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Energies
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Accelerating the Adoption of Solar Energy towards a Low-Carbon Future
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Accelerating the Adoption of Solar Energy towards a Low-Carbon Future

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2021) | Viewed by 29871

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ahmed Rachid

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Innovative Technologies, University of Picardie Jules Verne, 80025 Amiens, France
Interests: process and system modelling; simulation; control; diagnosis and observation; applications to electro-mechanical and thermal processes, as well as to renewable energy systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Victor M. Becerra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Anglesea Building, Anglesea Road, Portsmouth, PO1 3DJ, UK
Interests: computational optimal control; nonlinear control; fault diagnosis; fault-tolerant control; autonomous control systems; state estimation; smart grids; solar energy; control of power systems; control of energy storage
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Solar energy is being increasingly integrated in the energy mix of many countries. However, despite its rapid growth, the adoption of solar energy is still very low given its huge potential and its known advantages. Therefore, significant and continued efforts are required from technological, economic, political, and social perspectives to accelerate the adoption of solar energy for the benefit of the environment and of human kind, given the evident threats posed by global warming and climate change.

This Special Issue focuses on the role of solar energy in an effective energy transition towards a low-carbon future. Under the Paris Agreement, many countries have committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990. To this end, the use of local renewable energy resources needs to be maximized, including geothermal, wind, hydroelectric, solar, and biomass sources. The solar fraction of the local energy mix of a country can be more or less important depending on solar irradiance, technology availability, the profitability of solar installations, the commitment of decision-makers with renewable energy, the awareness of stakeholders, the available incentives, the existence of energy communities, etc.  The adoption of solar energy by different sectors may be increased by highlighting its benefits through showcases; case studies; pilots; examples of good practice; benchmarking; awareness campaigns; exemplar feasibility studies; as well as novel technologies such as thermal and electric energy storage, heating/cooling systems, PV/thermal panels, electric-vehicles, smart grids, and intelligent monitoring.

We invite prospective authors to submit outstanding research and development results, case studies, and review papers in topics that include but are not limited to the following:

  • Understanding the technical, economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental factors that affect the adoption of solar energy;
  • Studying ways to overcome the barriers that are faced in the deployment of solar installations;
  • Providing solutions to enhance, stimulate, and accelerate the adoption of solar energy in different sectors, including, for example, public buildings, social housing, historical buildings, commercial and industrial organisations, educational institutions, hospitals, etc;
  • Financing and business models related to solar energy (e.g., public–private partnerships, cooperatives)
  • Solar energy roadmaps;
  • Solar energy stability, scaling-up engineering and production;
  • Integration of solar energy into existing power grids and future smart grids;
  • Integration of solar energy into demand-response schemes;
  • Solar energy sharing at neighbourhood scale (energy communities);
  • Synergies between solar energy, electric vehicles, thermal/electric energy storage, water storage/management, and energy-efficient buildings;
  • Efficiency of solar energy systems;
  • Solar potential mapping;
  • Emerging solar technologies such as photovoltaic/thermal (PVT), building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV), and CSP;
  • Emerging ‘solar-in-the-loop’ applications, such as agrivoltaics, P2G (solar based power-to-gas), solar-to-hydrogen, floating PV, etc;
  • End-of-life solutions/management for solar installations and their components;
  • Solar energy integration into the circular economy.

Prof. Dr. Ahmed Rachid
Prof. Dr. Victor M. Becerra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • solar energy
  • positive energy territories
  • energy mix
  • solar energy financing
  • solar energy business models
  • energy policy
  • grid integration of solar energy
  • solar energy communities
  • solar energy roadmaps
  • solar (photovoltaic and solar thermal) installations
  • 100% RES Communities

