Centro Las Gaviotas is an ecovillage located in the Llanos region of Colombia , in the department of Vichada . It was founded in 1971 by Paolo Lugari , who assembled a group of engineers and scientists in an attempt to create alternative and sustainable modes of living that were specifically adapted to the tropics in developing nations. Gaviotas has developed many internationally recognized technologies such as windmills and water pumps specifically designed to be low cost and adapted to tropical environments, it has also planted around 10,000 hectares of forest that have allowed hundreds of native plant and animal species to thrive in a harsh environment from where forests have long receded.
174-508: Their terraformation of the llanos allows Las Gaviotas to thrive, but it is not an example of low impact ecology practised by many eco-villages. Las Gaviotas is largely apolitical, a strategy which has allowed it to grow amidst the cocaine growers, paramilitary organizations, insurgent guerrilla groups, and military troops present in the Llanos. The village is further separated from many eco-anarchist movements because of its early ties to
348-476: A magnetic field . However the dynamo ceased to function long ago, and the magnetic field of Mars has largely disappeared, probably due to "loss of core heat, solidification of most of the core, and/or changes in the mantle convection regime." Results from the NASA MAVEN mission show that the atmosphere is removed primarily due to Coronal Mass Ejection events, where outbursts of high-velocity protons from
522-437: A maloca when the new Gaviotas hospital was built, so Guahibo patients could be treated according to their preferences, surrounded by family. The Gaviotas windmill and water pump designs were adopted widely across the Llanos and beyond. The Gaviotas water pump design led to a regional decline in cattle death as many ranchers now had access to underground aquifers during dry season. The water-heating solar panels were installed by
696-399: A nitrogen / oxygen atmosphere for millions of years. To provide one atmosphere of pressure, roughly 1.1×10 kilograms of gas would be required; or a somewhat lower amount if lower pressure is acceptable. Water could be delivered from the outer solar system. Once this water has been delivered, it would split the water into its constituent oxygen and hydrogen molecules, possibly using
870-752: A DC clamp meter or shunt and logged, graphed, or charted with a chart recorder or data logger. For optimum performance, a solar panel needs to be made of similar modules oriented in the same direction perpendicular to direct sunlight. Bypass diodes are used to circumvent broken or shaded panels and optimize output. These bypass diodes are usually placed along groups of solar cells to create a continuous flow. Electrical characteristics include nominal power (P MAX , measured in W ), open-circuit voltage (V OC ), short-circuit current (I SC , measured in amperes ), maximum power voltage (V MPP ), maximum power current (I MPP ), peak power ( watt-peak , W p ), and module efficiency (%). Open-circuit voltage or V OC
1044-557: A Gahibo maloca where patients could sleep in hammocks and have their relatives stay with them. In the late 1980s Gaviotas suffered significant financial blows. UNDP stopped funding and the Colombian Central Mortgage Bank stopped investing in social housing, meaning that Gaviotas got no more large contracts to install their solar water heating technology, so they started only selling piecemeal contracts to affluent individuals. However, out of this crisis came
1218-476: A Venezuelan plantation. A Venezuelan company donated 3 kilos of Pizolithus tinctorius , which does not occur naturally in the Llanos. Soon they realized that only one application of the fungus was enough, unlike the Venezuelan plantations which had to reapply fungus continually. The Gaviotas pines were also growing surprisingly fast. It was theorized in the community that since Gaviotas did not use herbicides as
1392-494: A bio-system, in harmony with nature if he was serious about settling the Llanos. Gaviotas started bringing many university students to experiment and design new technologies that could be used in the harsh environment of the Llanos. Different water pumps, soil cement, windmills or any kind of device that could help people and be adapted to local conditions were encouraged. Most students came from Universidad de Los Andes and Universidad Nacional , and many Peace Corps volunteers form
1566-406: A creative instinct; and technology must be designed to meet the demands of disadvantaged individuals and communities, not necessarily foreign capital interests. Gaviotas has created many technological innovations over the years, including a double action water pump, a one-man manual cement mixer, windmills suited to the Llanos, a pedal-powered cassava grinder that reduces 10 hours of labour into 1,
1740-502: A crucially important staple in rural South America. Bicycle riding is traditionally a masculine activity in South America because of the widespread belief that bike seats cause injuries to female genitalia. The pedal cassava grinder, therefore, took this role away from women. Since cassava is so crucial in keeping families fed, cassava grinding is a socially significant role and important to women's self-esteem. When they did operate
1914-498: A decrease in grasses , sedges , and leguminoseae species, and an increase in melastomataceae , dilleniaceae , rubiaceae , hypericaceae species. Planted areas have also seen the development of a complex forest structure with a shrub layer, understory, subcanopy, and canopy. Structurally diverse and complex forests with canopy closure are key for species richness and species diversity; it often takes decades after tree planting to reach structural complexity, but this happens faster in
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#17327908677912088-549: A factor of 4 between 2004 and 2011. Module prices dropped by about 90% over the 2010s. In 2022, worldwide installed PV capacity increased to more than 1 terawatt (TW) covering nearly two percent of global electricity demand . After hydro and wind powers , PV is the third renewable energy source in terms of global capacity. In 2022, the International Energy Agency expected a growth by over 1 TW from 2022 to 2027. In some instances, PV has offered
2262-910: A fraction of the emissions caused by fossil fuels . Photovoltaic systems have long been used in specialized applications as stand-alone installations and grid-connected PV systems have been in use since the 1990s. Photovoltaic modules were first mass-produced in 2000, when the German government funded a one hundred thousand roof program. Decreasing costs has allowed PV to grow as an energy source. This has been partially driven by massive Chinese government investment in developing solar production capacity since 2000, and achieving economies of scale . Improvements in manufacturing technology and efficiency have also led to decreasing costs. Net metering and financial incentives, such as preferential feed-in tariffs for solar-generated electricity, have supported solar PV installations in many countries. Panel prices dropped by
2436-572: A full issue on terraforming for the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society in 1992. In his book Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments (1995), Fogg proposed the following definitions for different aspects related to terraforming: Fogg also devised definitions for candidate planets of varying degrees of human compatibility: Fogg suggests that Mars was a biologically compatible planet in its youth, but
2610-495: A living through Gaviotas and many families in the region sent their children to study at the Gaviotas school. Gaviotas had generated much enthusiasm throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with president Belisario Betancur proposing to build a city called Tropicalia which would essentially be a large-scale replication of Gaviotas. However, Gaviotas struggled to grow past the mid 1990s. As much as armed groups respected Gaviotas' neutrality,
2784-459: A microclimate around Gaviotas, increasing precipitation and maintaining cooler temperatures under the canopy. The cool temperatures and moist environment created by inside-forest conditions under a closed canopy also provide a plethora of microhabitats for many species. Large amounts of fauna have moved into the Gaviotas forests including deer , anteaters , capybaras , eagles , armadillos , tapirs , pumas , and more. Areas planted with trees saw
2958-425: A middle ground, such as Christopher McKay , who argues that terraforming is ethically sound only once we have completely assured that an alien planet does not harbor life of its own; but that if it does, we should not try to reshape it to our own use, but we should engineer its environment to artificially nurture the alien life and help it thrive and co-evolve, or even co-exist with humans. Even this would be seen as
3132-434: A monoculture. The oil palms were used to make biofuel to feed all of Gaviotas' machines and vehicles, making the community fuel self-sufficient. Lugari's initial intention was to settle the Llanos, finding ways to support large populations here in a manner that was not environmentally destructive. However, the population of Gaviotas was still only around 200 people 30 years after founding, although around 2000 people still made
3306-450: A necessary component of any possible colonization strategy based on the principles of microbial symbiosis and their beneficial ecosystem services . As conditions approach that of Earth, plant life could be brought in, and this will accelerate the production of oxygen, theoretically making the planet eventually able to support animal life. In 1985, Martyn Fogg started publishing several articles on terraforming. He also served as editor for
3480-597: A new round of funding after the delegates saw the impressive water pump and windmill technology Gaviotas had developed. However, also in the late 1970s, Colombia's internal conflict was intensifying and insurgent groups started taking over the Llanos in and around Gaviotas. Insurgent groups set up roadblocks and charged protection money to locals. On several occasions, Gaviotas was papered with FARC leaflets and FARC insurgents forced Gaviotans to gather for indoctrination. The community chose to remain neutral and banned weapons from Gaviotas. It became generally known that Gaviotas
3654-449: A number of solar cells containing a semiconductor material. Copper solar cables connect modules (module cable), arrays (array cable), and sub-fields. Because of the growing demand for renewable energy sources, the manufacturing of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has advanced considerably in recent years. Cells require protection from the environment and are usually packaged tightly in solar modules. Photovoltaic module power
