IT in the Solar Energy Industry

History Solar Energy dates back to the

beginning of mankind Examples are Solar Cookers & Heating

History 212 BC: Archimedes applies the

reflective properties of a bronze shield to focus sunlight onto the Roman Ships, which were supposedly set ablaze

MythBusters recently proved set fire as “Busted”

History 1515: Da Vinci developed a solar collector,

but was never completed 1767: De Saussure of Switzerland built the

world’s first solar collector The solar collector was later used in British

expeditions in South Africa

History 1839: Edmond Becquerrel of France

discovered the photovoltaic effect 1891: Clarence Kemp of Baltimore

patented the first solar water heater 1905: Einstein published his work

explaining light is a wave and particle

History 1908: William Baily of Carnegie Steel

created the first solar thermal collector 1941: Earliest known silicon solar cell

invented by Russell Ohl, but only had 1% conversion efficency

History 1954: Daryl Chaplin, Calvin Fuller and

Gerald Pearson of Bell Laboratories developed the silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell with six percent conversion efficiency

Captured free electrons and converted to electrical current

1955: Bell technology used in telephone carrier system in Americus, GA

History 1956: Frank Bridgers designed first solar

powered commercial office building Late 50’s: Numerous satellites were

powered by PV solar cells

Late 1970’s Late 70’s: NASA Lewis Research Center

installs 83 PV cell systems across the world

Included was Papago Indian Reservation in Arizona which was first village complexly run by solar energy

1979: Carter installs solar panels on the White House

History 1983: ARCO Solar develops first solar field in

central California & Solar Design Associates develops another field in Hudson River Valley

1986: 150 MW field place in Kramer Junction, CA which utilized the application of mirrors and turbines

1986: Reagan removed White House PV cells

History 1990’s: Decreasing costs in energy 1994: NREL new cells using gallium

arsenide and gallium indium phosphide, increasing conversion efficiencies to 30%

1999: Building in Times Square built with intergraded PV panels

IT History IT was not a factor in Solar Energy until

large applications of panels were used Data of power consumption helped

optimize usage of battery/solar energy This made sure there was no

interruption in power consumption

Commercial Applicationsof IT and Solar Energy

Energy Infrastructure Evolution Paradigm/Infrastructure Shift

Centralized Energy Systems Distributed (Decentralized) Energy

Systems

Centralized Energy Systems Located close to resources Flocated close to resources Economiucs of Scale

1960s begin to see decline No longer competitvely cheap/reliable Unable to effectively serve “remote customers

Environmental Issues Polution/Ozone depletion – Global Warming Burning off Fossil Fuels

Coal High CO2 emissions

Distributed Energy Systems Highly Decentralized/Localized

Mass produced plants Smaller Site-Specific

Modular architecture Multiple generators, stores, distribution paths

Integration of Clean/Renewable Energy Sources Winds, Solar & Geothermic

Distributed vs. Centralized Energy

Implications on IT The Smart Grid to Improve

Reliability Flexibility Efficiency

What is the Smart Grid Computer-based automation, control,

management and monitoring of energy systems

Applications Supply/Demand forecasting of energy needs Dynamic energy resource allocation Virtual power plants, remote control of energy

distribution assets Consumer-side power management

Information Technology is the innovation driver

The Smart Grid

The Role of Renewables and the Smart Grid Renewables will supply an increasing

portion of our overall energy demands Modular infrastructure mediated by

Smart Grid technology will ease integration SG/IT to manage these resources Supplement existing energy generation

clusters "Plug and play"

Solar/Photovoltaic Energy and the Smart Grid Increased adoption and development of PV

technology Enabled by SG infrastructure Allow "on-site" photovoltaics to use existing

land/structures Distribution close to where being consumed

Virtual controllers Innovative sun-tracking capabilities on

panels Realizing greater efficiency

Solar/Photovoltaic Energy and the Smart Grid Positive Business Implications

Increased cost competitiveness Growing supporting ecosystem

New Business Opportunities/Business Model Innovation Solar Panel Development

IT Component/supporting tech Solar Panel Integration

Installation using localized usage data Architect large/small-scale implementation strategies

Solar Energy Management Software development - intellegent energy management End-to-end customer service, personalized reporting

Supply Chain Silicon suppliers- Asia Cell manufacturers -Asia Module manufacturers -Asia and Europe Distributors or systems integrators Asia

and Europe

Supply Chain

Customer Segment Residential

Local installer, regional grid Commercial customers

Solar manufacturers and installers Reduce electricity expenses and carbon

footprints Utilities (Around the world)

own solar capabilities, systems integrators, solar manufacturers, regional utilities(PG&E, SCE)

PV Markets Germany, Italy, China, the United States and

France

Information Technology in the Supply Chain Transaction category: order management,

warehouse management, transportation management, and accounting

Communication category: exchange information between firm locations, global sites and supply chain partners

Relationship category: manage the strategic and tactical relationships between firms and their customers

Information Technology in the Supply Chain

Domestic Applicationsof IT and Solar Energy

Domestic IT Advantages Advantage of this processing power is

by optimizing power output. Inverters fuse panel monitoring systems

to boost performance and domestic application.

Sophisticated algorithms to maximize power outputs.

Performance is Boosted By: Power mismatch causes current variance

between panels on string (3-5%) Partial shading caused by leaves, fixture

shadows, leaves, and weather over multiple panels (Causes damage and reduces power by 5-25%)

Under voltage caused by short strings(IV Curve reduced 15% caused by short strings and high temperatures)

Suboptimal Maximum Power Point Tracking (3-10% power losses)

Suboptimal Points Solar panels all have problems .

These problems produce variances in voltage.

Since the panels must be strung together the challenges rise out of optimizing the string current.

IT systems in the solar industry Utilize advance calculus real-time information Create a transfer for theoretical

maximum points over dynamic energy production.

This allows for domestic solar panel systems to become up to 25% more efficient.

IT Forward Looking Applications in Solar Industry

Future Trends

Increase Conversion Efficiency

Control System

Centralized to Decentralized

Increase Conversion EfficiencySolar

Maps

Computational Simulation

Monitoring Manufacturing

Solar maps provide l solar resource information on grid cells.

Computers model and predict solar energy levels. What’s more, a solar simulator is a device that provides illumination approximating natural sunlight.

IT helps to monitor the defects and improve the quality of the solar panels.

Control System Data tracking& reporting: IT can help to

track the power generated individually from each module and report the data.

WiFi Tagging: Wireless solar-powered tags can be installed on solar system to relay system data not only to users but also to local utility suppliers.

Intelligent Management System

Combine Solar, heat to generate energy, increase the Provide fresh heated or cooled air according to

outside parameters. Save energy, environmental friendly Remote access to monitoring system

Centralized to Decentralized

Distributed Generation

Questions