Solar energy is one of the oldest and the most readily available source of renewable energy around the world.
Global Production of Solar Energy
A few countries have made larger strides towards using solar energy and converting it into electricity to be used in various industries, companies, shops, and residential areas. The top leader in the manufacturing and use of solar energy is China. As the country with the largest population and thereby the largest carbon footprint, the introduction of solar energy in China has done a great deal of good to the environment and their country as a whole.
They represent around 27% of the world?s total solar module installations. Globally second in the production of solar energy, the United States of America has been improving and expanding its solar module installations, especially in residential markets.
The solar cell manufacturers in India have also made serious efforts in pushing India up the charts in the solar power market globally. Standing at the third position, most of India?s solar power was generated and installed at utility plants across the country. Despite its lack of space and is extremely densely populated, Japan has still managed to be the fourth leading country in the installation of solar modules. According to research conducted in 2019, Vietnam placed fifth in the global production and use of solar energy estimating at 4.8 GW which is 4.3% of the global market.
Challenges Faced by Solar Cell Manufacturers
According to a survey, one of the main challenges faced by solar cell manufacturers in Indiais the convincing it takes for them to be able to get the required capital incentives from the government before manufacturing these solar cells. Solar cells may not need much maintenance over the years but are quite an investment as it requires a large sum of money to be installed.
This is mainly due to the high costs of the high-quality materials used for the cells as well as the care that needs to be taken during the installation process. Aside from this, there is also a large cost needed for the purchase of the land as well as the infrastructure.
One of the other challenges faced by these solar cell manufacturers is said to be the fact that the ever-changing policies put forth by the government make it difficult to decipher whether or not the investment will even be worth it in the long run.
This is because the manufacturers have no guarantee that the demand for solar power will compensate for the amount they invested in the construction of these solar cells. Another factor that pushes the prices further up is competitive pricing. This comes about as solar cell technology is inevitably being developed and upgraded every 8 to 9 months.
Homemade Solar Cells
When the common man understood how truly expensive the construction and maintaining of solar cells are, many dropped the idea of getting personal solar power modules. This made many experiments with making their solar cell modules or cells at home for a cheaper cost.
The main con of such solar cells is that they can only be used to power small devices. The first step would be to heat a copper sheet with care using tongs and a propane torch for about a minute. Once this has been repeated a few times to different parts of the sheet, it should be left to cool.
Next, one inch of insulation needs to be cut off of each end of two copper wires and one end of the first wire should be clamped to the clean part of the copper sheet. Some drops of saltwater are then to be dropped onto different blackened spots on the copper sheet. One of the ends of the second wire is then to be placed into one of these drops of saltwater. The two open ends of the wire can now be connected to any small device that needs to be powered.
Materials and Types of Solar Module Mounting Systems
There are a few different types of materials that are used to make a solar module mounting structure. One of the most common methods is by applying a layer of galvanized zinc coating to prevent any corrosion or rusting from occurring to the layer beneath it. Another material that is not as commonly used is mild steel which is used when a flexible material is required.
Aluminum is a soft flexible material that is used in the construction of a solar module mounting structure when a lightweight and more cost-effective material as compared to galvanized steel is required. There are a few varieties or types of solar module mounting structures available to choose from. Some of these include the flat roof mounted variety, slope roof-mounted module, and a ground-mounted solar module structure.
