Electricity Production from Renewables Energies

2.1. Introduction

Solar photovoltaic power is the direct conversion of solar power into electric power. The primary energy thus comes from the Sun, which is located 150 million km from Earth. This star is mostly made up of hydrogen. Thermonuclear reactions occur on the Sun, causing the temperature to reach several million degrees. At the same time as helium is produced, solar radiation in an electromagnetic form is emitted: visible radiation (from 380 nm to 780 nm), infrared radiation (higher than 780 nm) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation (from 100 nm to 400 nm). Part of the UV radiation reaches Earth [BER 04] [GER 08]. Each year, the Earth receives 1,600×10¹⁵ kWh of sun, 70% of which goes through the upper atmosphere. In comparison, humanities primary energy consumption is about 140×10¹² kWh per year [MUL 11].

The photovoltaic effect was discovered in 1839. In 1930, cuprous oxide and then selenium cells appeared. However, it was only from 1954 that we started to consider the possibility of generating energy on the basis of the photovoltaic effect, with the manufacturing of the first silicon photovoltaic cells by Bell Telephone laboratories. Their development and quick progress were encouraged by the conquest of space: they were very quickly used for the power electrical supply of spaceships (satellites in 1958) [PAT 99]. Throughout the 1990s, terrestrial photovoltaic technology has regularly progressed with the installation of photovoltaic roofs and several power stations. It even ...