Science by Yessica

Inquiry - energy systems and the impact of developing these systems in different context

yessicak — 2014-05-21 03:42:37 UTC

Action - introduction of a variety of situations and scenarios where our behaviour is having consequences

yessicak — 2014-05-21 03:44:20 UTC

Reflection - potential methods of reducing impacts over the LONG term

yessicak — 2014-05-21 03:45:42 UTC

Task

yessicak — 2014-05-21 03:46:51 UTC

Prepare a proposal to introduce or expand on the current uses of alternative energy in Laos PDR, to present to the government which outlines:

an alternative energy source to fossil fuels
the positives and limitations of the science behind this alternative energy source
the impacts that this energy source has with other areas of society besides science (economic, environmental...)

Also consider:

budget
location
implications to surrounding areas

Problem

yessicak — 2014-05-21 03:56:15 UTC

Of the 5.7 million people living in Laos, only 48 percent are connected to the electrical grid, mainly in towns and cities. For the rest of the country, access is limited because of problems of infrastructure and affordability. Without power, these communities rely on environmentally unfriendly energy sources, such as firewood and kerosene. (LAOS: Bringing light to remote villages)

It is the government’s target is to reach 90% of electrification in 2020 in Laos.

A solution could be Solar Energy.

Bibliography

yessicak — 2014-05-21 04:12:28 UTC

Why Solar Energy?

yessicak — 2014-05-21 04:55:16 UTC

Advantages:

Economical:

use is free
can be used in remote areas as well as in big cities and areas with an electricity power grid

Disadvantages:

Economical:

although it's free, there is still the cost of building the 'collectors' and other equipment
solar collectors, panels and cells are still expensive, although it's getting cheaper by time
insufficient knowledge and understanding
There is no energy pricing regulation, which could be a risk for investors
People prefer grid electricity rather than off-grid one such as solar energy because they think it's cheaper

Advantages:

Environmental:

use does not cause pollution

everyday items can be powered effectively
solar energy collected can be stored in lakes and used at night

solar energy is infinite and will last forever
there is no oil or other fossil fuels in Laos, so they need to be imported --> there is a lot of sun in Laos which makes solar energy effective and useful

Disadvantages:

Environmental:
although it doesn't cause pollution, solar collectors and other equipment needed, are manufactured in factories that cause pollution
a large amount of land is needed to place the 'collectors'
batteries aren't environment-friendly

Advantages:

Scientific:

easy to install
can be installed, managed and maintained easily by local technicians and villagers

Disadvantages:

Scientific:
batteries filled with solar energy are big and heavy
solar energy can only be captured and made when it's sunny (not at night or on cloudy days)

Conclusion:

Economical: In the previous stages, setting up solar energy for one or more villages takes money and equipment, but once everything is set up, the use of solar energy can be effective and useful for the people living there. The use of solar energy will be free once it's set up and can last for the next generations. If not all the energy is used, it can be sold and exported to other countries.

Environmental: When everything is set up, the transformation from sunlight (photons) into electricity and the use of solar energy itself doesn't cause any pollution and isn't harmful to the environment. Instead of using batteries to store the energy, it can be stored in lakes and used at night.

Scientific: Because the sun shines a lot in Laos, the amount of energy produced per year will be high. Instead of importing fossil fuels and using that, Laos could be able to collect sunlight (photons) and produce it's own renewable energy and save it. Ways of storing solar energy could be through lakes, batteries, or other, newer ways. There are also more and more cheaper possibilities of buying or producing solar cells.
An article in "Argonne National Laboratory." mentions: "This affordable sun-powered future could be closer than we think thanks to early tests on this new material, which was developed by a team led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. The tests were conducted, in part, at the Advanced Photon Source housed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory."
The best location for solar panels would be in a remote village without grid. It shouldn't be somewhere, where it's foggy or cloudy most of the time, but sunny.

What is Solar Energy?

yessicak — 2014-05-21 04:55:58 UTC

The google description:

radiant energy emitted by the sun.

another term for solar power.

