With the rapid development of the global economy, energy has become the driving force behind human economic and cultural activities, and has gradually become an important material foundation for developing the national economy and improving people’s living standards in all aspects. Under the trend of global economic development, China’s economy has also experienced rapid growth. With the rapid rise of industry, energy consumption is also increasing. Among them, electricity plays a crucial role in industrial production and national economic construction as an important form of energy that promotes social development and progress. As a type of secondary energy, the generation of electricity requires the assistance of various primary energy sources, and excessive consumption of primary energy will cause energy crises and environmental problems worldwide.
1. Research background of solar power generation
Since the Industrial Revolution, the demand for fossil fuels in energy has shown a rapid growth trend, and these fossil fuels are what we refer to as
Non renewable energy sources of secondary energy. The extensive use of these chemical fuels has led to energy scarcity and irreparable environmental pollution. According to the latest released “World Energy Statistics Review 2011” by BP, the proportion of energy consumption in the world and China in 2010 is shown in Figures 1 and 2.
From the graph, it can be clearly seen that in 2010, the world’s energy consumption of crude oil was the highest, accounting for about 33% of primary energy consumption. However, in 2010, China’s primary energy consumption was the highest in raw coal, accounting for 70.45% of the total primary energy consumption.
According to the 2009 IEA, the global energy demand remained at the same level as in 2009. The world’s crude oil reserves could only be developed and utilized for 45.7 years, natural gas reserves could only be developed and utilized for 62.8 years, and raw coal reserves could be developed and utilized for 110 years. The imbalance of potential human development needs has led to a global energy crisis and seriously affected the harmonious development of society and economy.
The extensive use of petrochemical fuels has had a significant impact on the human living environment and has already brought irreparable and serious consequences. For example, the world produces about 100 million tons of greenhouse gases every day, causing global temperatures to rise, which in turn causes sea levels to rise. In the near future, some coastal cities will permanently sleep underwater. In addition, gas problems such as acid rain can also have a serious impact on human living environment. Therefore, the problem that needs to be solved immediately now is energy development and utilization.
Although chemical fuels face depletion and irreparable damage to the environment, they will still account for 80% of the world’s primary energy composition in the next 20 years. In the face of severe energy utilization, the rational utilization of various renewable and clean energy sources will play a crucial role in solving the increasingly depleted and fragile ecological environment of chemical fuels. The available resources include wind power, water conservancy, tidal energy, and solar energy. In renewable energy, solar energy has unparalleled advantages compared to other chemical energy sources, and therefore has gradually gained people’s attention. Solar energy provides a continuous source of energy, and its biggest advantage is that solar energy is inexhaustible and inexhaustible. Solar energy is still a clean, stable, and highly efficient sustainable energy source for development. It can bring a maximum energy of 1360W/m ^ 2 to the ground per second. If the conversion rate of solar energy into electrical energy can reach 5%, then converting 0.1% of solar radiation into electrical energy is equivalent to 40 times the world’s annual energy consumption, which will reach 5.7×10 ^ 12kWh. Solar energy also has certain advantages such as economy, convenience, and cleanliness. Importantly, the process of solar power generation does not generate greenhouse gases or any pollution, making it a zero carbon power generation method that aligns with the currently advocated sustainable development strategy. The development and utilization of solar energy can solve various problems caused by conventional energy, such as energy scarcity and environmental damage. Therefore, using it for power generation has profound impacts on the economy and the environment.
Compared with other renewable energy sources, solar power generation also has characteristics that other energy sources do not have. For example, compared to new energy sources such as wind and hydro, solar energy is relatively less affected by geographical and environmental factors, making it suitable for widespread application in various environments and geographical locations. Solar power generation does not require specialized power stations, nor does it require too much three-dimensional space, and there are no rotating mechanisms required for other new energy sources, so maintenance and upkeep are relatively easy. Due to the use of solar panels in solar power generation, the placement of solar panels is very flexible, making it more suitable for the current application of distributed power generation systems and microgrids. Taking into account the above advantages, solar power generation is increasingly valued both domestically and internationally, and its research and application are constantly developing.
2. The research significance of solar power generation
Due to the scarcity and various drawbacks of traditional energy, seeking new energy sources has become a necessary path for energy development in various countries, and solar energy is the best choice to replace thermal power generation. Compared to thermal power generation, solar energy has several significant advantages:
(1) Energy is vast
Its development and utilization are infinitely enormous, ten thousand times the current amount of traditional energy reserves on Earth. The supply of solar resources is very abundant and inexhaustible.
(2) Wide coverage
Because solar energy can be exposed to sunlight all over the world, it can be widely used in various regions. Especially for countries where traditional energy is scarce, it is the best way to achieve energy supply.
(3) No damage to the environment
Compared with thermal power generation, solar energy will not cause a series of environmental pollution and other problems during use. When developing and using solar energy, it only has a negligible impact on the environment and is a clean and pollution-free energy source that humans long for.
Solar energy does not cause problems such as environmental pollution during the use of traditional energy. When developing and utilizing solar energy, it produces almost no pollution and is environmentally friendly. It is one of the cleanest energy sources and an ideal alternative energy source for humanity.
Due to its many advantages, the development and use of solar energy will become a focus of future research. Up to now, its development and use include both photothermal and optoelectronic applications.
The basic way of using solar photovoltaic technology is through solar power generation, and the basic way of using solar thermal energy is through thermal power generation. The basic way to frequently develop and use solar energy in the future is still solar power generation. From the perspective of investment cost and energy utilization efficiency, solar power generation has significant technological advantages. At the same time, due to the decreasing cost of solar cells and the increasing maturity of related technologies, the use of them for power generation will gradually become popular and an inevitable development trend in the future.