Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

Alejandra Licon
The University of Texas at El Paso

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Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

Abstract
Renewable energy has become an important issue in many aspects such as
technological, economic and environmental. Photovoltaic systems, is a popular form of
renewable energy in which clean energy is obtained from the suns rays and transformed into
electricity. In the city of El Paso, the innovative market of solar power has increased in past
years. The energy obtained from photovoltaic panels is green and clean energy, it is a resource
that is environmentally friendly, and produce electricity on the spot, which makes it efficient and
convenient. El Paso location is an essential factor for the success of this technology in the city.
However, arguments exist regarding the efficiency and convenience of photovoltaic systems. The
purpose of this review of literature is to identify these arguments, disadvantages and also benefits
of solar power, leading to conclude the efficiency of these technologies in El Paso.

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Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

Solar power technology is an environmentally friendly trend that has been gaining
popularity over the years due to its efficient and convenient way of using natural resources to
produce electricity. El Paso is known for its sunny and hot days which are a match for solar a solar
systems efficiency requirements. However, this innovative concept has also been rejected by part
of the public. There are various reasons for the rejection of this new technology and its market.
Controversial issues regarding solar power will be discussed in this literature review.
Taking advantage of solar energy has been a technique that has been popularized in the
last few years. It is excellent to save in electricity bills and to take care of the environment. Solar
energy systems provide clean, green energy. These energy systems are found in two forms which
are solar plants and business/home systems. There are solar plants which are used to produce large
amounts of electricity and there are also solar panel installations on homes and small business. In
this literature review we will be focusing specifically on solar panels.
People debate on whether solar energy is worth the effort or the money. However this
review of literature will attempt to answer the following questions
1. How efficient is solar energy in El Paso? How good is the performance of photovoltaic
technology in El Paso?
2. Would the augmentation of solar energy technology bring significant advantages to the
community of El Paso?

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Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

3. Could solar power become the number one source of electricity in El Paso?
For a better understanding of the features of the solar energy technology it is necessary
to become familiarized with solar systems.
Photovoltaic systems or solar panels absorb the suns rays and transform them into
electricity. They are strategically position to receive as much sunlight as possible. The rays from
the sun hit the panel which sets electrons lose (Solar Energy: Solar Power Energy Information,
2015). The loose electrons are then guided through the cells by the selenium which is
photoconductive (DNews, 2015). The flowing of the electrons through the cell produces energy,
which then is transformed into electricity by an inverter (Border Solar, personal observation
2015). Photovoltaic cells were first used by the space program as a way to power satellites
(DNews, 2015). Photovoltaic cells have come a long way since then, and now they can be used
to power homes.
There are two main types of photovoltaic cells or solar panels, Silicone and Thin film.
The most effective type of solar panel is silicone based, it is often used in photovoltaic systems.
An Article by Energy Informative (Mathlum, 2015) clearly states that the purity of the silicon is a
factor that affects efficiency of the panel, however, silicon purification could be an expensive
process (par. 7). Other types of solar panels exists such as thin film may be the cheaper type of
photovoltaic technology. Thin film solar panels are easier to produce in large quantities, however
they are not the best option for residential systems (par. 25).

How efficient is solar energy in El Paso? How good is the performance of

photovoltaic technology in El Paso?

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Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

