Solar Farms as the Only Power Source for the Entire Country

Anna Manowska and Andrzej Nowrot
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Anna Manowska: Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation in Industry, Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Andrzej Nowrot: Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation in Industry, Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-15

Abstract: The presented paper shows a hypothetical large solar farm that would be the only source of electricity for the entire country. The energy crisis in Europe raises the question of whether it is possible to supply an electrical system based only on renewable energy sources. What should the surface area of the solar panels be in a hypothetical large solar farm to power the entire country? In this work, we will show what requirements must be met to make this feasible. Very important differences between the installed power capacity in a coal-fired or nuclear power plant and a solar power plant are discussed. The article presents calculations of the surface area of photovoltaic panels in that solar farm for four exemplary countries in Central Europe: Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. These studies are particularly important for Poland, whose electrical system is still mainly based on coal-fired power plants. The hypothetical solar farm could, in practice, take the form of dozens of solar power plants located in different parts of the country. Most importantly, the proposed solution will counteract climate change.

Keywords: renewable energy sources; energy transformation; photovoltaic farm (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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