P age IS

ABSTRACT
Now a days with the growing population and energy demand we should take a renewable
option of energy source and also we should keep in mind that energy should not cause
pollution and other natural hazards. In this case the solar energy is the best option for us.
India is a highly populated country, so we should take the advantage of such an energy
which requires a very less space to produce energy efficiently. In this case solar tree could
be the best one for us. We can also use the technique called ''SPIRALLING
PHYLLATAXY" to improve the efficiency of the plant. It can be applied in street
lightening system, industrial power supply etc. It is much better than the traditional solar
PV system in area point of view and also more efficient. So this will be a very good
option and should be implemented.
 Pagel6

INTRODUCTION

It is a form of renewable energy resource that is some measure competitive with fossil
fuels. Hydro power is the force of energy of moving water. It provides about 96% of the
renewable energy in the united state. Hydro electric power plants do not use any
resources to create electricity or they do not pollute the air. The sun is a hydrodynamic
spherical body of extremely hot ioniz.ed gases (plasma), generating energy by the process
of the thermonuclear fusion. The temperature of interior of sun is estimated at 8*10"6 k
to 40*10"6 k, where energy is released by fusion of hydrogen and helium

Solar energy is available in abundance and considered as the easiest and cleanest means
of tapping the renewable energy. For direct conversion of solar radiation into usable
form, the routes are: solar thermal, solar photovoltaic and solar architecture. However the
main problem associated with tapping solar energy is the requirement to install large
solar collectors requires a very big space. To avoid this problem we can install a solar tree
in spite of a no of solar panels which require a very small space.

Solar tree is a revolutionary urban lighting concept that represents a perfect symbiosis
between pioneering design and cutting-edge eco-compatible technology. Solar Tree opens up
new prospects for urban lighting in that it satisfies today's most pressing environmental,
social, cultural and aesthetic demands. The ability to combine innovative design with
advanced technology, along with an acute sensitivity to environmental concerns make
Artemide the ideal vehicle for the development of this project conceived by Ross
Lovegrove with the collaboration of Sharp Solar, the world's leading manufacturer of solar
cells.

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 Pagel7

CHAPTER -1

WHAT IS A SOLAR TREE

A solar tree is a decorative means of producing solar energy and also electricity. It uses
multiple no of solar panels which forms the shape of a tree. The panels are arranged in a
tree fashion in a tall tower/pole.

TREE stands for

T= TREE GENERATING

R=RENEWABLE

E=ENERGY and

E=ELECTRICITY

This is like a tree in structure and the panels are like leaves of the tree which produces
energy.

1.1 SPIRALLING PHYLLATAXY

It is a technique used in designing of solar tree. It provides the way to help the lower
panels from the shadow of upper ones, so that it can track maximum power from sun.

Fig .1. Solar Tree

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 P age IS
CHAPTER 2

SOLAR PANEL

A solar cell (photovoltaic cell or photoelectric cell) is a solid state electrical device that
converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. The energy
of light is transmitted by photons-small packets or quantum of light. Electrical energy is
stored m electromagnetic fields, which in tum can make a current of electrons flow.
Assemblies of solar cells are used to make solar modules which are used to capture energy
from sunlight. When multiple modules are assembled together (such as prior to installation
on a pole- mounted tracker system), the resulting integrated group of modules all oriented in
one plane is referred as a solar panel. The electrical energy generated from solar modules,
is an example of solar energy. Photovoltaic is the field of technology and research
related to the practical
application of photovoltaic cells in producing electricity from light, though it is often
used
specifically to refer to the generation of electricity from sunlight. Cells are described as
photovoltaic cells when the light source is not necessarily sunlight. These are used for
detecting light or other electromagnetic radiation near the visible range, for example infrared
detectors, or measurement of light intensity.

.h

fig. 3 solar panel

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1. HOW SOLAR CELL WORKS

Solar cells, which largely are made from crystalline silicon work on the principle of
Photoelectric Effect that this semiconductor exhtbits. Silicon in its purest form- Intrinsic
Silicon- is doped with a dopant impurity to yield Extrinsic Silicon of desired characteristic
(p-type or n-type Silicon). When p and n type silicon combine they result in formation of
potential barrier.