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#17327908677913828-527: A one-handed sugar cane press, a see-saw sleeve pump, a solar kettle for sterilizing water, solar heating panels, a low cost technique for building artificial ponds by using chicken wire and soil cement, and more. Since already-existing solutions are often very costly to adapt, Gaviotas' innovations are often simple changes to a means of production that make otherwise expensive products available at affordable prices. Gaviotas has always refused to patent their developments to be able to share them freely. In light of
4002-878: A panel can be expected to produce 400 kWh of energy per year. However, in Michigan, which receives only 1400 kWh/m /year, annual energy yield will drop to 280 kWh for the same panel. At more northerly European latitudes, yields are significantly lower: 175 kWh annual energy yield in southern England under the same conditions. Several factors affect a cell's conversion efficiency, including its reflectance , thermodynamic efficiency , charge carrier separation efficiency, charge carrier collection efficiency and conduction efficiency values. Because these parameters can be difficult to measure directly, other parameters are measured instead, including quantum efficiency , open-circuit voltage (V OC ) ratio, and § Fill factor . Reflectance losses are accounted for by
4176-481: A photo-catalytic dust, with the hydrogen rapidly being lost to space. At an oxygen pressure of 0.2-0.3 bar , the atmosphere would be breathable and nitrogen may be added as required to allow for plant growth in the presence of nitrates . Temperature management would be required, due to the equilibrium average temperature of ~159 Celsius. However, millions of square kilometers at the poles have an average temperature of 0-50 Celsius, or 32-122 Fahrenheit ( i.e., an area
4350-469: A platform for biodiversity to thrive. The new forest growing in what was formerly savanna meant that all of Gaviotas' operations became carbon negative, and an estimated 250 species have been found to grow in the Gaviotas forests. By the mid 2000s, Gaviotas also started experimenting with mixed plantations of African oil palms and other plants. the hypothesis was that similarly to the pine trees, oil palms would grow better amongst other plants instead of as
4524-457: A published journal article. Planetologist Christopher McKay wrote "Terraforming Mars", a paper for the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society . The paper discussed the prospects of a self-regulating Martian biosphere, and the word "terraforming" has since become the preferred term. In 1984, James Lovelock and Michael Allaby published The Greening of Mars . Lovelock's book was one of
4698-578: A rather large amount of uncertainty. The values of human labor and water consumption, for example, are not precisely assessed due to the lack of systematic and accurate analyses in the scientific literature. One difficulty in determining effects due to PV is to determine if the wastes are released to the air, water, or soil during the manufacturing phase. Life-cycle assessments , which look at all different environment effects ranging from global warming potential , pollution, water depletion and others, are unavailable for PV. Instead, studies have tried to estimate
4872-462: A rich variety of palm species. It's classified as a savanna ecosystem. Being quite close to the equator, the land receives intense sunlight and a high amount of precipitation at around 2,700mm annually. In fact, studies suggest that a large portion of the Orinoco watershed, covering most of the Llanos, could have continuous tree cover according to rain and temperature patterns. Vichada itself sits in
5046-520: A similar program with 539 residential PV systems installed. Since, many countries have continued to produce and finance PV systems in an exponential speed. Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the sun into a flow of electrons by the photovoltaic effect . Solar cells produce direct current electricity from sunlight which can be used to power equipment or to recharge batteries . The first practical application of photovoltaics
5220-574: A simple rooftop system, some 90% of the energy cost is from silicon, with the remainder coming from the inverters and module frame. In an analysis by Alsema et al . from 1998, the energy payback time was higher than 10 years for the former system in 1997, while for a standard rooftop system the EPBT was calculated as between 3.5 and 8 years. The EPBT relates closely to the concepts of net energy gain (NEG) and energy returned on energy invested (EROI). They are both used in energy economics and refer to
5394-463: A solution of copper sulfate dissolved in sulfuric and hydrochloric acids . The final result was a thick and deeply black film. Alonso estimated that it was even more effective than the British version and it worked remarkably well in accumulating heat even in cool, cloudy conditions. They also designed spherical water storage tanks to compress the greatest volume into the least amount of space. With
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5568-451: A staggering rate of failure for planted seedlings , with the main cause of failure being withering. Yet, Gaviotas has successfully planted thousands of hectares in which structurally complex, diverse forests are thriving. A government forester had spent years trying unsuccessfully to get native and exotic species to grow in Gaviotas by the time Lugari came back from Venezuela with the idea to plant Caribbean pines . Lugari did think that this
5742-677: A structure of front electrode, anti-reflection film, n-layer, p-layer, and back electrode, with the sun hitting the front electrode. EPBT ranges from 1.7 to 2.7 years. The cradle to gate of CO 2 -eq/kWh ranges from 37.3 to 72.2 grams when installed in Southern Europe. Techniques to produce multi-crystalline silicon (multi-si) photovoltaic cells are simpler and cheaper than mono-si, however tend to make less efficient cells, an average of 13.2%. EPBT ranges from 1.5 to 2.6 years. The cradle to gate of CO 2 -eq/kWh ranges from 28.5 to 69 grams when installed in Southern Europe. Assuming that
5916-417: A thicker atmosphere and abundant water that was lost over the course of hundreds of millions of years. The exact mechanism of this loss is still unclear, though three mechanisms, in particular, seem likely: First, whenever surface water is present, carbon dioxide ( CO 2 ) reacts with rocks to form carbonates , thus drawing atmosphere off and binding it to the planetary surface. On Earth, this process
6090-435: A type of terraforming to the strictest of ecocentrists, who would say that all life has the right, in its home biosphere, to evolve without outside interference. Photovoltaics Photovoltaics ( PV ) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect , a phenomenon studied in physics , photochemistry , and electrochemistry . The photovoltaic effect
6264-452: A very long-term choice between terraforming other worlds or allowing all terrestrial life to become extinct . Terraforming totally barren planets, it is asserted, is not morally wrong as it does not affect any other life. The opposing argument posits that terraforming would be an unethical interference in nature , and that given humanity's past treatment of Earth, other planets may be better off without human interference. Still others strike
6438-433: Is able to sustain life, particularly for humans, is generally the end-goal of the hypothetical process of terraforming. Of particular interest in the context of terraforming is the set of factors that have sustained complex, multicellular animals in addition to simpler organisms on Earth. Research and theory in this regard is a component of planetary science and the emerging discipline of astrobiology . Classifications of
6612-401: Is around 18 grams (cradle to gate). CdTe has the fastest EPBT of all commercial PV technologies, which varies between 0.3 and 1.2 years. Third-generation PVs are designed to combine the advantages of both the first and second generation devices and they do not have Shockley-Queisser limit , a theoretical limit for first and second generation PV cells. The thickness of a third generation device
6786-440: Is around 2,700mm, although highly variable. Average annual temperature is 27 °C. 4°33′N 70°55′W / 4.550°N 70.917°W / 4.550; -70.917 Terraformation Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere , temperature , surface topography or ecology of a planet , moon , or other body to be similar to
6960-724: Is commercially used for electricity generation and as photosensors . A photovoltaic system employs solar modules , each comprising a number of solar cells , which generate electrical power. PV installations may be ground-mounted, rooftop-mounted, wall-mounted or floating. The mount may be fixed or use a solar tracker to follow the sun across the sky. Photovoltaic technology helps to mitigate climate change because it emits much less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels . Solar PV has specific advantages as an energy source: once installed, its operation does not generate any pollution or any greenhouse gas emissions ; it shows scalability in respect of power needs and silicon has large availability in
7134-399: Is common practice in plantations, the mycorrhiza was thriving and needed no further help. Also, since no herbicides were being used, an entire understory of vines, shrubs and trees started to grow under the pines, which commercial forestry plantations advice against to avoid competition, but given that the pines were growing so healthily, Gaviotans sensed that the diversity of plants was helping
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7308-446: Is counteracted when plate tectonics works to cause volcanic eruptions that vent carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere. On Mars, the lack of such tectonic activity worked to prevent the recycling of gases locked up in sediments. Second, the lack of a magnetosphere around Mars may have allowed the solar wind to gradually erode the atmosphere. Convection within the core of Mars, which is made mostly of iron , originally generated
7482-435: Is due to its exposure to solar radiation as well as other external conditions. The degradation index, which is defined as the annual percentage of output power loss, is a key factor in determining the long-term production of a photovoltaic plant. To estimate this degradation, the percentage of decrease associated with each of the electrical parameters. The individual degradation of a photovoltaic module can significantly influence
7656-436: Is known as pantropy . There is a philosophical debate within biology and ecology as to whether terraforming other worlds is an ethical endeavor. From the point of view of a cosmocentric ethic , this involves balancing the need for the preservation of human life against the intrinsic value of existing planetary ecologies. Lucianne Walkowicz has even called terraforming a "planetary-scale strip mining operation". On
7830-468: Is less than 1 μm. Two new promising thin film technologies are copper zinc tin sulfide (Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 or CZTS), zinc phosphide (Zn 3 P 2 ) and single-walled carbon nano-tubes (SWCNT). These thin films are currently only produced in the lab but may be commercialized in the future. The manufacturing of CZTS and (Zn 3 P 2 ) processes are expected to be similar to those of current thin film technologies of CIGS and CdTe, respectively. While
