. Thermal Energy from sun can be obtained by using a solar collector. A
solar collector absorbs the solar radiation and converts it in to useful heat energy. Solar
photovoltaic (PV) systems convert solar energy directly into electrical energy. Basic
conversion device used is known as a solar photovoltaic cell or a solar cell. This device
works on the principle of photovoltaic effect. Although other light sources may also produce
photovoltaic electricity, only sunlight based PV cells are considered here.
Solar cells were first produced in 1954 and were rapidly developed to provide power for
space satellites based on semiconductor electronics technology. Its terrestrial applications
were considered seriously only after oil crisis of 1973 when a real need of alternative energy
sources was felt globally for the first time. Solar cell is the most expensive component in a
solar PV system (about 60 per cent of the total system cost) though its cost is falling slowly.
Commercial photocells may have efficiencies in the range of 10–20 per cent and can
approximately produce an electrical energy of about 1 kWh per sq. m per day in ordinary
sunshine. Typically, it produces a potential difference of about 0.5 V and a current density of
about 200 A per sq. m. of cell area in full solar radiation of 1 kW per sq. m. A typical
commercial cell of 100 sq-cm area–thus produces a current of 2A. It has a life span in excess
of about 20 years. As a PV system has no moving parts it gives almost maintenance free
service for long periods.

Advantages of solar PV systems over conventional power systems:

(i) It converts solar energy directly into electrical energy without going through thermal-
mechanical link. It has no moving parts.
(ii) Solar PV systems are reliable, modular, durable and generally maintenance free.
(iii) These systems are quiet, compatible with almost all environments, respond
instantaneously to solar radiation and have an expected life span of 20 years or more.
(iv) It can be located at the place of use and hence no or minimum distribution network is
required, as it is universally available.
It also suffers from some disadvantages such as:
(i) At present the costs of solar cells are high, making them economically uncompetitive
with other conventional power sources.
(ii) The efficiency of solar cells is low. As solar radiation density is also low, large area of
solar cell modules are required to generate sufficient useful power.
(iii) As solar energy is intermittent, some kind of electrical energy storage is required, to
ensure the availability of power in absence of sun. This makes the whole system more
expensive.

Electricity Conduction in Semiconductors:

The best conductors (silver, copper and gold) have one valence electron, whereas the best
insulators have eight valence electrons. A semiconductor is an element with electrical
properties between those of a conductor and an insulator and therefore best semiconductors
(Si & Ge) have four valence electrons. Various favorable characteristics of Si have made it
the semiconductor of choice. It is most abundant element on earth after oxygen. However,
the refining process is costly. An isolated silicon atom has 14 protons and 14 electrons. The
outermost orbit (valance orbit) contains four electrons. When silicon atoms combine to form
a solid, they arrange themselves into an orderly pattern called a crystal. Each silicon atom
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shares its electrons with four neighboring atoms in such a way as to have eight electrons in
its valance orbit. Thus each pair of electrons belongs to two neighboring atoms and attracted
by them with equal and opposite forces, which, keeps them, bonded together. Such a
chemical bond is known as a covalent bond. This covalent bond holds the crystal together
and gives it solidity.
At absolute zero temperature, a semiconductor is a perfect insulator with no charge carriers
available for conduction of current. However, when temperature is increased, the vibration
of atoms can occasionally dislodge an electron from the valence orbit. The dislodged
electron is known as a free electron and the vacancy thus created in the valence orbit is
known as a hole.
Thus with breaking of a covalent bond, a free electron-hole pair is produced. At room
temperature, thermal energy produces only few electron-hole pairs. Electron-hole pairs can
also be produced by imparting energy by some other means such as light (photons). In pure
silicon crystal, thermal energy creates equal number of free electrons and holes. The free
electrons move randomly throughout the crystal. Occasionally, a free electron will approach
a hole, feel its attraction, and fall into it. This merging of free electrons and a hole is
known as recombination. The amount of time between creation and disappearance (due to
recombination) of an electron-hole pair is called lifetime. It varies from a few nanoseconds
to several microseconds, depending on how perfect the crystal is and also some other
factors. At any instant, following conditions exists within the Si crystal:
(i) Some free electrons-holes are being created
(ii) Some free electrons-holes are being recombined
(iii) Some free electrons and holes exist temporarily, awaiting recombination
A silicon crystal is intrinsic if every atom in the crystal is a silicon atom. There are equal
number of free electrons and holes in an intrinsic semiconductor. When a potential is
applied across such a crystal, free electron moves away from negatively charged plate
until it reaches positively charged plate and completes the path through external
circuit as shown in Fig.

A hole near positively charged plate attracts a valence electron on the other side. This causes
the valence electron to move into the hole creating new hole at this new location. This effect
is same as moving the original hole to the right. The process continues and the valence
electron moves across the crystal from negative to positive plate or the hole moves in a
direction opposite to this. Thus free electrons and holes continuously move in opposite
directions inside a semiconductor and constitute electrical current. These are called charge
carriers because they carry charge from one place to another.
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The conductivity of a semiconductor can be increased by adding impurity atoms to intrinsic

