SERI (Solar Energy Research Institute) solar radiation resource assessment project: FY 1988 annual progress reort.

摘要

The earth receives vast amounts of energy from the sun in the form of incident solar radiation. Solar radiation drives the earth's weather and sustains life. As a result of the increasing costs, uncertain availability, and potentially severe environmental impacts of other sources of energy, insolation is being considered as a clean renewable energy source for our needs for heating, cooling, electricity, and fuels. Widespread interest and activities were initiated immediately after the oil embargo of the mid-1970s. For many applications, the insolation must be converted to a different form, such as heat, electricity, or a fuel (liquid, gas, or solid). A technology that can do this is known as a solar energy conversion device or technology. A wide range of candidate technologies is being developed. Some of these technologies include photovoltaics (converting insolation to electricity), solar thermal (converting insolation to heat), solar thermal-electric (converting insolation to heat, then to electricity), and biomass (converting insolation to biomass and then to fuels). 11 refs., 37 figs., 10 tabs.