8004-456: Is measured under standard test conditions (STC) in "W p " ( watts peak ). The actual power output at a particular place may be less than or greater than this rated value, depending on geographical location, time of day, weather conditions, and other factors. Solar photovoltaic array capacity factors are typically under 25% when not coupled with storage, which is lower than many other industrial sources of electricity. Solar-cell efficiency
8178-400: Is not now in any of these three categories, because it can only be terraformed with greater difficulty. Planetary habitability, broadly defined as the capacity for an astronomical body to sustain life, requires that various geophysical , geochemical , and astrophysical criteria must be met before the surface of such a body is considered habitable. Modifying a planetary surface such that it
8352-459: Is observed (which can last several months and up to two years), followed by a later stage in which the degradation stabilizes, being then comparable to that of crystalline silicon. Strong seasonal variations are also observed in such thin-film technologies because the influence of the solar spectrum is much greater. For example, for modules of amorphous silicon, micromorphic silicon or cadmium telluride, we are talking about annual degradation rates for
8526-494: Is only 1.1% that of Earth's, and, being closer to the Sun, any atmosphere would be stripped rapidly unless it can be protected from the solar wind. It is conjectured that Mercury's magnetic field should be much stronger, up to 30% of Earth's, if it weren't being suppressed by certain solar wind feedback effects. If some means of shielding Mercury from solar wind by placing an artificial magnetic shield at Mercury-Sun L 1 (similar to
8700-402: Is processed from mined quartz until it is very pure (semi-conductor grade). This is melted down when small amounts of boron , a group III element, are added to make a p-type semiconductor rich in electron holes. Typically using a seed crystal, an ingot of this solution is grown from the liquid polycrystalline. The ingot may also be cast in a mold. Wafers of this semiconductor material are cut from
8874-488: Is referred to as a 'topia' because it is real. It is a place of action and experimentation rather than an idealized place. Governments from Thailand , Malaysia , Caribbean countries and even China wanted to implement programs to replicate what Gaviotas did, but Lugari felt it was impossible to replicate because Gaviotas is the antithesis of a government program, which are too linear; it's more of combination of random occurrences born out of chaos. Lugari defines Gaviotas as
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#17327908677919048-475: Is that its atmosphere is simply far too thick: the high atmospheric pressure would result in a "atmosphere of nearly pure molecular oxygen" at high pressure. This volatile combination could not be sustained through time. Any carbon that had been reduced by photosynthesis would be quickly oxidized in this atmosphere through combustion, "short-circuiting" the terraforming process. Sagan also visualized making Mars habitable for human life in an article published in
9222-535: Is the maximum voltage the module can produce when not connected to an electrical circuit or system. V OC can be measured with a voltmeter directly on an illuminated module's terminals or on its disconnected cable. The peak power rating, W p , is the maximum output under standard test conditions (not the maximum possible output). Typical modules, which could measure approximately 1 by 2 metres (3 ft × 7 ft), will be rated from as low as 75 W to as high as 600 W, depending on their efficiency. At
9396-433: Is the portion of energy in the form of sunlight that can be converted via photovoltaics into electricity by the solar cell . The efficiency of the solar cells used in a photovoltaic system , in combination with latitude and climate, determines the annual energy output of the system. For example, a solar panel with 20% efficiency and an area of 1 m will produce 200 kWh/yr at Standard Test Conditions if exposed to
9570-507: Is therefore untenable, as he later conceded. An additional step noted by Martin Beech includes the injection of water and/or hydrogen into the planetary atmosphere; this step follows after sequestering CO 2 and reducing the mass of the atmosphere. In order to combine hydrogen with O 2 produced by other means, an estimated 4*10 kg of hydrogen is necessary; this may need to be mined from another source, such as Uranus or Neptune. Although
9744-401: Is to haul heavy cargo on a lighter-than-air dirigible , but they did build a Zeppelin and use it to monitor wildfires across the thousands of forest hectares that Gaviotas manages. Many of Gaviotas' innovations, despite being technically clever and functional, were not successful culturally and socially. For instance, the pedal-powered cassava grinder failed to take off even though cassava is
9918-689: Is unclear what the result of heating this up would be. Many proposals for planetary engineering involve the use of genetically engineered bacteria. As synthetic biology matures over the coming decades it may become possible to build designer organisms from scratch that directly manufacture desired products efficiently. Lisa Nip, Ph.D. candidate at the MIT Media Lab 's Molecular Machines group, said that by synthetic biology, scientists could genetically engineer humans, plants and bacteria to create Earth-like conditions on another planet. Gary King, microbiologist at Louisiana State University studying
10092-625: The Amazon or Chocó regions, destroying some of the richest rainforest in the planet as was already happening in the Andean regions of Colombia. So Lugari wanted to see if the Llanos could be made inhabitable while rejecting reliance on technology and knowledge from distant, temperate places like the United States and Europe. The Llanos were very sparsely populated apart from Guahibo peoples and refugees from La Violencia , which for Lugari made
10266-815: The Greek φῶς ( phōs ) meaning "light", and from "volt", the unit of electromotive force, the volt , which in turn comes from the last name of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , inventor of the battery ( electrochemical cell ). The term "photovoltaic" has been in use in English since 1849. In 1989, the German Research Ministry initiated the first ever program to finance PV roofs (2200 roofs). A program led by Walter Sandtner in Bonn, Germany. In 1994, Japan followed in their footsteps and conducted
10440-643: The Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the surface environment of objects in the Solar System. The low gravity of Mars suggests that these impacts could have ejected much of the Martian atmosphere into deep space. Terraforming Mars would entail two major interlaced changes: building the atmosphere and heating it. A thicker atmosphere of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide would trap incoming solar radiation . Because
10614-460: The Pizolithus tinctorius fungus is also applied by a mixture of water with a powder made from ground mushroom caps . As plants were allowed to grow under the now moist and cool shade of the pine trees, an Indigenous forest grew under the pine canopy. This was never the intention of Gaviotas, it was in fact an accident of experimentation, but it has become a point of pride and a cornerstone for
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#173279086779110788-576: The Uncertainty Principle . In principle, this contradicts the initial goal of creating a new way of life for widespread settlement, since it cannot be replicated, but many of the innovations coming out of Gaviotas have been shared with the world and benefitted thousands of people. Gaviotas is situated in the Llanos , an ecoregion defined by flat grasslands with dispersed islands of gallery forests growing along rivers and streams, which have
10962-454: The introduced species , the importation of microbial life could begin. As conditions approach that of Earth, plant life could also be brought in. This would accelerate the production of oxygen, which theoretically would make the planet eventually able to support animal life. In many respects, Mars is the most Earth-like planet in the Solar System. It is thought that Mars once had a more Earth-like environment early in its history, with
11136-483: The origin of an ecosystem . In the context of space exploration, Haynes describes ecopoiesis as the "fabrication of a sustainable ecosystem on a currently lifeless, sterile planet". Fogg defines ecopoiesis as a type of planetary engineering and is one of the first stages of terraformation. This primary stage of ecosystem creation is usually restricted to the initial seeding of microbial life. A 2019 opinion piece by Lopez, Peixoto and Rosado has reintroduced microbiology as
11310-413: The planetary equilibrium temperature ; terraforming concepts may include modifying temperature by methods including solar reflectors to increase or decrease the amount of solar illumination, and hence modify temperature. All known life requires water; thus the capacity for planetary body to sustain water is a critical aspect of habitability. The " Habitable Zone " of a solar system is generally defined as
11484-663: The triple point of water (611.7 Pa), water cannot be liquid at any temperature. Human survival requires a still-higher pressure of at least 6.3 kPa, the Armstrong limit ; below this pressure, exposed body fluids boil at body temperature. Furthermore, a thick atmosphere protects the surface from cosmic rays . A thin atmosphere could be thickened using gases produced locally (e.g. the Moon could be given an atmosphere of oxygen by reducing lunar rock ) or gases could be imported from elsewhere. Once conditions become more suitable for life of
11658-402: The "world house" concept, para-terraforming involves the construction of a habitable enclosure on a planet that encompasses most of the planet's usable area. The enclosure would consist of a transparent roof held one or more kilometers above the surface, pressurized with a breathable atmosphere, and anchored with tension towers and cables at regular intervals. The world house concept is similar to
11832-512: The Amazon rainforest has expanded and contracted through the region across glacial periods . The rainforest expanded through the Holocene but throughout the Llanos it has receded over the past 2.3 thousand years giving way to a savanna ecosystem dominated by grasslands. It has been theorized that human impact has had an influence on the recent retreat of the rainforest, evidence of human impact on
12006-656: The Chinese ambassador to Colombia, among others. Books about Gaviotas have been published in Colombia, the United States , Korea , China, and Japan . Between 1983 and 1987, six films were made about Gaviotas by Gaviotas member Pepe Gómez. The films were shown in Canada , Venezuela , Curaçao , Nicaragua , Haiti , Dominican Republic , France , Netherlands , Peru , England , and Paraguay . A play, named "Entusiamo!"