Working of Solar cells can thus be based on two crystalline structure

• Intrinsic Silicon
• Extrinsic Silicon

Pure Silicon (Intrinsic) Crystalline Structure

Silicon has some special chemical properties, especially in its crystalline form An atom of
silicon has 14 electrons, arranged in three different shells. The first two shells- which
hold two and eight
electrons respectively- are completely full. The outer shell, however, is only half full with
just four electrons (Valence electrons). A silicon atom will always look for ways to fill
up its last shell, and to do this, it will share electrons with four nearby atoms. It's like each
atom holds hands with its neighbours except that in this case, each atom has four hands
joined to four neighbours. That's what forms the crystalline structure. The only problem is
that pure crystalline silicon is a poor conductor of electricity because none of its electrons
are free to move about, unlike the electrons in more optimum conductors like copper

Fig 4. Intrinsic Silicon

. 8
2.2 Impurity Silicon {Extrinsic): P-type and N-type Semiconductors

Extrinsic silicon in a solar cell has added impurity atoms purposefully mixed in with the
silicon atoms, maybe one for every million silicon atoms. Phosphorous has five electrons in
its outer shell. It bonds with its silicon neighbor atoms having valency of 4, but in a sense,
the phosphorous has one electron that doesn't have anyone to bond with. It doesn't form part
of a bond, but there is a positive proton in the phosphorous nucleus holding it in place.
When energy is added to pure silicon, in the form of heat, it causes a few electrons to break
free of their bonds and leave their atoms. A hole is left behind in each case. These
electrons, called free carriers, then wander randomly around the crystalline lattice looking
for another hole to full into and carry an electrical current. In Phosphorous-doped Silicon, it
takes a lot less energy to knock loose one of "extra" phosphorous electrons because they
aren't tied up in a bond with any neighboring atoms. As a result, most of these electrons
break free, and release a lot more free carriers than in pure silicon. The process of adding
impurities on purpose is called doping, and when doped with phosphorous, the resulting
silicon is called N-type (''n" for negative) because of the prevalence of free electrons. N-
type doped silicon is a much better conductor than pure silicon. The other part of a typical
solar cell is doped with the element boron, which has only three electrons in its outer shell
instead of four, to become P-type silicon. Instead of having free electrons, P-type (''p" for
positive) has free openings and carries the opposite positive charge

2.3 Formation of Potential Barrier and Photoelectric Effect

The electric field is formed when the N-type and P-type silicon come into contact.
Suddenly, the free electrons on the N side combine the openings on the P side. Right at the
junction, they combine and form something of a barrier, making it harder and harder for
electrons on the N side to cross over to the P side (called POIBNTIAL BARRIER).
Eventually, equilibrium is reached, and an electric field separating the two sides is set up.
This electric field acts as a diode, allowing (and even pushing) electrons to flow from the
P side to the N side, but not the other way around. It's like a hill -- electrons can easily go
down the hill (to the N side), but can't climb it (to the P side)
9
 Solar Cell

Fig .5. Solar cell

When light, in the form of photons, ruts solar cell, its energy breaks apart electron-hole pairs
(Photoelectric effect). Each photon with enough energy will normally free exactly one
electron, resulting in a free hole as well If this happens close enough to the electric field, or
if free electron and free hole happen to wander into its range of influence, the field will
send the electron to the N side and the hole to the P side. This causes further disruption of
electrical neutrality, and if an external CWTent path is provided, electrons will flow
through the path to the P side to unite with holes that the electric field sent there, doing
work for us along the way. The electron flow provides the cWTent, and the cell's electric
field causes a voltage.
The final step is to install something that will protect the cell from the external elements-
often a glass cover plate. PV rmdules are generally made by connecting several individual
cells together to achieve useful levels of voltage and cWTent, and putting them in a sturdy
frame complete with positive and negative terminal

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 CHAPTER 3:-

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY & PROCESS

OF SLAR CELL

3.1 STEP 1 - PURIFICATION OF SILICON:

The basic component of a solar cell is intrinsic silicon, which is not pure in its natural
state.

To make solar cells, the raw materials-silicon dioxide of either quartzite gravel or
crushed quartz- are first placed into an electric arc furnace, where a carbon arc is applied
to release the oxygen.
A Graphite and Thermal insulator trap the heat and maintain the furnace at required
temperature for gangue (impurity) to form a slag.

The products are carbon dioxide and molten silicon.

Silicon ingot is pulled down from the molten silicon using seed silicon crystallization
and floating zone technique.

Passing impure silicon in same direction several times that separates impurities- and
impure end is later removed.
This process yields silicon with one percent impurity, useful in many industries but not the
solar cell industry.
At this point, the silicon is still not pure enough to be used for solar cells and requires
further purification.
Pure silicon is derived from such silicon dioxides as quartzite gravel (the purest silica)
or crushed quartz.

