In: Physics
Land footprint of solar energy:
(a) In 2016, Arizona’s total annual electricity consumption was 78.05 million MWh. What is this in terms of kWh per day?
(b) Land footprint: The average daily insolation in Phoenix is 5.38 kWh/m2/day. Given this daily energy input, how much land area would you need (in square miles) to generate all of Arizona’s daily electricity from the following types of PV panels:
i. Mono-crystalline Si panels with an efficiency of 22 %?
ii. Thin film CdTe with an efficiency of 12%?
(c) Translate to rooftops: Assuming we use 22% efficient mono-crystalline Si panels, how many rooftops would that take if we put the panels on:
i. Wal-Mart stores with an average size of 102,000 square feet?
ii. Household rooftops with an average size of 2,000 square feet?
(d) Reflection: These types of crude statistics get used all the time in public debates about solar energy. Do you think they’re useful? Why or why not? Take about 3-4 sentences to explain what we learn from this exercise and whether you think it’s useful for talking about solar energy.
(Note: Part d is my personal analysis of statistical data obtained from the problem, Student must write it's own original thought.)