12180-682: The Earth's crust, although other materials required in PV system manufacture such as silver may constrain further growth in the technology. Other major constraints identified include competition for land use. The use of PV as a main source requires energy storage systems or global distribution by high-voltage direct current power lines causing additional costs, and also has a number of other specific disadvantages such as variable power generation which have to be balanced. Production and installation does cause some pollution and greenhouse gas emissions , though only
12354-693: The Gaviotas solar collector design, and a sleeve pump was installed in Veracruz by Gaviotas technicians (apart from the many sleeve pumps installed in Colombia). Gaviotas was also awarded the 1997 World Prize in Zero Emissions from the United Nations' Zero Emissions Research Initiative . Las Gaviotas has a hot and humid tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen Am ) with a short dry season from December to February. The average rainfall at Gaviotas
12528-429: The Llanos that they ran out of customers since virtually every farm, ranch or household that could use a windmill has one. One of the most widespread Gaviotas developments is a water pump that can tap aquifers six times as deep as conventional pumps with less effort being expended. While conventional pumps raise and lower a heavy piston in a pipe through atmospheric pressure, Gaviotas engineers created pumps that leave
12702-472: The Moon. One proposal for terraforming Ceres would involve heating it (using orbital mirrors, detonating thermonuclear devices or colliding small asteroids with Ceres), creating an atmosphere and deep ocean. However, this appears to be based on a misconception that Ceres' surface is icy in a similar way to the gas giant moons. In reality, Ceres' surface is "a layer of mixed ice, silicates and light strong phases best matched by hydrated salts and clathrates". It
12876-475: The Standard Test Condition solar irradiance value of 1000 W/m for 2.74 hours a day. Usually solar panels are exposed to sunlight for longer than this in a given day, but the solar irradiance is less than 1000 W/m for most of the day. A solar panel can produce more when the Sun is high in Earth's sky and will produce less in cloudy conditions or when the Sun is low in the sky; usually
13050-456: The Sun impact the atmosphere. Mars does still retain a limited magnetosphere that covers approximately 40% of its surface. Rather than uniformly covering and protecting the atmosphere from solar wind, however, the magnetic field takes the form of a collection of smaller, umbrella-shaped fields, mainly clustered together around the planet's southern hemisphere. Finally, between approximately 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago, asteroid impacts during
13224-476: The Sun is lower in the sky in the winter. Two location dependant factors that affect solar PV yield are the dispersion and intensity of solar radiation. These two variables can vary greatly between each country. The global regions that have high radiation levels throughout the year are the middle east, Northern Chile, Australia, China, and Southwestern USA. In a high-yield solar area like central Colorado, which receives annual insolation of 2000 kWh/m /year,
13398-479: The U.S. market are UL listed, meaning they have gone through testing to withstand hail. Potential-induced degradation (also called PID) is a potential-induced performance degradation in crystalline photovoltaic modules, caused by so-called stray currents. This effect may cause power loss of up to 30%. The largest challenge for photovoltaic technology is the purchase price per watt of electricity produced. Advancements in photovoltaic technologies have brought about
13572-453: The US also spent time in Gaviotas in the early days, but gradually left. In the first years, the population of Gaviotas was of 20 people, many Guahibo people helped build houses and hammocks. The Guahibo asked for a school, and Lugari was able to build the school and also bring nurses regularly to Gaviotas. Given the oil embargo of 1973 , Gaviotas gained notoriety for their methodologies focused on
13746-543: The United Nations and the Colombian government. Paolo Lugari first saw the Colombian Llanos in 1966 when his uncle, Tomás Castrillón , who was the minister of Public Works at the time, took him on an inspection flight to the Llanos. Paolo was captivated by the seemingly empty landscape and soon after travelled to Vichada by car with his brother. After days of travel they found a couple of deserted buildings from
13920-577: The abandoned construction of a highway through the Llanos. Lugari chose this place to start a community, he staked 10,000 hectares around the abandoned buildings and started a non-profit called El Centro las Gaviotas. The day the brothers arrived they saw river gulls (gaviotas in Spanish) and chose this as the name for the project. Lugari envisioned Gaviotas as a laboratory for a tropical civilization. Lugari theorized that in order to accommodate Colombia's growing population, people would either have to settle
14094-409: The ability of water (possibly saline, or under high pressure in the ocean bottom) to be available in liquid form. This may constitute a bounding range for the development of life on other planets, in the context of terraforming. For Earth, the temperature is set by the equilibrium of incident solar radiation absorbed and outgoing infrared radiation, including the effect of greenhouse gasses in modifying
14268-877: The absorber layer of SWCNT PV is expected to be synthesized with CoMoCAT method. by Contrary to established thin films such as CIGS and CdTe, CZTS, Zn 3 P 2 , and SWCNT PVs are made from earth abundant, nontoxic materials and have the potential to produce more electricity annually than the current worldwide consumption. While CZTS and Zn 3 P 2 offer good promise for these reasons, the specific environmental implications of their commercial production are not yet known. Global warming potential of CZTS and Zn 3 P 2 were found 38 and 30 grams CO 2 -eq/kWh while their corresponding EPBT were found 1.85 and 0.78 years, respectively. Overall, CdTe and Zn 3 P 2 have similar environmental effects but can slightly outperform CIGS and CZTS. A study on environmental impacts of SWCNT PVs by Celik et al., including an existing 1% efficient device and
14442-409: The activation energy to decrease twenty-fold from 1.12 eV to 0.05 eV. Since the potential difference (E B ) is so low, the boron is able to thermally ionize at room temperatures. This allows for free energy carriers in the conduction and valence bands thereby allowing greater conversion of photons to electrons. The power output of a photovoltaic (PV) device decreases over time. This decrease
14616-532: The agency and some of its research partners created an software called DTA GView − a ' Google Maps of genomes ', in which genomes of several organisms can be pulled up on the program to immediately show a list of known genes and where they are located in the genome. According to Alicia Jackson, deputy director of DARPA's Biological Technologies Office , they have developed a "technological toolkit to transform not just hostile places here on Earth, but to go into space not just to visit, but to stay". Also known as
14790-419: The amount of sunlight available and the efficiency of the electrical grid) and on the type of system, namely the system's components. A 2015 review of EPBT estimates of first and second-generation PV suggested that there was greater variation in embedded energy than in efficiency of the cells implying that it was mainly the embedded energy that needs to reduce to have a greater reduction in EPBT. In general,
14964-526: The armed conflict put many government plans on the back burner and deeply affected Colombia's economy. The entire Llanos region became a no-go zone for many, to the point Gaviotas had to discourage foreign visitors since foreigners became prime targets for kidnappings. This was also one of the reasons manufacturing was more concentrated in Gaviotas' factory in Bogotá . Different factors also meant Gaviotas continued to struggle economically. After supplying virtually
15138-505: The atmosphere, using orbiting mirrors to reflect more sunlight onto the planet, or lowering the albedo of the planet. Conversely, a planet too hot for liquid water could be cooled down by removing greenhouse gases (if these are present), placing a sunshade in the L 1 point to reduce sunlight reaching the planet, or increasing the albedo. Atmospheric pressure is another issue: various celestial bodies including Mars, Mercury and most moons have lower pressure than Earth. At pressures below
15312-522: The bark to see if resin could be collected, every 12 days a new incision was made higher up the tree according to the instructions of a Venezuelan pine plantation. After 36 days the yield of pine resin was equivalent to what should be produced by 25-year-old trees according to manuals. Through this pine resin, Gaviotas found a way to be financially independent, since the resin is used in the manufacturing of paints, varnishes, and other products, and Colombian companies had been importing resin for decades. Gaviotas
15486-464: The bulk material with wire saws, and then go through surface etching before being cleaned. Next, the wafers are placed into a phosphorus vapor deposition furnace which lays a very thin layer of phosphorus, a group V element, which creates an n-type semiconducting surface. To reduce energy losses, an anti-reflective coating is added to the surface, along with electrical contacts. After finishing the cell, cells are connected via electrical circuit according to
