Everything Solar

By Jamila Hiba Padilla

Solar powered satellites. Photovoltaic Power Plant. And now, solar panelled roads. All these made by the same concept and are similar in purpose.

Technologies that depend on solar energy, uses the sun’s energy to light houses, can produce hot water, heat homes and can be used for electricity. But the only limitation to using solar energy is that it cannot be used at night.

Space Power

Space based solar power is the concept of collecting solar power in space. It gathers energy from sunlight in space and transfers it wirelessly to Earth. The availability of this space solar power is 24/7 in huge quantities because night time does not exist in space and it works regardless of daylight, cloud cover and wind speed.

It can solve our greenhouse emissions because unlike gas, oil, and ethanol, space solar power does not emit greenhouse gases and it does not produce hazardous wastes. You don’t need to worry about maintenance or watch over it because it can stand alone. It will collect, store and distribute the power without any supervision, you don’t need to worry about taking care of it because it’s smart enough to know what to do.

Despite the advantages of the solar based space power can have, every advantage has a disadvantage. And that disadvantage is high development cost. You need a lot of money to get it up and running because solar power satellites must be very large and it consists with different parts. The cost of space solar power development always needs to be compared to the cost of not developing space solar power.

Cepalco’s Power Plant

Cepalco received recognition for their 1WMP Photovoltaic Power Plant because it was the largest and on-grid power plant among the developing countries in the world during their inauguration.

Their initial plan was to extend the solar power plant in Tagoloan by 2012 with a bigger area, there is a 20-watt capacity fuelling more or less 18,000 Cepalco customers.

For this reason, they are supportive of the idea that solar technology is and will improve. What can we hope to get if we have a bigger power plant? Surely, solar energy is more environmental friendly. It is much cleaner and greener than other power plants. When a source cannot run-out or easily replaced, does not produce compounds of Carbon and does not pollute the environment is the meaning what “renewable” energy which is also an advantage of having the power plant.

In addition, the solar panels on the power plants are reliable. Because the moment the sun will rise and set for the day, you know it’s consistent. Hence, especially being here in the Philippines where it’s mostly sunny, we will never run out of our source in energy.

An example in the house context is the Photovoltaic Solar Home System. Since it generates energy, it can distribute at least 8 gadgets or appliances at once. Like a storage battery, DC-DC Converter, DC-AV Converter, DC appliances, 12V DC loads and you can even charge your cell phone.

Back to business

Space based solar power? Photovoltaic Power Plant? What is really the point? Well, just giving you a background of how solar energy was used before up until now will help give you an idea of this new discovery from the Netherlands. It has the same concept as the space based solar power and the PV Power Plant; it’s called the solar panelled roads.

What are solar panelled roads? It’s the same in terms of solar energy like what is mentioned above but this time, they’ve replaced the bike lane with a solar panelled one. The road is only 70 meters long that costs AUD$4.3M but this is only the first step and hopefully, by 2016, the road will extend the path to 100 meters.

According to Katharine Jobal of the Collective Evolution, the plan was to power everything from traffic lights to electric cars using the panels. The panel consists or is made up with crystalline silicon solar cells, which were enclosed with the concrete of the path and covered with a translucent layer of tempered glass. Since the panel is not directly towards the sun, it can still generate at least 30% less energy than other solar panels placed on the roof.

In the Philippine context, right now, we cannot afford to implement this project. “Possible siya pero in the near future kay mo barato man ang solar panels” says Engr. Villamor. There are too many projects that will be implemented soon and solar panels will not be a priority yet. Is having a solar panelled road helpful to us? Yes.

If the whole city will replace the roads with solar panelled ones and is directly towards the sun, it will generate three times the energy as we’re currently using and it cuts the greenhouses gases by 75%. How does that work? “Dili man ga emit ug gases ang solar energy”.

Do you see often see really bright LED lights? Unlike solar panels, the LED light will wear out but the panels do not because it is reusable. Can you imagine 20 years from now, if the price for the panels will drop and the roads are solar, this will keep up with the increase of the electricity since it produces more.

The Solar Roadways: A Real Solution stated in their website that the Solar Roadway replaces our current aging power grid. The solar panels carry power- not from like a power station, but from the power-producing network itself with data signals (high speed internet, telephone, cable TV, etc.) to every home and business connected to the network via their driveways and parking lots.

In essence, the Solar Roadways becomes a conduit for all power and data signals.

As a result, it cuts off half of the CO² emissions that contribute to climate crisis. In the near future, if electric cars will be the replacement of the cars we have today, we wouldn’t have a problem because it does not release gas; thus, it helps stop making the climate worse.

To sum up, it may be difficult to implement or change the country with these projects. But think about how it will help reduce the climate crisis. When will be the right time? Prevention is better than a cure.