PV Report

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Sustainable Energy on Solar Project

Energy is the ability to do work. There are two categories of energy, that is, renewable

energy and non-renewable energy. Renewable energy is the form of energy that can be

renewed as more as they are used, for example, solar energy, wind energy, hydro-power

energy, among others. Non-renewable energy is the form of energy that cannot be renewed,

while used they get exhausted, for example, petroleum. In this project, it is based on the solar

energy which is renewable energy provided freely by nature. This is the energy from the sun

and is converted to usable energy using the Photovoltaic or solar cell. (Seymour 1992)

Photovoltaic or solar cell are cells that operate as per the principles of the photovoltaic action,

that is, conversion of the light energy from the sun into electrical energy. This conversion

usually occurs in almost all semiconductors which are mainly constructed to absorb the

available form of energy. This converted form of electrical energy from the solar cell is then

conveyed via the electrical cables where it can be used as a form of electrical energy.

Introduction

In California, there is the Solar Energy Generating System or the SEGS which is a

system combining the capacity of three different locations, and this plant system produces

approximately 354 MW. The three different locations use the solar panels made of solar cells

to convert the solar energy into an electrical form of energy. These plants are referred to as

photovoltaic plants because of they mainly major on the use of the photovoltaic cells in

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converting solar energy into electrical energy. SEGS in California is the second world's

largest solar thermal energy generating plant. California's SEGS I was affected and damage

by fire outbreak in the year 1999. The government of California under the Utility Regulatory

Policies Act decided to put in place the SEGS II which was a concentrating solar power

project of the CSP in the Mojave Desert. This plant consists of nine stations generating solar

electric power. The combined capacity that was generated by the nine plants in the SEGS II is

approximately more than 350MW. This plant system according to the Utility Regulatory

Policies Act agreed in the Southern Edison of California made it be able to qualify for the

facility power independent products in California.

Objectives of the Project

The main goal or objective of this project is aimed at accessing the performance of the

quality scale of the photovoltaic or PV plant, used in California to produce electrical power.

This objective will be aimed at accessing the performance of the concentrating solar power

project of the CSP in the constructed solar power plant SEGS II and how it has helped in

improving the power availability in California.

Background of Information

The California Solar Energy Generating System or SEGS basically as a concentrating

solar power project or the CSP facility was recently shut down by the Utility Regulatory

Policies Act agreement of California and replaced by what is referred to as the utility scale

made of an array of the photovoltaic or PV. This PV are assumed to convert the available

solar energy to electrical energy which is used as a power available for both domestic and

industrial use in California. The premise that was laid behind the this decision from the

Utility Regulatory Policies Act authority to shut down the SEGS II was made so as to proof

that the continued operation of the concentrating solar power project or the CSP was not at all

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making an profit benefit to the economy of California but the cost that the Utility Regulatory

Policies would get from this CSP was only for the purchase of the CSP plant and leveraging

the grid to be connected to the existing point.

The plant has a capacity of producing about 354 MW of the electrical power available

for use by the people of California. This capacity would deliver the operation continually

delivering almost the same amount of the net power output form each solar source in the

plant. A body that researched on these plant (Gilbert & Cohen 2006) by the name NextEra

and claimed that, in their report, the SEGS II solar power plant during the day supplied

enough electrical power to approximately 232, 500 basic hoes and displaced some pollution

from the California country of around 3, 800 tonnes that could have been spent by this

families in their efforts to produce fossil electricity from some cases like the oil. The plant

installed some parabolic trough and solar thermal as per the new technology in alongside to

the natural gas to help in the generation of electricity in California. Solar energy in California

is approximately 90% since natural gas cannot be able to provide the energy required by the

demand for both industrial and domestic use of power in California (Alexis Madrigal 2009).

Proposed PV Facility

In this project, photovoltaic cells are proposed to be used in California to replace the

shutdown SEGS II as explained above. This PV will use some mirrors which are parabolic

and in most cases, they are shaped in a quarter like pipes. The sun rays will be shinning onto

the photovoltaic cells in the solar panels which will be made of some glass which is aimed at

having at least 94% reflective ability but not like other typical parabolic mirrors with a

reflective intensity of 70%. These mirrors will automatically be tracking the sun ray and their

intensities throughout the day. The main disadvantage of this mirrors will be the wind

breakage. This can be somehow prevented by having some operators who will be turning the

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mirrors away from wind hence preventing them from the intense wind storms which may

break them. An automated machine that will be washing as per the new and improved

technology will be used periodically to clean the panels which are parabolic in part is

assessed by the rays of sunlight known as collector area.

The heat from the sun will also affect this proposed PV. The sunlight after bouncing

off from the parabolic mirror and the light is directed to a central tube which will be filled up

with a synthetic oil set up to heat at a very high temperature of about 400 degrees centigrade.

This reflected sunlight will focus the rays on a central tube of approximately 70 to 80 times

more intense than the ordinary sunlight. The synthetic oil transfers will be used to transfer its

heat to water which will further boil the drive of the cycle in the steam turbine making it

generate some more electricity. The synthetic oil will also be used to carry out the pressure of

the heat within some parameters which can be effectively managed in the system plant that is

proposed in this project to replace the shutdown SEGS II.