Summary:

Solar energy is energy collected from the Sun. The Sun is very powerful and provides the Earth with as much energy every hour as we collectively use in a year worldwide.

How does Solar Energy work?

yessicak — 2014-05-21 04:57:38 UTC

Sunlight (photons) is collected by the solar panels
The solar panels are mostly made of crystal silicon, which makes possible for the energy to flow through
Yet because crystal silicon is almost neutrally charged, two other types of silicon are added: N Type (negative) silicon and P Type (positive) silicon
Most of the time, if a positive and a negative are put together they become neural again, that's why there is the electric field that is generated on the junction which acts as a diode and helps balance the charges that go from the N side to the P side
At last, both sides are connected via metal contacts and electrodes to an external load which will transport the electrical current

Yet because single solar cells only produce very little energy, Solar cells are combined within solar panels which then can be wired up in series so they can give off more power.

Current status

yessicak — 2014-05-21 10:21:34 UTC

Materials needed

yessicak — 2014-05-21 11:00:53 UTC

To make a solar panel, these materials are needed:

the glass frame in which the solar cells are enclosed
the silicon crystals
cooling materials (deployed into the solar panel to cause it to not overheat)

New, cheaper possibilities?

can produce a solar panel that is thinner than today’s, by using one material instead of two
uses cheaper materials than those used in today’s solar panels
the material is ferroelectric, which means it can switch polarity, a key trait for exceeding the theorized energy-efficiency limits of today’s solar cell material (Argonne National Laboratory)

What do experts say?

yessicak — 2014-05-21 11:25:15 UTC

"The yearly average of solar radiation for the entire country was found to be 15.8 MJ/m2-day. This solar radiation data revealed that Lao PDR has relatively high solar energy potentials which can be utilized for various solar energy applications." (Solar Energy Potentials In Laos)

"Solar irradiance on Lao PDR is between 3.6-5.5 kWh/m2, with sunshine 1800-2000 hrs/year. With such solar energy potential, if photovoltaic technology was used (overall efficiency of 10%), it would generate 146 kWh/m2/year, or 1.5x108 kWh/km2/year ( 13 MTOE/km2/year). " (reegle - clean energy information gateway)

"Installation of small solar home systems have been carried by public as well as private sectors, with funding from the World Bank, international organizations or own investment of local private companies. At present, around 20,000 households have been supplied electricity through solar home systems. Larger PV systems (capacity up to 40-100 kWp) have also been piloted within cooperation project between MEM and NEDO (Japan), as a component of a hybrid power system with micro hydropower in remote rural area." (reegle - clean energy information gateway)

Why not fossil fuels?

yessicak — 2014-05-21 11:26:54 UTC

"As known, Fossil fuels are accumulated biomass since ancient past.. A huge amount of these fossil fuels had already been consumed in the 20th century. Furthermore, future extraction will be more challenging and more costly. With present fossil fuel use rate , all available reserves of petroleum and natural gas will be exploited within the 21st century (BP, 2003)." (History.)

Fossil fuels need to be imported because Laos has so little of it.

Bad for the environment

Potential and Capacity until 2025

yessicak — 2014-05-21 11:46:34 UTC

Location

yessicak — 2014-05-21 13:58:18 UTC

Houaphanh Province

very remote
sunny
far from the grid --> probably no electricity for the villagers yet

Budget

yessicak — 2014-05-21 14:03:56 UTC

When working together with other companies and organisation who are more experienced, more can be achieved and the budget is possibly higher.

A 'Solar-home-system' which contains solar panels and solar lights, could provide a minimum for one household and costs about $230, but it can vary.

There are about 20 households in a small village:

$230 x 20 = $4600

Where does the material come from?

yessicak — 2014-05-22 01:07:35 UTC

Solar hot water heaters are cheaply available from China and are a good option for making hot water with no electricity costs. (DESIGNING AND OPERATING AN ECOLODGE IN THE LAO PDR)
'Solar-home-system' can be provided at 'Sunlabob' (Sunlabob)