An argument that is presented against solar energy systems is that they should be placed
in areas where skies are clear and warm climates. It is hard to find ideal places for solar plants
and it is usually deserts are the good locations. El Paso is known for having sunny says all year
long, it is a such a characteristic feature of this city that it is also known as the Sun City. It is
logical to think that El Paso, would be a great candidate to be a big producer of solar energy. El
Paso is located in west Texas in a desert area, and according to the National Weather Service
website El Paso has a Normal annual percent of possible sunshine of 83.8%.
El Paso is in a great location to take advantage of the great amount of sun light the city is
receiving daily. The Sun City already counts with great business in solar energy: suppliers and
contractors of solar panels. However the city is still very dependent on regular electricity
services. There is great potential for this city to become a provider of solar energy to its
residents.
A great feature of solar panels is that they are easy to maintain and install. Solar panels do
not need much maintenance and the installation process is not too long. Solar border is a
company in the city of El Paso that provides professional solar panel design, installation and
warranty for El Paso residents. Solar border develops a system that works best with the
consumers location, budget and energy needs (Border Solar, n.d.). The complete process with
Border Solar to install a residential solar energy system is 5 weeks, with that including contract,
design of the system, connection with the utility company, authorization and approval from city,
and installation (M. Urrea, personal communication, October 27, 2015).
The University of Texas at El Paso took advantage of these features of its location and
local business. UTEP took the initiative to implement solar energy systems in its own facilities.

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Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

Partnered with Border Solar, SunPower and McCormick Architecture (UTEPs Solar Power
System, 2014, par. 4). The university installed two solar energy systems in their campus that
together consist of 600 panels which will provide about $32,000 in utility savings per year (par.
4). As stated before Border Solar was a partner in the project, this company only uses silicone
based panels which guarantees efficiency (M. Urrea, personal communication, October 17,
2015). The University of Texas at El Paso is providing a great example for the El Paso
community in the usage of environmentally friendly resources.
Would the augmentation of solar energy technology bring significant advantages to the
community of El Paso?
The use of solar energy has only been increasing in past years. According to the article
Solar Energy: Solar Power Energy Information, from National Geographic there has been a
rise in the use of solar energy of 20 percent a year over the past 15 years, thanks to rapidly
falling prices and gains in efficiency(p. 8).
An argument that has been made against solar energy systems is that, sometimes the
power acquired from the system is not enough to power a home. Marcelo Urrea (Personal
communication, October 27, 2015) explained that this depends on the design of the system.
Systems can be specifically design for the consumption of x people living in a sun powered
home. The homes capacity of solar panels also depends on the space available for installation,
but for the most part it is common for solar energy systems to provide 100% of a homes energy
consumption (M. Urrea, personal communication, October 27, 2015). Consumers have the option
to acquire a system that covers all of their energy consumption, or only a part of it.

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Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

Many people argue that economic advantages of going solar is not worth investing in. It
is believed that getting a solar energy system at home is much more expensive than the regular
utility expenses. One of the strongest arguments for not adopting solar energy immediately is that
the cost is still too high (Gaughan, n.d., par 3). Even though prices are and have been dropping in
solar systems, people are not satisfied with the price.
Utility prices are not fixed and change constantly, however, the payments for a solar
energy system are fixed (M. Urrea, personal communication, October 27, 2015). People have the
option to pay monthly for their solar panels, which is fixed. Utility prices may increase
significantly, but a person with solar panels installed in their homes would pay a fixed price, and
would eventually pay off all of their due. There would be a time when a family with a solar
energy system would not pay for their energy.
A percentage of the people that install solar panels in their homes do it for financial
reasons, either to fix their energy consumption price, eventually stop paying for it or, making
money off of their system. A great advantage of solar energy systems is that with enough panels in
a residence, the system is capable of providing for 100 percent or more of the houses
consumption. Because energy keeps moving, if a system in a day makes more energy than it is
consumed the rest of the energy goes to the rest of the energy goes to the next house and the next
one. Producing more than what is consumed is as if you were providing energy for another home.
This is why it is said that solar energy is virtually storable (M. Urrea, personal communication,
October 27, 2015). You accumulate virtual money for producing more energy that the consumed.
When the system does not produce enough energy in the day, the house starts consuming from the
electric company, which costs money, in this case virtual money if existent.