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 3.1 STEP 2- INGOT AND WAFER PREPARATION:

Mo n o c , v s i a si Ic o n ngot

Fig 6. Ingot and wafer preperation

Solar cells are made from silicon boules, polycrystalline structures that have the atomic
structure of a single crystal The most commonly used process for creating the boule is
called the Czochralski method. In this process, a seed crystal of silicon is dipped into melted
polycrystalline silicon. As the seed crystal is withdrawn and rotated, a cylindrical ingot or
''boule" of silicon is formed. The ingot withdrawn is unusually pure, because impurities
tend to remain in the liquid.

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 Page I 14

From the boule, silicon wafers are sliced one at a time using a circular saw whose inner
diameter cuts into the rod, or many at once with a multi wire saw. Only about one-half of
the silicon is lost from the boule to the finished circular wafer-more if the wafer is then cut to
be rectangular or hexagonal Rectangular or hexagonal wafers are sometimes used in solar
cells because they can be fitted together perfectly, thereby utilizing all available space on
the front surface of the solar cell. The wafers are then polished to remove saw marks.

3.1. STEP 3 - DOPING:

The traditional way of doping silicon wafers with boron and phosphorous is to introduce a
small amount of boron during the Czochralski process. The wafers are then sealed back
to back and placed in a furnace to be heated to slightly below the melting point of silicon
(2,570 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,410 degrees Celsius) in the presence of phosphorous gas. The
phosphorous atoms ''burrow" into the silicon, which is more porous because it is close to
becoming a liquid. The temperature and time given to the process is carefully controlled
to ensure a uniform junction of
proper depth. These diffusion processes are usually performed through the use of a batch
tube furnace or an in-line continuous furnace. The basic furnace construction and process
are very similar to the process steps used by packaging engineers.

STEP 4 - SCREEN PRINTING:

Fig .7 green printing

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 Page I 15

Electrical contacts are formed through squeezmg a metal paste through mesh screens to
create a metal grid. This metal paste (usually Ag or Al) needs to be dried so that subsequent
layers can be screen-printed using the same method. As a last step, the wafer is heated in a
continuous firing furnace at temperatures ranging from 780 to 900°C. These grid- pattern
metal screens act as collector electrodes that carry electrons and complete the electrical
continuity in the circuit.

STEP 5 - STRINGING AND TABBING:

Electrical contacts connect each solar cell to another and to the receiver of produced current.
The contacts must be very thin (at least in the front) so as not to block sunlight to the cell
Metals such as palladium/silver, nickel, or copper are vacuum-evaporated After the contacts
are in place, thin strips ("fingers") are placed between cells. The most commonly used
strips are tin-coated copper.

STEP 6 - ANTIREFLECTIVE COATING:

Because pure silicon is shiny, it can reflect up to 35 percent of the sunlight. To reduce the
amount of sunlight lost, an anti-reflective coating is put on the silicon wafer- mostly
titanium dioxide, silicon oxide and some others are used. The material used for coating is
either heated until its molecules boil off and travel to the silicon and condense, or the
material undergoes sputtering. In this process, a high voltage knocks molecules off the
material and deposits them onto the silicon at the opposite electrode. Yet another method is
to allow the silicon itself to react with oxygen- or nitrogen-containing gases to form silicon
dioxide or silicon nitride. Commercial solar cell manufucturers use silicon nitride.
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 Page I 16
i.e. pyramid shaped nanostructures that yield 70% absorption that reaches the cell surface
after passing through anti-reflective coating.

Cover glou
Transpor nl adhesive
Antlrelle<tlon coating

Fig .8. Anti-reflective coating

STEP 7 - MODULE MANUFACTURING

The :finished solar cells are then encapsulated; that is, sealed into silicon rubber or ethylene
vinyl acetate. Solar module assembly usually involves soldering cells together to produce a
36-cell string (or longer) and laminating it between toughened glass on the top and a
polymeric backing sheet on the bottom The encapsulated solar cells are then placed into
an aluminum frame that has a Mylar or tedlar back sheet and a glass or plastic cover.
Frames are usually applied to allow for mounting in the field, or the laminates may be
separately integrated into a mounting system for a specific application such as integration
into a building.

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 Page I 17
CHAPTER 4:
ADVANTAGE OF SOLAR PANELS
Private home owners are discovering the benefits to our environment and a way to live
happily off the grid or are considering installing a grid-tied solar power system to offset
their electric bill or due to a belief in reducing their carbon emissions. These are great
reasons to "go solar"...

