Eighth Grade Explanations: Why Solar Power in Texas?

Post on 12-Jun-2015

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Join Dr. Rick Borry and Dan Bedell in a guest appearance to Mr. Chacchia's eighth grade science class at Killian Middle School in Lewisville, Texas. •Where does the electricity in your house come from? •How much does electricity cost? •Which saves more money - turning off the lights or installing solar panels? •How does solar power work? •Why would we want to use solar power? First, we will investigate the electric power system in Texas as it applies to the students' lives. Then, the students will use math and science to analyze the engineering principles behind electricity conservation and solar power generation. We will look at the best times and places to generate solar power, and we'll review some free resources and apps related to solar power and the electric grid in Texas. We will broadcast the 3rd period class live via this webinar. All middle school science classes are encouraged to join. You will be able to ask questions via text chat and we will answer as many as we can. We will record the session and it will be available to the public for playback.

Transcript of Eighth Grade Explanations: Why Solar Power in Texas?

Solar Electric Power in Texas

How does this work?

How Power Grids Work

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/power.htm

CAN THE “POWER PLANT” USE SUNLIGHT TO

PRODUCE ELECTRICITY?

Concentrating Solar

http://solareis.anl.gov/guide/solar/csp/

http://ivanpahsolar.com

Solar Power for Your Home

WHY SOLAR?Engineering - the application of science, technology, and

math to get things done… the right way

How much power are thosefan lights using?

Power vs. Energy

POWER Rate at which work is done Watts (W) Four light bulbs in your fan:

4 x 60 Watts = 240 W

ENERGY Amount of work done Kilowatt-Hours (kWh) Leave your lights on all day:

240 Watts x 8 hours = 1920 Wh = 1.92 kWh

www.diffen.com/difference/Energy_vs_Power

How much does electricity cost?

$126.07 / 1233 kWh

= $0.102 / kWh

Should you turn off your lights?Or buy a solar panel?

Lights:– 240 W– 8 hours / day– $0.10 / kWh

Solar Panel:– 240 W ~ $500– 8 hours / day– 25 years

Cost of Lights vs. Solar Lifetime:(240 W / 1000 W/kW) * 8 hr/day * $0.10/kWh * 365 days * 25 years = $1,752

WHEN DO YOU USE ELECTRICITY?

Months of the Year

Time of Day

WHERE DO YOU FIND LOTS OF SUN AND LOTS OF PEOPLE?

P = I * V

WHY SOLAR?Electricity generated:• When you need it• Where you need it• With no fuel cost• And no pollution

WHY NOT SOLAR NOW?

How Power Grids Work

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/power.htm

The Electric Power Industry

39%

28%

19%

1%7%

6%

Electricity Generation 2013

CoalNatural GasNuclearPetroleumHydroOther

Copyright Principal Solar, Data Source: EIA.gov

24

The Power Industry - Nuclear

Nuclear

• Clean• Expensive• Reliable• Dangerous?

25

The Power Industry - Coal

Coal

• Abundant Fuel• Cheap Fuel• Reliable• Dirty

26

The Power Industry - Gas

Natural Gas

• Clean• Abundant fuel• Reliable• Low cost

27

The Power Industry - Solar

Powerhouse-1 Fayetteville TN4 Sites of 750 kW

= 3 MW peak capacity

LEARN ABOUT ELECTRICITY IN TEXAS

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas“ERCOT”

Search App Store for “ERCOT”

Rick Borry, Ph.D.Rick.Borry@principalsolar.com