semiconductor. The process is known as doping. The doped semiconductor is called
extrinsic semiconductor. When the doping atom is a penta-valent such as arsenic,
antimony and phosphorous, one extra electron will be left unattached to any atom after
sharing four electrons with neighboring four silicon atoms in the crystal. Thus each
pentavalent atom donates one free electron and therefore known as donors and the doped
semiconductor material is known as N-type silicon. In the same manner, when the doping
atom is a trivalent such as aluminum, boron and gallium, one electron vacancy (hole)
will remain after sharing its three electrons with neighboring four silicon atoms in the
crystal. Therefore, trivalent doping elements are also known as acceptors and the doped
semiconductor material is known as P-type silicon.
In N-type Si, free electrons are in majority while in P-type Si, holes are in majority. By
regulating the level of doping the electrical properties of the doped material are controlled.
A lightly doped semiconductor has high resistance, whereas a heavily doped semiconductor
has low resistance.
PN Junction:
A PN junction, where the material changes suddenly from P to N is known as PN junction.
An abrupt junction is an idealization because the P side cannot suddenly end where the N
side begins. In a more realistic PN junction there is a gradual change from one type of
material to another. Such a junction is known as graded junction.
When a junction is formed, the carriers diffuse from higher concentration side to lower
concentration side. Soon after crossing the junction, these carriers recombine with the other
types of carriers found in majority on the other side.
We see that the holes, which neutralized the acceptor ions near the junction in the P-type
side, disappeared as a result of recombination with free electrons, which have diffused from
across the junction. Similarly, free electrons near the junction in the N-type side have
recombined with holes, which have crossed the junction from P side.
The un-neutralized ions (also known as uncovered fixed charges) in the neighborhood of the
junction result in a charge density. Since this region is depleted of mobile charges it is called
depletion region, the space charge region or transition region. Mobile charge carriers exist
only outside the depletion region (both sides) known as quasi-neutral region. The charge
distribution, which is zero at the junction, constitutes an electric dipole; that is, it is positive
on one side and negative on the other side.
This electrostatic potential variation causes an electric field in the depletion region, which
points from positive to negative charge, i.e., N side to P side. This voltage variation
constitutes a potential energy barrier against further diffusion of free electrons and holes to
the other side of the junction. This is known as contact potential, barrier voltage VB or
potential energy hill (due to its shape). Figure 6.11 shows charge density, electric field
intensity, and barrier voltage for free electrons. The shapes of the curves depend on how a
junction is graded and the doping level.
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When P-type and N-type materials are brought in contact with each other, space charge
region is developed which gives rise to electric field. The barrier voltage VB can be written
in terms of potential energy (E = qV).\

Energy Bands:
In a crystal where many atoms are brought together, the splitting of energy levels results in
almost continuous set of energy levels, which is termed as energy band. In silicon, at inter-
atomic distance is 2.35 Å, two energy bands exist, separated by a gap where no energy states
are available as shown in Fig. 6.3. The upper energy band is known as conduction band
while the lower energy band is known as valance band. The gap between these two energy
bands is known as energy gap or the band gap, EG, which is the property of the material.

The electron in conduction band can move and conduct a current, similarly a hole in valance
band can move (actually it is the movement of electrons in valance band) in a direction
opposite to that of electron and conduct a current. Thus a hole can be considered a positively
charged particle with charge equal and opposite to that of electron.

Generation of Electron-Hole Pair by Photon Absorption:

The energy available in a photon is given by:
E = (hν/λ) = (hc/λ) (joules)
where h = Planck’s constant (h = 6.63×10–34 joules-sec),
c = the speed of light (2.988×108 m / s),
v = frequency of photons in Hz
λ = wavelength of photons in meters.
Expressing λ in μm and energy in eV (1 eV = 1.6 × 10–19 joules) the expression becomes:
E = 1.24/ λ (eV)
The energy in a photon must exceed the semiconductor band gap energy, EG in order to get
absorbed and generate an electron-hole pair.
Working Principle of a Photo-Voltaic Cell:

Once an electron-hole pair is generated within the depletion region, both carriers will be
acted upon by the built in electric field. Since the field is directed from N to P side, it will
cause the holes to be swept quickly towards the P side and the electrons to be swept quickly
towards the N side. Due to the electric field, chances of recombination of these electron-hole
pairs are quite less. Once out of depletion region, these carriers become a part of the majority
carriers in the respective regions and diffuse away from the depletion region as their
concentration near junction has increased. Addition of excess majority charge carriers on
each side of the depletion region results in a voltage across external terminals of the junction.
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If a load is connected across these terminals, the photon-generated current will flow through
this external circuit. This current will be proportional to number of electron hole pairs
generated, which in turn depends on intensity of illumination. Thus an illuminated PN
junction becomes a photovoltaic cell with positive terminal on P side.
Solar Cell Classification:

Solar cells are also divided into three main categories called generations. The first generation
include wafer based mono and multicrystalline solar cells. At present, solar cells of first
generating are dominating the market. The second-generation solar cells include thin film
cells such as amorphous silicon,Solar Photovoltaic Systems CIGS and Cadmium Telluride,
etc. These solar cells are available commercially. The third generation solar cells operate on
entirely different principle. They include dyesensitized, organic and quantum dot solar cells,
etc. The third generation solar cells are under development stage.

Solar Cell, Module and Array:

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A bare single cell cannot be used for outdoor energy generation by itself. It is because
(i) the output of a single cell is very small and
(ii) it requires protection (encapsulation) against dust, moisture, mechanical shocks and
outdoor harsh conditions.
Workable voltage and reasonable power is obtained by interconnecting an appropriate
number of cells.

An individual photovoltaic device is known as a solar cell. Due to its size, it produces very
less electricity, but we can increase the power output by connecting cells, which makes up a
module or panel. And if we have multiple modules or panels connected together, this is called
an array.

Solar Cell Power Plant:

It is also known as a solar park, If a large-scale photovoltaic system (PV system)
designed for the supply of merchant power into the electricity grid then it is called
Solar Cell Power Plant.
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