15660-429: The cations Mg , Ca , K and Na and the anion Cl . Many of these elements may undergo biologically facilitated oxidation or reduction to produce usable metabolic energy. Terraforming a planet would involve making it fit the habitability requirements listed in the previous section. For example, a planet may be too cold for liquid water to exist on its surface. Its temperature could be raised by adding greenhouse gases to
15834-464: The cheapest source of electrical power in regions with a high solar potential, with a bid for pricing as low as 0.015 US$ / kWh in Qatar in 2023. In 2023, the International Energy Agency stated in its World Energy Outlook that '[f]or projects with low cost financing that tap high quality resources, solar PV is now the cheapest source of electricity in history. The term "photovoltaic" comes from
16008-431: The community's approach of environmentally restorative ways of life. Apart from gallery forests, the land was always characterized by only a few species of grasses, but now 250 plant species have been identified in the Gaviotas forests. Within just 5 years of planting it is estimated that biomass in the ecosystem multiplied by 16 and biodiversity increased substantially. Also, the forest is now large enough that it has created
16182-410: The concept of a domed habitat , but one which covers all (or most) of the planet. Potential targets for paraterraforming include Mercury, the Moon, Ceres and the gas giant moons. It has also been suggested that instead of or in addition to terraforming a hostile environment humans might adapt to these places by the use of genetic engineering , biotechnology and cybernetic enhancements . This
16356-534: The cost of each device by both reducing material and energy consumption during manufacturing. The global market share of CdTe was 4.7% in 2008. This technology's highest power conversion efficiency is 21%. The cell structure includes glass substrate (around 2 mm), transparent conductor layer, CdS buffer layer (50–150 nm), CdTe absorber and a metal contact layer. CdTe PV systems require less energy input in their production than other commercial PV systems per unit electricity production. The average CO 2 -eq/kWh
16530-491: The criteria of habitability can be varied, but it is generally agreed upon that the presence of water, non-extreme temperatures, and an energy source put broad constraints on habitability. Other requirements for habitability have been defined as the presence of raw materials, a solvent, and clement conditions, or elemental requirements (such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur), and reasonable physiochemical conditions. When applied to organisms present on
16704-452: The difference between the energy expended to harvest an energy source and the amount of energy gained from that harvest. The NEG and EROI also take the operating lifetime of a PV system into account and a working life of 25 to 30 years is typically assumed. From these metrics, the Energy payback Time can be derived by calculation. PV systems using crystalline silicon, by far the majority of
16878-407: The dwarf planet Ceres . The moons are covered in ice, so heating them would make some of this ice sublimate into an atmosphere of water vapour, ammonia and other gases. For Jupiter's moons, the intense radiation around Jupiter would cause radiolysis of water vapour, splitting it into hydrogen and oxygen. The former would be rapidly lost to space, leaving behind the oxygen (this already occurs on
17052-403: The earth, including humans, these constraints can substantially narrow. In its astrobiology roadmap, NASA has defined the principal habitability criteria as "extended regions of liquid water, conditions favorable for the assembly of complex organic molecules , and energy sources to sustain metabolism ." The general temperature range for all life on Earth is -20°C to 122°C, set primarily by
17226-662: The effects of climate change , an interventionist program might be designed to return Earth to pre-industrial climate parameters. In order to achieve this, multiple approaches have been proposed, such as the management of solar radiation , the sequestration of carbon dioxide, and the design and release of climate altering genetically engineered organisms. These are typically referred to as geoengineering or climate engineering , rather than terraforming. Other possible candidates for terraforming (possibly only partial or paraterraforming) include large moons of Jupiter or Saturn ( Europa , Ganymede , Callisto , Enceladus , Titan ), and
17400-439: The electrical output of a PV system, the manufacturer must simply add more photovoltaic components. Because of this, economies of scale are important for manufacturers as costs decrease with increasing output. While there are many types of PV systems known to be effective, crystalline silicon PV accounted for around 90% of the worldwide production of PV in 2013. Manufacturing silicon PV systems has several steps. First, polysilicon
17574-437: The energy source to keep the water liquid is from tidal heating , rather than solar energy. On the most fundamental level, the only absolute requirement of life may be thermodynamic disequilibrium , or the presence of Gibbs Free Energy . It has been argued that habitability can be conceived of as a balance between life's demand for energy and the capacity for the environment to provide such energy. For humans, energy comes in
17748-464: The enrichment of human existence, not become a steamroller that turns on its inventors and crushes them. Furthermore, this technology needs to reduce environmental harm compared to alternatives, improve nature in some way or at the very least minimize harm as much as possible. Many visitors and journalists over the years have defined Gaviotas as a utopia, a characterization that Lugari and Gaviotans reject. A utopia literally means 'no place', so Gaviotas
17922-584: The entire Colombian market for pine resin, China flooded the market with cheap resin from its western provinces, sending prices plummeting. Gaviotas had to diversify and started selling bottled water from the clean aquifers under their forest. Their bottles were designed like legos that could fit with each other, and were used as toys that became known as 'poor people legos' or were filled with sand and used as bricks for construction. Gaviotas sold water bottles to many upscale restaurants, stipulating that all bottles must be returned to Gaviotas to be repurposed. Gaviotas
18096-551: The environment of Earth to make it habitable for humans to live on. The concept of terraforming developed from both science fiction and actual science . Carl Sagan , an astronomer , proposed the planetary engineering of Venus in 1961, which is considered one of the first accounts of the concept. The term was coined by Jack Williamson in a science-fiction short story (" Collision Orbit ") published in 1942 in Astounding Science Fiction . Even if
18270-471: The environment of a planet could be altered deliberately, the feasibility of creating an unconstrained planetary environment that mimics Earth on another planet has yet to be verified. While Venus, Earth , Mars , and even the Moon have been studied in relation to the subject, Mars is usually considered to be the most likely candidate for terraforming. Much study has been done concerning the possibility of heating
18444-409: The environmental impact of PV have focused on carbon dioxide equivalents per kWh or energy pay-back time (EPBT). The EPBT describes the timespan a PV system needs to operate in order to generate the same amount of energy that was used for its manufacture. Another study includes transport energy costs in the EPBT. The EPBT has also been defined completely differently as "the time needed to compensate for
18618-492: The first to describe a novel method of warming Mars, where chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are added to the atmosphere to produce a strong greenhouse effect. Motivated by Lovelock's book, biophysicist Robert Haynes worked behind the scenes to promote terraforming, and contributed the neologism Ecopoiesis , forming the word from the Greek οἶκος , oikos , "house", and ποίησις , poiesis , "production". Ecopoiesis refers to
18792-432: The first years of between 3% and 4%. However, other technologies, such as CIGS, show much lower degradation rates, even in those early years. Overall the manufacturing process of creating solar photovoltaics is simple in that it does not require the culmination of many complex or moving parts. Because of the solid-state nature of PV systems, they often have relatively long lifetimes, anywhere from 10 to 30 years. To increase
18966-744: The following countries had a high-quality grid infrastructure as in Europe, in 2020 it was calculated it would take 1.28 years in Ottawa , Canada, for a rooftop photovoltaic system to produce the same amount of energy as required to manufacture the silicon in the modules in it (excluding the silver, glass, mounts and other components), 0.97 years in Catania , Italy , and 0.4 years in Jaipur , India. Outside of Europe, where net grid efficiencies are lower, it would take longer. This ' energy payback time ' can be seen as
19140-826: The form of sugars, fats, and proteins provided by consuming plants and animals, necessitating in turn that a habitable planet for humans can sustain such organisms. Much of earth's biomass (~60%) relies on photosynthesis for an energy source, while a further ~40% is chemotropic . For the development of life on other planetary bodies, chemical energy may have been critical, while for sustaining life on another planetary body in our solar system, sufficiently high solar energy may also be necessary for phototrophic organisms. On Earth, life generally requires six elements in high abundance: carbon , hydrogen , nitrogen , oxygen , phosphorus , and sulfur . These elements are considered "essential" for all known life and plentiful within biological systems. Additional elements crucial to life include