• Ecologically Friendly - For obvious reasons, the use of solar panels is Eco-friendly
and considered one of the most "green" electricity resources. Because because they
operate by interacting with a renewable energy source, sunlight, there is no fear of
depleting yet another natural resource.
• Decreased Electrical Bill - By switching to solar energy, you will save money on
your electrical bills every month. Even if electricity bills continue raising in the next
few months you will have the peace of mind knowing that your energy source is
based on solar power.
• Low Maintenance - Solar panels have no moveable parts and are very simple to use.
After being set up properly, they do not need to be tinkered with and will continuing
working for many years. In fact, many manufacturers have 25 year warranties on
their panels.
• Efficiency - No matter where you live, the chances are that you can successfully use
solar panels for you electrical needs. They are rugged and are very adaptable to
climate conditions and the latest panel models are efficient enough to work well
without facing directly south and some will even produce electricity under cloud
cover.
Regardless of who you are or what type of home you have, solar power is one of the best
ways to provide you and your family with electricity without causing more damage to our
planet.There are many ways to take advantage of the savings gained from solar panel
systems. Not only does it help you save by cutting your energy requirement from the
utility company, it may also allow you to lock in a lower solar power rate.

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 Pagel18

1.2. WHY WE CALLED IT AS SOLAR TREE

As we know trees are present in nature and they can produce their own food material by the
process called PHOTOSYNTHESIS. It is the process by which the green plant collects
energy from sun and the water present in soil at the day time and can produces their own
food material. By this process they are indirectly providing food to the human society
because we are depending on the green plants for our food directly or indirectly.

Here we are considering the example for understanding about the solar tree. This is a tree in
which the stems connected acts as the branches of the tree and the solar panels are like the
leaves. Green leaves are producing food materials for human beings likewise this leaves
are producing energy for the society. So it is very appropriate to called it as a tree.

Fig 1.1Natural Tree figu 1 Solar Tree

. 3
 Pagel19

CHAPTER 5

WHY IT IS NEEDED

Due to less land requirement:

It is the best option of energy generation because it reqwres very less land as compare to
the traditional PV system Now a day's land becomes the costliest commodity for the
human society because of high population growth. Example -To generate 2 MW
power from a PV module we reqwres IO -12 acres of land for housing of panels only.
But for the same amount of energy we reqwre only 0.10-0.12 acres of land in case of
solar tree. So we reqwre such a plant which can generate maximum energy using
minimum land.

Efficient energy generation:

It can generate energy very efficiently as compare to traditional system Due to the technique
called spiraling phyllataxy its efficiency further increase. We can also use the technique
called "SPIRALLING PHYLLATAXY" to improve the efficiency of the plant. It can be
applied in street lightening system industrial power supply etc. It is much better than the
traditional solar PV system in area point of view and also more efficient. Though it is
somehow costly but as compare to all cost involve in traditional system it is more efficient.

It can collect energy from mod:

As the name suggest this is a device to generate energy from sun but it has some unique
feature to generate energy from wind. The stem are flexible so that they can rotate in
any direction and by shaking themselves they produce energy also from wind as in the
case of a natural tree. The unique technique is that flexible panels connected to the stem
which can be rotated as our desire. So that flexibility avoidance of wind pressure can be
possible. Flexibility offers manual rotating so that maximum power can be obtained

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 Page 120

1.3 COMPONENTS AND WORKING

The solar tree consists of some important parts in its design. They are as follows:

• Solar panels
• Long tower
• LDEs
• Batteries
• Stems for connecting the panels

WORKING:

• Batteries are charged during the day time.

• LEDs are automatically switched on
• These are used to indicate how much charge/energy remain left
• Batteries are also used to store the energy so that we can use it at night and in
cloudy days when no sunlight is there.

4
1.3.1. Light Emitting Diode (LED)

//
Fig .2. Light Emitting Diode

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator
lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting. Appearing as practical
electronic components in 1962, early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modem
versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths, with very
high brightness.

Internal Description of LED

When a light-emitting diode is forward-biased (switched on), electrons are able to recombine
with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is
called electroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the
photon) is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor. An LED is often small in
area (less than 1 mm2), and integrated optical components may be used to shape its
radiation pattern.

5
 Page 122

Internal description of LED

LEDs present many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy
consumption, longer lifetime, improved physical robustness, smaller size, and faster
switching. LEDs powerful enough for room lighting are relatively expensive and require
more precise current and heat management than compact fluorescent lamp sources of
comparable output.