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Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

A big advantage of renewable energy is the need and creation of more jobs. Spending
money in renewable energy creates more jobs than spending in fossil fuels. A million dollars going
into the renewable energy market would create more than 16 jobs, whereas that same amount of
money spent in fossil fuels would only create about 5 jobs (SolarWorld USA, 2012). If more
money in El Paso goes towards solar energy systems, more jobs would be created for the
community.
An important reason of people switching to solar energy is environmental reasons. A video
from SolarWorld USA (2012) shows people talking about their reasons for switching to solar
energy, they want to reduce their carbon footprint and contribute for a solution to global
warming. One of the reasons for The University of Texas at El Paso to install solar panels in
campus was to create a model for a future powered by clean energy (UTEPs Solar Power
System, 2014, par. 2). The growth in use of solar energy in El Paso is a good example for the
community to make the world a better place, and create conscience of the communitys energy
consumption.
Could solar power become the number one source of electricity in El Paso?
The community of El Paso has seen a rise in the numbers of homes with solar energy
system installations each year. El Paso Electric reported that 2,300 of its customers in the El
Paso-southern New Mexico area had solar rooftop systems at the end of last year (Kolenc,
2015, par. 10). Aside from this number, also more than 4,000 homes in Fort Bliss count with
solar systems (par, 11). In fact, Border Solars mission statement is to make Solar Energy a
standard feature in all new construction (Border Solar, n.d.).

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Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

El Paso not only has seen increasing usage of solar energy in homes. Solar energy systems
have also been implemented in business, and even at UTEP. El Paso also counts with solar plants
as shown in Figure 1, which have a large amount of solar panels to produce energy in big
quantities. Vic Kolencs article (2015) states that Solar energy has proven to be a good
technology for this area (p. 15), which is why the electric company is looking for state approval
for the state to come up with a new solar program. El Paso Electric wants to increase the number
of solar plants in El Paso. Solar power in El Paso will continue to grow and expand surely over
time.

Figure 1. El Paso Electric and Juwi Solars Solar plant in El Paso

Texas. By Electric Light and Power, Retreived from
http://www.elp.com/articles/2015/02/pseg-solar-source-builds-solarpower-project-for-el-paso-electric.html
Conclusion

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Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

Solar Energy is a relatively new and innovative concept that is growing quickly over
time. Debates exist on whether this type of renewable energy is efficient enough. The argument
of efficiency can be debated by the location argument. The efficiency of a solar system truly
depends on the right location. For an efficient solar energy system sunlight is required, which can
make these energy systems not suitable for every city. More arguments are raised against solar
energy regarding economic profit. The economic profit from a solar system depends on the type
of system installed, such as the number and type of panels, and of course the location.
El Paso is a city in which the sun shines all year long, and where renewable energy
technology is expanding more every year. The local electric company seems to support the idea
of opening more solar plants in the city which will bring more solar power to the homes of El
Paso. The production of clean energy sets an example for that community and creates conscience
among its people.

References
Border Solar: Leading Solar Power Provider in El Paso. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2015.
DNews. (2015, April 23). How We Turn Solar Energy Into Electricity [Video
file]. Retrieved

from www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnYjlsGXugo

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Efficiency of Solar Energy in El Paso

Gaughan, Richard. The Case for & Against Solar Energy. Opposing Views.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17

oct. 2015.

Kolenc, V. (2015, June 16). El Paso Electric wants to let some customers buy solar power from
proposed Montana plant. El Paso Times. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office. (n.d.). Retrieved October
20, 2015.
Mthlum, Mathias A. Which Solar Panel Type is Best? Energy Informative.
N.p., 18 May 2015.
Web. Retreived October 17 2015.
Solar Energy: Solar Power Energy Information, Solar Power Energy Facts - National
Geographic. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
www.environment.nationalgeographic.com
SolarWorld USA. (2012, March 19). Why Install Solar Panels on Your Home. [Video File].
Retrieved September 20, 2015.
UTEP's Solar Power System Saves Money and Educates Students. (2014, October 3). Retrieved
October 31, 2015.