19314-409: The goal to harness renewable energy and work with nature, Gaviotas spent years designing windmill prototypes. 57 windmill prototypes were tested until the 58th was deemed successful, it consists of 5 aluminum blades with each blade torqued to turn leeward, which eliminated the need for a tail. The Gaviotas windmill has various uses such as drawing water from wells. It has become so widely adopted across
19488-406: The gravity on Earth's Moon is too low to hold an atmosphere for geological spans of time, if given one, it would retain it for spans of time that are long compared to human lifespans. Landis and others have thus proposed that it could be feasible to terraform the moon, although not all agree with that proposal. Landis estimates that a 1 PSI atmosphere of pure oxygen on the Moon would require on
19662-422: The grinder, women complained about now having too much free time on their hands and also complained that it changed their relationship with their children since they did not spend time with them milling the cassava. This and many other Gaviotas innovations performed well technically but for different reasons failed to be adopted socially. Gaviotas have provided a livelihood for many Indigenous Guahibo , settlers in
19836-487: The high surface temperatures of Venus, and thus be sequestered in the form of "graphite or some involatile form of carbon" on the planet's surface. However, later discoveries about the conditions on Venus made this particular approach impossible. One problem is that the clouds of Venus are composed of a highly concentrated sulfuric acid solution. Even if atmospheric algae could thrive in the hostile environment of Venus's upper atmosphere, an even more insurmountable problem
20010-509: The hospital to close its doors. The hospital is no longer operational and the building is now used as a biofuel factory. Gaviotas was also able to procure thousands of measles vaccines when a measles epidemic was sweeping through Guahibo populations in the Llanos. Gaviotas also designed a two-cylinder steam engine to use the steam from resin processing to generate electricity, which helped Gaviotas finally become energy self-sufficient after years of using diesel generators when needed. Given
20184-444: The impact and potential impact of various types of PV, but these estimates are usually restricted to simply assessing energy costs of the manufacture and/or transport , because these are new technologies and the total environmental impact of their components and disposal methods are unknown, even for commercially available first generation solar cells , let alone experimental prototypes with no commercial viability. Thus, estimates of
20358-546: The implementation of the concept. The astronomer Carl Sagan proposed the planetary engineering of Venus in an article published in the journal Science in 1961. Sagan imagined seeding the atmosphere of Venus with algae , which would convert water, nitrogen and carbon dioxide into organic compounds . As this process removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect would be reduced until surface temperatures dropped to "comfortable" levels. The resulting plant matter, Sagan proposed, would be pyrolyzed by
20532-463: The injection of floating, photosynthetic bacteria into the Venusian atmosphere to reduce CO 2 to organic form , and increase the atmospheric concentration of O 2 in the atmosphere. This concept, however, was based in a flawed 1960s understanding of Venus's atmosphere as much lower pressure; in reality, the Venusian atmospheric pressure (93 bars) is far higher than early estimates. Sagan's idea
20706-402: The journal Icarus , "Planetary Engineering on Mars" (1973). Three years later, NASA addressed the issue of planetary engineering officially in a study, but used the term "planetary ecosynthesis" instead. The study concluded that it was possible for Mars to support life and be made into a habitable planet . The first conference session on terraforming, then referred to as "Planetary Modeling",
20880-411: The junction temperature. The values of these parameters, which can be found in any data sheet of the photovoltaic module, are the following: Techniques for estimating these coefficients from experimental data can be found in the literature. The ability of solar modules to withstand damage by rain, hail , heavy snow load, and cycles of heat and cold varies by manufacturer, although most solar panels on
21054-437: The module changes as lighting, temperature and load conditions change, so there is never one specific voltage at which the module operates. Performance varies depending on geographic location, time of day, the day of the year, amount of solar irradiance , direction and tilt of modules, cloud cover, shading, soiling , state of charge, and temperature. Performance of a module or panel can be measured at different time intervals with
21228-404: The moon would require "about 100 comets the size of Halley's." Mercury would be difficult to terraform. Beech states "There seems little prospect of terraforming Mercury such that any animals or plants might exist there," and suggests that its primary use in a terraforming project would be as a mining source for minerals. Nevertheless, terraforming has been considered. Mercury's magnetic field
21402-406: The moons to a minor extent, giving them thin atmospheres of oxygen). For Saturn's moons, the water vapour could be split by using orbital mirrors to focus sunlight, causing photolysis . The ammonia could be converted to nitrogen by introducing bacteria such as Nitrosomonas , Pseudomonas and Clostridium , resulting in an Earth-like nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. This atmosphere would protect
21576-536: The most extreme organisms on Earth, notes that "synthetic biology has given us a remarkable toolkit that can be used to manufacture new kinds of organisms specially suited for the systems we want to plan for" and outlines the prospects for terraforming, saying "we'll want to investigate our chosen microbes, find the genes that code for the survival and terraforming properties that we want (like radiation and drought resistance ), and then use that knowledge to genetically engineer specifically Martian-designed microbes". He sees
21750-419: The most important component of solar panels, which accounts for much of the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, is the refining of the polysilicon. As to how much percentage of the EPBT this silicon depends on the type of system. A fully autarkic system requires additional components ('Balance of System', the power inverters , storage, etc.) which significantly increase the energy cost of manufacture, but in
21924-445: The new design, Gaviotas was able to install solar heating collectors all over Bogotá, including 30,000 person Ciudad Tunal , at the time the largest public housing complex in the world to use only solar energy to heat its water. When the new Gaviotas hospital was built in the 1980s, they designed a self-powered, functional hospital that ran only on solar energy. In the 1990s the Colombian government passed new legislation and pressured
22098-442: The often impassable road to Bogotá from Gaviotas, transporting materials and products back and forth between the capital and Gaviotas is expensive and often difficult. There was also the issue to armed groups setting up roadblocks on the only road leading to the Llanos from Bogotá. Therefore, Gaviotas engineers had dreamed to build a Zeppelin to carry cargo to and from Bogotá. It turns out they massively underestimated how difficult it
22272-441: The order of two hundred trillion tons of oxygen, and suggests it could be produced by reducing the oxygen from an amount of lunar rock equivalent to a cube about fifty kilometers on an edge. Alternatively, he suggests that the water content of "fifty to a hundred comets" the size of Halley's comet would do the job, "assuming that the water doesn't splash away when the comets hit the moon." Likewise, Benford calculates that terraforming
22446-458: The overall performance of the plant. There are several studies dealing with the power degradation analysis of modules based on different photovoltaic technologies available in the literature. According to a recent study, the degradation of crystalline silicon modules is very regular, oscillating between 0.8% and 1.0% per year. On the other hand, if we analyze the performance of thin-film photovoltaic modules, an initial period of strong degradation
22620-462: The performance of a complete string. Furthermore, not all modules in the same installation decrease their performance at exactly the same rate. Given a set of modules exposed to long-term outdoor conditions, the individual degradation of the main electrical parameters and the increase in their dispersion must be considered. As each module tends to degrade differently, the behavior of the modules will be increasingly different over time, negatively affecting
22794-407: The piston in place and instead lift and lower a cheap, light PVC sleeve around the piston. This was specially useful in the Llanos since in the dry season the water table lowers so much that people are forced to drink surface water, which is often dirty and carries diseases. Gaviotas' double action pump won the 1978 National Science Price in Colombia. A see-saw sleeve pump to draw water from wells
22968-419: The planet and altering its atmosphere, and NASA has even hosted debates on the subject. Several potential methods for the terraforming of Mars may be within humanity's technological capabilities, but according to Martin Beech, the economic attitude of preferring short-term profits over long-term investments will not support a terraforming project. The long timescales and practicality of terraforming are also