Subsidies to PV Plant

The government of California under the Utility Regulatory Policies Authority should

provide some subsidies from the government that to facilitate the photovoltaic plant for the

solar power generation. The Solar power generating plant system proposed in this project is

worthily producing the required energy for the use of the people of California. The solar

power is a renewable source of energy that is provided naturally by nature. The SEGS II was

shut down due to poor cash flow that shows that there was not enough profit from the plant

power generation that could make it continue in operation. If the government from the

government revenue will subsidise this plant operation, the operations will be profit based

and the PV plant will eventually continue giving out the required power in California and

make some profits so sustain and the Utility Regulatory Policies Authority will now know the

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benefit of Solar power generation as compared to other sources of power in California. The

other sources like the use of fossil fuels have caused a pollution degradation which has so

many negative effects on the environment and people of California. The use of wind energy

and hydropower energy is not reliable to the generation of the power required to be used by

entire California.

The Utility Regulatory Policies Authority should look upon all these factors that make

the photovoltaic plant generation station is having over the other sources of energy in

California and urge the government to provide some subsidies so that the management and

operation of the plant generation system will be smooth and effective. This operation will

lead to the improvement of the economy of California since the input of the PV plant

operation, and the output of the same will be used within the country hence having a

sufficient cash flow in the country. Also, the Utility Regulatory Policies Authority should

prevent the collapse of the plan system operation just like the SEGS I that was burnt down by

fire outbreak and SEGS II that was closed up due to the poor cash outflow within the country.

This PV plan system operation on addition, when subsidised by the government through the

revenues collected in the country, it may end up using a larger sizes of the solar arrays that

will make the plant to generate even excess power solar power that can be exported to the

other countries with insufficient power hence earning the government more revenue from

export duty taxes and the PV plant system will have more profits.

Purchase Price of the Old Facility and Surplus Cost

Considering the facilities that were purchased during the construction and

maintenance of the SEGS I and SEGS II, the government so that this input was not worth the

output that these power generation plants made. This facility included the purchase of

photovoltaic solar panel arrays, batteries required in the temporary storage of the converted

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solar energy to electrical energy, power cables for transmitting the electrical energy and the

inverter banks and transformers for the operation of solar power generation and transmission.

The Utility Regulatory Policies Authority compare the cash flow in the input and output then

saw that the PV plant system was not well managed to make the required profits.

Comparing the financial consumptions of these solar power generations’ plants

annually and correlating their finances per year, it will be able to determine the facilities that

were made the Utility Regulatory Policies Authority to shut down the SEGS II. The

regression analysis of this will also show at what percentage the government can do to ensure

that the new proposed PV plant will be of greater use not only to the country of California but

also other neighboring countries with insufficient power generation systems. The following

table shows their cash flow on profits for five years each generating the amount of the power

that they were generating. SEGS I, although was burnt down, will help in correlating the

financials of the PV plant systems in California.

YEAR

SEGS I (m$)

YEAR

SEGS II(m$)

1995

0.36

2000

0.08

1996

1.35

2001

1.03

1997

1.38

2002

0.96

1998

1.41

2003

0.52

1999

1.45

2004

1.01

The SEGS II was closed due to the unstable and low profits that they made in their

operations. At the beginning of this, they made almost no profit due to the purchase of

facilities. The correlation of the profits made by the two SEGS plant system during their

electrical power generation in California is as shown below.

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Correlations

SEGSI

SEGSII

SEGSI

Pearson Correlation

.852

Sig. (2-tailed)

.067

SEGS II

Pearson Correlation

.852

Sig. (2-tailed)

.067

The regression analysis of the profits made by the two SEGS PV plant power

generation companies is as shown below that will help in determining on the changes to make

to ensure the effective operation of the proposed PV plant.

From the above analysis of the profits made by the SEGS I and SEGS II, it can be

seen that the economic status of this generating companies showed a negation in their profits

especially in the SEGS II that was shut down. This made it not able to improve the economic

status of California hence it was of no use although it was generating some electrical power

which was used in California. All this were somewhat caused by high CSP facility values and

to some extent using the oblique technology even after the advancement of new technology in

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the world. The proposed PV plant will aim at using low cost in the CSP facility since they

can borrow some from the closed SEGS II and will aim at making more profits and

generating more than the power generated by SEGS II.

These plant systems had some surplus cost on the payments of the personnel’s and

some funds I been mismanagement by the management board which will not be repeated in

the new proposed plant. The proposed PV plant system operation will be based on anew and

scrutinized management that won't be involved in the fund's mismanagement. This will make

the PV plant operation systems in California have an effective cost analysis that makes the

government under the Utility Regulatory Policies Authority improve on this since it will be a

benefit to the economy of California.

Conclusion

In conclusion to the above report on the proposed PV plant in California, the Utility

Regulatory Policies Authority government body is recommended to start up the new

proposed solar energy generation plant. To reduce some costs in the commencements of this

projects, some CSP facilities will be borrowed from the closed SEGS II, and the new

technological advancement is incorporated to ensure proper operations of this PV plant. The

plant will be aimed at making profits and improving the economy of California. This will

make the objective of the project of accessing the PV services in the country be achieved as

more improvement are aimed to be done.

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Work Cited

Alexis Madrigal. "Crimes against the Future: The Demise of Luz." Inventing Green.

Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. November 16, 2009.

Cohen, Gilbert. IEEE May Technical Meeting, ed. "Nevada First Solar Electric Generating

System" (PDF). Las Vegas, Nevada: Solargenix Energy: 10. Archived from the

original (PDF) on 2009-03-18. 2006

Frier, Scott. An overview of the Kramer Junction SEGS recent performance, ed. "Parabolic

Trough Workshop" Ontario, California: KJC Operating Company. 1999

Kearney, D. "Solar Electric Generating Stations (SEGS)." IEEE Power Engineering Review.

IEEE. 9 (8): 4–8. August 1989

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