+ve -ve

- -. f < J A- _
a [/1 k
anode cathode

Electronic Symbol of LED

Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse as aviation lighting, automotive

lighting, advertising, general lighting, and traffic signals. LEDs have allowed new text, video
displays, and sensors to be developed, while their high switching rates are also useful in really
be advanced communications technology. Infrared LEDs are also used in the remote control
units of many commercial products including televisions, DVD players, and other domestic
appliances.

6
 Page 123

CHAPTER 6
WHY IT IS BETTER THAN A TRADITIONAL SYSTEM

India is a highly populated country, so we should take the advantage of such an energy
which requires a very less space to produce energy efficiently. In this case solar tree
could be the best one for us. It is much better than the traditional solar PV system in area
point of view and also more efficient. So this will be a very good option and should be
implemented.

For the traditional system we require large siz.e of land to generate a small amount of
power. It requires about 1% land as compare to the traditional system Solar energy is
available in abundance and considered as the easiest and cleanest means of tapping the
renewable energy. For direct conversion of solar radiation into usable form, the routes are:
solar thermal, solar photovoltaic and solar architecture. However the main problem
associated with tapping solar energy is the requirement to install large solar collectors
requires a very big space. To avoid this problem we can install a solar tree in spite of a no
of solar panels which require a very small space.
Example - To generate 2 MW power from a pv module we requires 10 -12 acres of land
for housing of panels only but for the same amount of energy we require only 0.10-

0.12 acres of land in case of solar tree.

Fig .9. Traditional PV solar System Solar Tree

18
 CHAPTER 7 APPLICATIONS

APPLICATIONS

• IN STREET

• It is more help full for passengers

• It give a shadow similarly a tree
• It is also help full for mobile charging
• It reduce heat

19
• FOR HOUSE SUPPLY

• It will reduce electricity bill.

• It will Increases the use of solar energy.
• It will help full in powercut

• FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING

• It will very use full in travelers
• Reduce usage of fossil fuels
• Reduce air pollution
• Economically better than petrol and diesel vehicles

20
 CHAPTER 8
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES

• No air pollution
• We wouldn't have to worry as much about future energy sources
• People in poor country would have access to electricity
• People can save money
• Land requirement is very less

DISADVANTAGES

• Cost is high
• May cause hazards to the birds and insects
• Hazards to eyesight from solar reflectors

21
 CHAPTER 9

CONCLUSION:-

• To fulfill the increasing energy demand the people and saving of land this project is
very successful one. This can provide electricity without any power cut problem
The extra energy can be provided to the grid.

• Saving of land, this project is very successful one.

• Increases the efficiency of solar cell using nanowires
• The main aim of this project is uplifting the public opinion on res.

• The Strawberry Tree, invented by the Serbian company Strawberry Energy is a

variation of the Solar Tree in that it is specifically designed to recharge mobile
devices. The company won the Sustainable Energy Week 2011" competition for its
revolutionary contribution.

• There is a distinction to be made between organically inspired solar trees and

structures which have been adopted to create energy efficient parking lots.
Companies such as General Electric have installed solar panels in car parking lots to
collect solar energy and protect vehicles from sun damage. These car sheltering
solar devices differ from artistic Solar Trees in that they have no organic aesthetic.
In contrast to the field of solar artwork, they would more appropriately be dubbed
elevated solar panels.

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 CHAPTER 10
REFERENCES

1. Projects. Solar Tree Foundation. N.p.Web. 20 Feb 2013. Solar Tree Foundation
Projects.
2. Solar Tree Foundation accessed: Feb 20, 2013 Solar Tree Foundation site
3. Solar Tree. Artemide. N.p. Web. 20 Feb 2013. Artemide Brochure.
4. TR Tooke CC Nicholas AV James et al 'Tree structure influences on rooftop-
received solar radiation" Landsc Urban Plann., Vol. 102, no. 2, pp. 73-81, Aug.
2011.
5. I.A. Jakubiec, C. F. Reinhart, "A method for predicting city-wide electricity gams
from photovoltaic panels based on LiDAR and GIS data combined with hourly
Daysirn simulations," Sol. Energ., Vol. 93, pp. 127-143, Jul. 2013.

6. R. Berry, S. JLivesley, & L. Aye, 'Tree canopy shade impacts on solar irradiance
received by building walls and their surface temperature," Build. Environ, Vol.
69,pp.91-100,Nov. 2013.

7. http://en. wikipedia.orglwiki/Solar_tree
8. Solar World Article on the Rams' solar projects
9. http://envisionsoJar.corn/so Jar-tree-array/

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