Page 367 - A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Energy Systems

374 A COmPrEhEnSIVE GuIdE TO SOLAr EnErGy SySTEmS

FIGURE 19.1 An ideal landscape? Looking over the Coquet Valley in Northumberland, UK. Photo: B. Dower
(all rights reserved).

modern function as the ideal (Fig. 19.1). understanding the landscape, how it is made
up and how it is valued, is important to understand how developments will affect per-
ceptions and character of the landscape that surrounds us.
Paradoxically, the one constant in our landscape is that it will change. Landscape
change is an inevitable process, driven by climate, ecology, and human activity. Though it
is not possible to stop change, it is sometimes possible to guide changes in our landscape
for the purposes of improving it or maintaining valuable aspects. development is a no-
ticeable force for change, and solar installations, using increasingly efficient technology,
are becoming larger with the drive for renewable energy production. Planning and siting
of solar farms can have wide-ranging effects on the character of the landscape as instal-
lations take up extensive areas of land. Since the first solar park of 1 mW in California in
1982, many countries have built a substantial number of installations that make a mean-
ingful contribution to their renewable energy production.

19.2 Solar Installation Types

The two main technologies for solar power generation are PVs and thermal or concen-
trated solar power. In this chapter we concentrate on PV technologies. PV solar panels are
2
rectangular, usually in the order of 1.3–1.7 m , with an average size of 1.65 × 1 m, used
singly or in sets or arrays. Solar panels can be used in different situations, depending on
the scale of the installation and the end use for the energy created.