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How solar power plants work

Sustainable development has been and continues to be one of the major concerns of science and technology today. One of the main advances that have been made is the generation of renewable energy through the use of sunlight

To make the most of it, it is necessary to install a solar plant, or solar power plant. Let us show you what a solar power plant is and how it works.

What is a solar power plant

Solar power plants are industrial-type installations that convert electrical radiation into electrical energy. The process for this transformation can be photothermal or photovoltaic.E

Solar power plants must have a connection to the distribution grid.

How a solar power plant works

Solar photothermal power plant

In the photothermal process the heat produced by the sun heats an internal fluid and produces steam. This steam is fed to a turbine, the movement of which generates electrical energy.

It is a less accessible process, which is also subject to the weather, and is overly dependent on the level of ambient solar radiation to function properly.

Solar photovoltaic power plant

In the photovoltaic process, solar panels are made up of modules, called “solar cells”. Solar radiation (photons) is placed on the surface of a semiconductor crystal (usually silicon) that makes up the solar cell. The electrons in silicon receive the energy, which causes them to move; this movement is called electricity. Thus, an electric current is generated by the photovoltaic effect

The formed electric current is of direct current type, and will be sent to a DC cabinet where a power inverter must be used to transform it to reverse current.

This inverted current will be taken to a transformer station which will adapt the current to the level of the transmission lines of the electricity network.

In case it is stored, the energy can be stored in a battery bank.v

Photovoltaic power plants are more affordable than the previous ones, although to generate enough energy they need to occupy large areas of land, so one of their main uses is in large solar farms.

However, as it is a modular technology, it can also be used for self-consumption, as in the case of certain houses and, above all, buildings. In this case, part of the electricity generated is consumed by the producer, while the rest is fed into the grid.