from p>1974 to 1997, the power generation cost of silicon semiconductor photovoltaic cells in developed countries such as the United States and Japan decreased by an order of magnitude: from $5 to $5 per watt. Since then, most experts from all over the world believe that there is still a long way to go to make solar power plants economically competitive with traditional power plants (mainly thermal power plants)-the cost can only be reduced by another order of magnitude. At present, the United States and other countries have built many projects using solar pools to generate electricity. There is a 7,-square-meter experimental solar pond built in 1979 on the bank of the Dead Sea, which provides heat for a 15 kW generator. The United States plans to build 8.3% of its salt lake area (about 8, square kilometers) into a solar pond to provide heat for a 6 MW generator set. In June this year, experts from Armenian Institute of Radio Physics announced that they had started to build its "first small-scale experimental model" industrial solar power station in the mountainous area of the country. The turbine used in this power station is not new, but has been detached from the helicopter after its service life has expired. The installed capacity is only 1 kilowatts, but the power generation cost is only .5 cents/kilowatt hour, and the efficiency is as high as 4%-5%.
Russian scholars have also made remarkable progress in solar pond research. A company combined the solar water jet propeller and jet cooling propeller developed by it with the solar pond project, attached facilities such as ice tanks to the solar pond, and designed a new type of solar pond suitable for farmers. According to this design, a farmer with 6 to 8 people can build a 7-square-meter solar pool, which can meet the annual electricity demand of his 1-square-meter house. Another research institute put forward the design idea of combined solar pool power station, that is, using heat pump, heat pipe and other technologies to comprehensively utilize solar energy, geothermal energy and waste heat in the room, so that the cost of solar pool power generation is greatly reduced, and it can compete with thermal power stations in the North Caucasus, and it can be used all year round, and can be used for air conditioning in summer and heating in winter.
for countries lacking fresh water resources, the solar pond has another rare benefit: according to experts' calculation, a solar pond with an area of 2,163 square kilometers and a depth of 1.2 meters in the offshore shallow water area can provide heat for 1 GW of generator sets and produce 2 cubic kilometers of fresh water every year.
in some advanced countries in Europe and America, "photoelectric glass curtain wall products" are being widely used, which is a new type of ecological building materials that can safely convert solar energy into electric energy by sealing solar energy conversion silicon wafers in double-layer tempered glass (especially laminated glass). The "Photovoltaic Building Plan" in the United States, the "Million Roof Photovoltaic Plan" in Europe, the "Asahi Plan" in Japan and the "Bright Project" that has been carried out in China will set off an upsurge in the development and application of energy-saving and environmental-friendly ecological building materials in the building field, greatly promoting the application of solar energy in new building materials products.
in developing countries, countries are also actively developing and utilizing solar energy. For example, in the Philippines, as early as 1999, the government approved the first solar energy project, and with the assistance of the Australian Government's Overseas Aid Program, 1, solar energy systems were installed in 263 communities across the country. At present, the Philippine government is implementing the world's largest solar energy application plan, which costs 48 million US dollars and is by far the largest solar energy plan in the world. The solar power generation plan is divided into two phases, benefiting not only residential houses, but also 25 irrigation systems, 97 water purification and distribution systems, 68 schools and community centers, and 35 clinics.
From this point of view, the solar energy era that all human beings dream of is actually just around the corner, including collecting solar energy in space and transmitting it to the earth to turn it into electricity, so as to solve the energy crisis facing human beings. With the progress of science and technology, this is no longer a dream. The world's first solar power station, built by NASA and the Ministry of Energy, will be assembled in space recently and will soon start supplying power to the ground.
In China, the utilization of solar energy has always been the hottest topic. After years of development, domestic solar collectors (including solar water heaters) have become one of the most widely used and industrialized industries. In 1998, the total sales reached 3.5 billion yuan, and its output ranked first in the world. China's solar energy industry has begun to operate. China Academy of Sciences announced the launch of the West Action Plan, and will invest 25 million yuan in research within two years to establish several demonstration projects such as solar power generation, solar heating and solar air conditioning. At present, Baoding National High-tech Development Zone in Hebei Province is speeding up the construction of the largest polysilicon solar cell production base in China. The project integrates solar cells, components and application systems. After the completion of the first phase of the project, it can reach the annual output of 3 MW polysilicon solar cells, filling many gaps in solar energy development and application in China, and will greatly promote the production and sales market of low-iron glass for solar cells. However, on the whole, the domestic solar photovoltaic power generation system is still in the initial stage of small output, narrow application, single product and backward technology because it started late, especially in the development and production of solar cells. According to rough statistics, there are only five (monocrystalline silicon) solar cell factories in China, with an annual output of about 4.5 MW (note: 1 MW is 1 kW), and the factory facilities are still on the imported production line. Many foreign companies have set their sights on the development and production of more advanced thin-film crystalline solar cells. The conversion efficiency of this new generation of advanced thin-film crystal solar cells can be as high as 18.3%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the current average conversion efficiency. According to industry insiders, the average conversion efficiency of solar cells in China is not high, which is mainly due to the low degree of localization of special materials, such as packaging glass, which is completely dependent on imports. The market of high transmittance substrate glass with low iron content still cannot meet the demand, and scientific research achievements have not been quickly and completely transformed into industrial advantages.
At present, the State Planning Commission and the State Science and Technology Commission have given strong support to the development of solar energy technology and its application, and many domestic enterprises have set foot in it. Beixin Group is one of the first units to organize experts to investigate the domestic and international solar photovoltaic power generation industry. In 1998, it was the first in China to introduce the 76 kW international advanced rooftop solar power generation system, which has been running stably and achieved good results. The average daily power generation of this system is more than 12 kWh, which can meet the electricity demand of a well-off family. The group also established Beijing-Atellan Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. with the Swiss company ATLANTIS to jointly produce two series and multiple varieties of photovoltaic power generation products, and introduced this world-leading new solar energy utilization technology to China.
Hebei Zhenhai aluminum group co., ltd. is the exclusive distributor of Piikington solar energy international co., ltd. in China, and has put into production the world-advanced glass packaging equipment and supporting materials for solar cells, such as the high-quality wet glass laminating equipment and wet grouting liquid (packaging medium) of Kemmett Chemical Co., Ltd. in Germany. Zhenhai Group's base has taken the lead in installing more than 1 square meters of photoelectric glass curtain wall demonstration buildings in China in November 1999. Now it has been completed and put into use, and its operation and use effect are good, which has become a model of domestic landscape and solar photovoltaic power generation projects.
The solar collector tube is a patented technology in Tsinghua University. With the industrialized production of Tsinghua Sunshine Company, its annual output ranks first in the world, and its product performance is leading in the world. It took Tsinghua Sunshine Company six or seven years to complete the small-scale, pilot-scale and large-scale production of the solar collector tube and collector device. At present, it has built the largest collector tube factory in the world, and can produce 5 million all-glass vacuum collector tubes with the highest thermal efficiency in the world every year. It is expected that this project will be completed.
In the p>28 Olympic Games, Beijing will become the biggest exhibition window for solar energy application in China. The "New Olympics" will fully embody the new concept of "environmental protection Olympics and energy-saving Olympics". It is planned that 8% to 9% of street lamps around Olympic venues will use solar photovoltaic power generation technology. All-glass vacuum solar heat collection technology is adopted to supply 9% of bath hot water for the Olympic Games. At that time, during the whole Olympic Games, we will see the application of a series of solar technologies, such as solar street lamps, solar telephones, solar mobile phones, solar washless toilets and so on. Our life will be full of sunshine!