PV Gap

Lori Said:

What's the difference between a solar plant and a concentrating solar thermal power plant?

We Answered:

Regular solar uses Photovoltaic cells which convert the suns energy into electricity fairly directly.

Concentrating solar uses mirrors to focus sunlight (like a magnifying glass) onto a medium, usually liquid salt in pipes, which is then used to heat water, generate steam and to power a conventional steam turbine.

Jesus Said:

How to solicit a professional to orchestrate the design and construction of a solar power plant?

We Answered:

I think just call the one who can do it like an engineer with the helpof an architect

Renee Said:

How do I calculate the total kilowatts of power are generated by a megawatt solar power plant over a year?

We Answered:

Kilo means 1000 units

Mega means 1000,000 units

Don’t mistake power with energy
Power= energy per time which unit is J/s = watt
So the power for a megawatt solar plant is given to you but you have to state that as the sun is shining.
But if you are looking for energy per year it’s easy.
First thing you have to do is know how many hours the sun is shining per day and I mean the average by that. Let’s assume that its 10 hours per day.
Energy generated per year = power * time
Time = 10 hrs* 60*60*24*365= 315360000 seconds
Energy generated per year = 1000,000 * 315360000 = 315360000000000 J assuming that the plant is 1 megawatt plant.

J means joule

Clinton Said:

How to solicit the services of a professional to orchestrate the design and construction of solar power plant?

We Answered:

You offer an engineer money and give him a budget. My rates for short term contracts is $350 per hour with four hour minimums and the long term contract rates is $100 per hour but I would want about 30 hours a week for that. If your budget is too small, I would charge for 4 hours at 350 per hour to tell you that you don't have enough money and move on. Mind you that's four hours of number crunching and research to determine if it's not enough money.

Ross Said:

How To Get a Job Working at The New Solar Power Plant in California ?

We Answered:

Either go to college in Electrical Engineering with a focus on Power Transmission systems, Or a computer science degree, or go to a technical school to learn either stationary engineering operations, or electrical/electrician focused on powerlines.

With a GED and 5 bucks, you can get a cup of coffee at Starbucks, and that is about it.

While not impossible if you know people already working there, but I would give a snowball a better chance of making it through the day in the Bahamas out onthe beach.

Albert Said:

How to solicit the services of a professional to orchestrate design and construction of a solar power plant?

We Answered:

wave a significant amount of green, money, that is, in front of him

Reginald Said:

Why dont we just build a giant solar power plant in the middle of the desert?

We Answered:

In the US the first thing you would have to do is perform an Environmental Impact of the area, then have it approved. That will take at least a year. (Not joking.) A couple of the difficulties with solar are:

-- they only generate power half the time
-- the energy needs to be transmitted to a power grid. That means a power lines have to be run from the nearest grid location to the solar collectors, which is very expensive.
-- solar energy does not create lot of power, so the further away the solar array is (from the grid) the greater the power loss will be from resistance in the transmission lines.

Generally speaking, at this time it is not a cost effective method to generate power.