The Use of Solar Energy (2)

A solar plant to distil underground water has been operating for several years in the Central Kara-Kum Desert. Its initial capacity was three cubic meters of water daily. After the evaporator has been installed the area had been increased to one hectare, the capacity went up four-fold. This is enough to provide water for a large number of sheep.

One group of scientists from Turkmenian Academy of Sciences has made experiments on solar energy concentrators and gathered enough data on possible potential performance of solar electric stations generating cheap electricity in the Kara-kum Desert. As a result a solar furnace deve1oping temperatures of 3000 (in a sunray foca1 point) has been built. Electricity generated by this furnace costs a half of that generated by thermal stations. In the near future Kara-kum will become a large producer of cheap e1ectricity. The amount of solar energy per square meter here is equivalent to the energy got from burning 200 kg of the best coal.

The most efficient way of generating electricity from sunlight, however, seems to be the "solar battery". The first solar batteries were semiconductor crystals of germanium or silicon similar to those used in transistors. When the sun lights such a crystal, an electric current is generated. Since their first demonstration in 1954 the solar battery has been extensively developed and used in one of the greatest achievements of mankind – in space research on boards space ships, space rockets and sputniks. Solar batteries are very good for the purpose because of their 1ong 1ife.

In 1985 the first solar power-station will be put into operation in the Crimea. its power being 5 MWt – such was the power of the first Soviet atomic power-station in Obninsk.