23142-418: The planet's 450 °C (842 °F) surface temperature. These goals are closely interrelated because Venus's extreme temperature may result from the greenhouse effect caused by its dense atmosphere. Venus's atmosphere currently contains little oxygen, so an additional step would be to inject breathable O 2 into the atmosphere. An early proposal for such a process comes from Carl Sagan , who suggested
23316-570: The portion of time during the useful lifetime of the module in which the energy production is polluting. At best, this means that a 30-year old panel has produced clean energy for 97% of its lifetime, or that the silicon in the modules in a solar panel produce 97% less greenhouse gas emissions than a coal-fired plant for the same amount of energy (assuming and ignoring many things). Some studies have looked beyond EPBT and GWP to other environmental effects. In one such study, conventional energy mix in Greece
23490-443: The power output of a solar cell and the working temperature of its junction depends on the semiconductor material, and is due to the influence of T on the concentration, lifetime, and mobility of the intrinsic carriers, i.e., electrons and gaps. inside the photovoltaic cell. Temperature sensitivity is usually described by temperature coefficients, each of which expresses the derivative of the parameter to which it refers with respect to
23664-452: The pro-terraforming side of the argument, there are those like Robert Zubrin , Martyn J. Fogg , Richard L. S. Taylor, and the late Carl Sagan who believe that it is humanity's moral obligation to make other worlds suitable for human life , as a continuation of the history of life-transforming the environments around it on Earth. They also point out that Earth would eventually be destroyed if nature takes its course , so that humanity faces
23838-406: The process of "doping" the silicon substrate to lower the activation energy thereby making the panel more efficient in converting photons to retrievable electrons. Chemicals such as boron (p-type) are applied into the semiconductor crystal in order to create donor and acceptor energy levels substantially closer to the valence and conductor bands. In doing so, the addition of boron impurity allows
24012-483: The production process itself will not become more efficient in the future. Nonetheless, the energy payback time has shortened significantly over the last years, as crystalline silicon cells became ever more efficient in converting sunlight, while the thickness of the wafer material was constantly reduced and therefore required less silicon for its manufacture. Within the last ten years, the amount of silicon used for solar cells declined from 16 to 6 grams per watt-peak . In
24186-516: The project's biggest bottleneck in the ability to genetically tweak and tailor the right microbes, estimating that this hurdle could take "a decade or more" to be solved. He also notes that it would be best to develop "not a single kind of microbe but a suite of several that work together". DARPA is researching the use of photosynthesizing plants, bacteria, and algae grown directly on the Mars surface that could warm up and thicken its atmosphere. In 2015
24360-426: The proposal for Mars), then Mercury's magnetic field could possibly grow in intensity to a point where Mercury's magnetic field could be self-sustaining provided the field wasn't made to "stall" by another solar event. Despite being much smaller than Mars, Mercury has an escape velocity only slightly less than that of Mars due to its higher density and could, if a magnetosphere prevents atmospheric stripping, hold
24534-479: The p–n junction also influences the main electrical parameters: the short circuit current ISC, the open circuit voltage VOC and the maximum power Pmax. In general, it is known that VOC shows a significant inverse correlation with T, while for ISC this correlation is direct, but weaker, so that this increase does not compensate for the decrease in VOC. As a consequence, Pmax decreases when T increases. This correlation between
24708-544: The quantum efficiency value, as they affect "external quantum efficiency". Recombination losses are accounted for by the quantum efficiency, V OC ratio, and fill factor values. Resistive losses are predominantly accounted for by the fill factor value, but also contribute to the quantum efficiency and V OC ratio values. Module performance is generally rated under standard test conditions (STC): irradiance of 1,000 W/m , solar spectrum of AM 1.5 and module temperature at 25 °C. The actual voltage and current output of
24882-453: The raised temperature would add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, the two processes would augment each other. Carbon dioxide alone would not suffice to sustain a temperature above the freezing point of water, so a mixture of specialized greenhouse molecules might be manufactured. Terraforming Venus requires two major changes: removing most of the planet's dense 9 MPa (1,300 psi; 89 atm) carbon dioxide atmosphere, and reducing
25056-425: The region ideal testing ground for a new tropical way of living. Lugari started bringing academics and engineers to Gaviotas such as Sven Zethelius to get involved with the project. In 1970, Sven Zethelius, the son of a Swedish immigrant to Colombia, told Lugari about the greenhouse gas effect and the rapid loss of biodiversity across the entire planet. He encouraged Lugari to create an alternative way of living,
25230-615: The region in which stable surface liquid water may be present on a planetary body. The boundaries of the Habitable Zone were originally defined by water loss by photolysis and hydrogen escape, setting a limit on how close a planet may be to its orbited star, and the prevalence of CO 2 clouds that would increase albedo , setting an outer boundary on stable liquid water. These constraints are applicable in particular to Earth-like planets, and would not as easily apply to moons like Europa and Enceladus with ice-covered oceans, where
25404-537: The region, and refugees. The relationship between the Guahibo and Gaviotas goes back to the very founding of Gaviotas, when Guahibo individuals helped build the first houses. Over the years there have been many reciprocal agreements, such as when it was arranged that Gaviotas engineers would teach the Guahibo how to dig and construct sewage channels and the Guahibo would teach the engineers how to build waterproof palm leaf roofs. The Guahibo were also able to design and build
25578-539: The same period, the thickness of a c-Si wafer was reduced from 300 μm, or microns , to about 160–190 μm. The sawing techniques that slice crystalline silicon ingots into wafers have also improved by reducing the kerf loss and making it easier to recycle the silicon sawdust. Crystalline silicon modules are the most extensively studied PV type in terms of LCA since they are the most commonly used. Mono-crystalline silicon photovoltaic systems (mono-si) have an average efficiency of 14.0%. The cells tend to follow
25752-472: The same time with a forestry grant from the Colombian government. As Gaviotas planted pines, a whole new forest grew where only grasses could survive earlier. This led to an explosion of fauna and flora in the plantations. It is unclear if there were dormant seeds in the ground or if birds and other animals drop seeds that make the basis of the new forest, but in the end Gaviotas was able to simultaneously find an economic activity to support itself and provide
25926-420: The savanna ecosystem seems to be quite strong, particularly in the late Holocene. In any case, it is known that the grasslands Lugari chose to develop Gaviotas in have been covered by forest in the past, but in the present it is notoriously hard to grow anything on this land. The soil is highly acidic, thin, and has aluminum levels that are close to toxic. Other afforestation projects close to Gaviotas have seen
26100-521: The size of Mexico at each pole with habitable temperatures). The total habitable area could be even larger if the planetary albedo were increased from 0.12 to ~0.6, potentially increasing the habitable area. Roy proposes that the temperature could be further managed by decreasing the solar flux at Mercury to near the terrestrial value by solar sails reflecting sunlight. He calculates that 16 to 17 million sails, each with an area of one square kilometer would be needed. It has been recently proposed that due to
26274-556: The soil improve and benefitted the pine trees. In light of the V Centenary celebrations organized by Spain , Lugari made a proposal to the Spanish government to help afforest and reforest millions of hectares in South America, but the Spanish government refused. The Japanese government, however, did provide funding that allowed Gaviotas to plant a further 2,000 hectares with Caribbean pines. Another 1,500 were planted around
26448-609: The solution that has become the symbol of Gaviotas, its Caribbean pine plantations. Hundreds of crops had been tested at Gaviotas, with virtually all failing due to the thin, acidic soil of the Llanos. Only in the gallery forests is the soil good enough to grow crops. At a conference in Caracas , an agronomist suggested to Lugari to test pine seedlings from Honduras . The first Caribbean pines were planted from seeds brought from la Mosquitia by Lugari. The first trees were planted in 1983, when they were 8 years old, incisions were made on
26622-460: The specific application and prepared for shipping and installation. Solar photovoltaic power is not entirely "clean energy": production produces greenhouse gas emissions, materials used to build the cells are potentially unsustainable and will run out eventually, the technology uses toxic substances which cause pollution, and there are no viable technologies for recycling solar waste. Data required to investigate their impact are sometimes affected by
26796-443: The subject of debate. As the subject has gained traction, research has expanded to other possibilities including biological terraforming, para-terraforming, and modifying humans to better suit the environments of planets and moons . Despite this, questions still remain in areas relating to the ethics , logistics , economics , politics , and methodology of altering the environment of an extraterrestrial world, presenting issues to
26970-645: The surface from Jupiter's radiation, but it would also be possible to clear said radiation using orbiting tethers or radio waves. Challenges to terraforming the moons include their high amounts of ice and their low gravity. If all of the ice were fully melted, it would result in deep moon-spanning oceans, meaning any settlements would have to be floating (unless some of the ice was allowed to remain, to serve as land). Low gravity would cause atmospheric escape over time and may cause problems for human health . However, atmospheric escape would take place over spans of time that are long compared to human lifespans, as with
27144-470: The systems in practical use, have such a high EPBT because silicon is produced by the reduction of high-grade quartz sand in electric furnaces . This coke-fired smelting process occurs at high temperatures of more than 1000 °C and is very energy intensive, using about 11 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per produced kilogram of silicon. The energy requirements of this process makes the energy cost per unit of silicon produced relatively inelastic, which means that
27318-431: The technology was prohibitively expensive at the time, but different forms of solar technology like convection solar heaters to sterilize water. The local Guahibo had been important partners in developing Gaviotas and used the old hospital regularly, but they considered being locked indoors away from family to be the opposite of healing, so a separate wing was added to the hospital. Local Guahibos designed and built themselves
27492-670: The thousands all across Medellín, Bogotá, and around Colombia, providing a low cost and low maintenance way to have access to warm water. The Gaviotas factory in Bogotá trained children from slums to become solar technicians, and some even went on to live in Gaviotas later on. Gaviotas raised much attention and praise internationally. The community has been visited by Colombian president Belisario Betancur , Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez , prime minister of Spain Felipe Gonzales , co-founder of Club of Rome Aurelio Peccei ,
27666-407: The time of testing, the test modules are binned according to their test results, and a typical manufacturer might rate their modules in 5 W increments, and either rate them at +/- 3%, +/-5%, +3/-0% or +5/-0%. The performance of a photovoltaic (PV) module depends on the environmental conditions, mainly on the global incident irradiance G in the plane of the module. However, the temperature T of
27840-411: The total renewable- and non-renewable primary energy required during the life cycle of a PV system" in another study, which also included installation costs. This energy amortization, given in years, is also referred to as break-even energy payback time . The lower the EPBT, the lower the environmental cost of solar power . The EPBT depends vastly on the location where the PV system is installed (e.g.
28014-493: The transition zone between the Amazon and Llanos ecosystems, local vegetation and floristic relationships in the gallery forests where Gaviotas is located resembles many aspects of the Colombian Amazon. The Orinoco watershed in general has a wide mosaic of forests , shrublands and grasslands , but the area surrounding Gaviotas for hundreds of square kilometers is defined by grassland. Fossil pollen records show that
28188-572: The tropics and happened surprisingly fast at Gaviotas. Early on Gaviotas adopted a set of technological principles, which were: technologies must be low cost so countries that do not have financial resources can access them; technologies must be manually intensive enough to promote employment but still be competitive in the market; low income populations must be able to access the technologies; pollution levels must be zero or very close to zero; research and development must be accessible to individuals of all education levels as well as undisciplined minds with
28362-546: The use of renewable energy. Many journalists came to visit the community as well as a delegation from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UNDP declared Gaviotas a model community and started providing funding, which helped Gaviotas continue to develop technology and employ people. By the late 1970s, Gaviotas had grown to around 200 people, and a visit from the UNDP in 1979 secured
28536-464: Was a species that was perfectly suited to local conditions, which was later confirmed by biologist Catherine Caulfield, who found pockets of Caribbean pine populations dispersed around the Amazon. Seedlings are initially grown hydroponically since the soil is so poor, with the help of an artificial pond fed by windmill pumps. During the first three months seedlings are given a small boost of potassium, magnesium, and boron. In order to encourage mycorrhiza ,
28710-421: Was able to serve this market and also found other commercial applications for the resin. Furthermore, the pine trees produce sap that the people collect, process, and sell as colophony, turpentine, and rosin for stringed instruments' bows. In 1982, Sven Zethelius had theorized that the pine trees would require help from mycorrhiza to properly digest the Llanos soil, which was later confirmed during their visit to
28884-436: Was also developed. During a lesson in the Gaviotas school on the concept of levers to explain pumps, a child remarked how the pump handle resembled half of a see-saw. That same night Gaviotas engineers built a see-saw sleeve pump, so children playing on the see-saw could replenish the school's water tank. The see-saw sleeve pump has also been installed widely around Colombia, and so inspired United Nations delegates in 1979 that it
29058-815: Was also made about Gaviotas in Portland , Oregon , based on Alan Weisman 's book A Village to Reinvent the World. Parts of the play were reproduced by New York Times , Los Angeles Times , and NPR . Gaviotas was named a leading example of appropriate technology in the Third World by the World Conference of Technological Cooperation Among Developing Countries. Technicians from Chile and Costa Rica came to learn pump designs, Honduran technicians came to learn windmill design, communities in Bolivia replicated
29232-467: Was compared to multi-si PV and found a 95% overall reduction in effects including carcinogens, eco-toxicity, acidification, eutrophication, and eleven others. Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is one of the fastest-growing thin film based solar cells which are collectively known as second-generation devices. This new thin-film device also shares similar performance restrictions ( Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit ) as conventional Si devices but promises to lower
29406-423: Was defined by Lugari as a 'human settlement of tropical rationality'. The driving principle behind Gaviotas was to shed the colonial tradition of countries like Colombia to be dependent on the cultural and technological dictates from Northern countries. 10 founding principles were outlined as Gaviotas got started: Gaviotas has a deep commitment and interest in technology, but they believe technology needs to work for
29580-473: Was neutral and their staff were generally respected as they travelled across the region. Both the military and insurgent armed groups used Gaviotas for operations, usually without community consent, and Gaviotas' all-solar hospital was used by both wounded military and insurgent soldiers, sometimes being treated side by side. A new hospital was built in the mid 1980s that needed no air conditioning and fully ran on solar energy. Not photovoltaic solar energy since
29754-506: Was not suited for Bogotá , however, since at 2,600 meters of altitude (9,000 ft) the city has a cooler climate and is often overcast. Therefore, engineers needed to figure out a way to concentrate diffused light. Inspired by a silica film with an ultra-oxidized layer that Gaviotas engineers studied in London , Alonso Gutiérrez stripped a copper sheet clean in a bath of nitric acid , rinsed it, then aggressively oxidized it by dipping it into
29928-590: Was organized that same year. In March 1979, NASA engineer and author James Oberg organized the First Terraforming Colloquium, a special session at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston. Oberg popularized the terraforming concepts discussed at the colloquium to the general public in his book New Earths (1981). Not until 1982 was the word terraforming used in the title of
30102-543: Was part of the reason UNDP funding was extended that year. An analysis of the Gaviotas manual pump found that it has very high levels of volumetric efficiency, although the pump showed a significant decrease in efficiency when drawing water from 20 meters of depth and under. Gaviotas has leveraged many forms of solar energy. They developed solar heating panels to provide hot water, which were installed in Gaviotas homes and housing developments in Medellín . The original design
30276-567: Was to power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft , but today the majority of photovoltaic modules are used for grid-connected systems for power generation. In this case an inverter is required to convert the DC to AC . There is also a smaller market for stand alone systems for remote dwellings, boats , recreational vehicles , electric cars , roadside emergency telephones, remote sensing , and cathodic protection of pipelines . Photovoltaic power generation employs solar modules composed of
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