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 2074 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Rooftop Solar Power Generation to Meet Residential Loads in the City of Neom, Saudi Arabia
by Nasser Alqahtani and Nazmiye Balta-Ozkan
Energies 2021, 14(13), 3805; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14133805 - 24 Jun 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4467
Abstract
The economic and social development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has led to a rapid increase in the consumption of electricity, with the residential sector consuming approximately 50% of total electricity production. The KSA depends largely on non-renewable energy resources, and [...] Read more.
The economic and social development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has led to a rapid increase in the consumption of electricity, with the residential sector consuming approximately 50% of total electricity production. The KSA depends largely on non-renewable energy resources, and the government has produced Saudi Vision 2030. This plan aims to lessen the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and reduce associated problems such as air pollution. Saudi Vision 2030 combines renewable energy and new building designs so that, for example, the planned city of Neom will be net zero energy. This study addresses how best to reduce Neom’s reliance on the national grid through rooftop photovoltaic generation in residential buildings. The study develops a techno-economic model of rooftop PV with battery storage suitable for existing residential building types likely to be built in Neom city (villas, traditional houses, and apartments), and assesses the optimal PV size, battery storage capacity, and optimal orientation of the PV panels. The study used HOMER Pro to compute the Net Present Cost, Levelized Cost of Energy, orientation of PV panels, and optimum PV system size. The optimal size of PV system is 14.0 kW for the villa, 11.1 kW for the traditional dwelling, and 10.3 kW for the apartment, each with a single battery of capacity 12 kWh. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Accelerating the Adoption of Solar Energy towards a Low-Carbon Future)
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34 pages, 3607 KiB  
Article
A General Framework for Multi-Criteria Based Feasibility Studies for Solar Energy Projects: Application to a Real-World Solar Farm
by Sree Harsha Bandaru, Victor Becerra, Sourav Khanna, Harold Espargilliere, Law Torres Sevilla, Jovana Radulovic, David Hutchinson and Rinat Khusainov
Energies 2021, 14(8), 2204; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14082204 - 15 Apr 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3681
Abstract
The growth of solar energy is projected to slow down during 2023–25 despite the fall in costs due to economic deceleration, reduced incentives, and market barriers including the lack of relevant and flexible energy project planning and decision-making tools. This study proposes a [...] Read more.
The growth of solar energy is projected to slow down during 2023–25 despite the fall in costs due to economic deceleration, reduced incentives, and market barriers including the lack of relevant and flexible energy project planning and decision-making tools. This study proposes a flexible and computationally simple multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA)-based model that takes technical, financial, environmental, social and legal aspects of all project options as input and outputs a feasibility score for each option, which enables ranking the options and identifying the best alternative. The proposed model is applied to a real-world photovoltaic solar farm planned at a site in England and comprising nine different configurations formed by varying system capacity, energy storage option, mode of stakeholder, and network connections. The results of our study show that in this case the options without battery storage and a greater number of off-taker connections are more favorable than the options with battery storage. The analysis also shows that for the solar farm of the presented case study, ‘self-consumption fraction’ and ‘energy yield’, ‘net present value’, ‘life-cycle carbon emission reduction’, ‘ease of permit acquisition’ and ‘public approval’ are key sub-criteria for ‘technical’, ‘financial’, ‘environmental’, and ‘social and legal’ criteria, respectively. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the confidence on the obtained solution, and a change in the first preference was noticed when ‘environmental’ and ‘social and legal’ aspects are given higher weight over ‘technical’ and ‘financial’ aspects. The results obtained are in line with the recommendations by experts, who carried out an independent feasibility analysis considering the same options. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Accelerating the Adoption of Solar Energy towards a Low-Carbon Future)
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17 pages, 4805 KiB  
Article
Analysing the Material Suitability and Concentration Ratio of a Solar-Powered Parabolic trough Collector (PTC) Using Computational Fluid Dynamics
by Mohammad Akrami, Husain Alsari, Akbar A. Javadi, Mahdieh Dibaj, Raziyeh Farmani, Hassan E.S. Fath, Alaa H. Salah and Abdelazim Negm
Energies 2020, 13(20), 5479; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13205479 - 20 Oct 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2285
Abstract
Solar-powered desalination is a sustainable solution for countries experiencing water scarcity. Several studies have presented different solutions to provide cleaner production in desalination systems. Parabolic trough collector (PTC) is one of these solutions that has proven to be superior among solar concentrators. Furthermore, [...] Read more.
Solar-powered desalination is a sustainable solution for countries experiencing water scarcity. Several studies have presented different solutions to provide cleaner production in desalination systems. Parabolic trough collector (PTC) is one of these solutions that has proven to be superior among solar concentrators. Furthermore, a number of studies have investigated the use of PTC for distillation of saline water in response to water scarcity. In this study, a modified PTC model was developed, in which the heat exchanger was replaced by a condensation tube to reduce the energy consumption, and a black layer was introduced to the surface of the receiver to enhance its absorptance. As a reference case, the system productivity according to average solar intensities in Zagazig, located at 30°34′N 31°30′E in the North East of Egypt, is estimated. The results indicated that the maximum production rate that can be attained is 1.72 kg/h. Then, the structure of the system is evaluated with the aid of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, in order to enhance its productivity. Many materials are examined and the results recognised copper as the most suitable material amongst marine grade metals (i.e., aluminium, galvanised steel and stainless steel) to construct the receiver tube. This is due to its superior thermal performance, satisfactory corrosion resistance, and acceptable cost. Afterwards, the selected receiver tube was employed to identify the optimal Concentration Ratio (CR). Consequently, a CR of 90.56 was determined to be the optimum value for Zagazig and regions with similar solar radiation. As a result, the system’s productivity was enhanced drastically, as it was estimated that a maximum production rate of 6.93 kg/h can be achieved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Accelerating the Adoption of Solar Energy towards a Low-Carbon Future)
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17 pages, 5731 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Morphology on Solar Potential of High-Density Residential Area: A Case Study of Shanghai
by Dan Zhu, Dexuan Song, Jie Shi, Jia Fang and Yili Zhou
Energies 2020, 13(9), 2215; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13092215 - 02 May 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2469
Abstract
This study explores the relationship between the morphology and solar potential of high-density areas in the subtropics high density city known as Shanghai. 1260 parametric scenarios were modeled and their solar irradiation potentials were simulated via a customized workflow. In addition to the [...] Read more.
This study explores the relationship between the morphology and solar potential of high-density areas in the subtropics high density city known as Shanghai. 1260 parametric scenarios were modeled and their solar irradiation potentials were simulated via a customized workflow. In addition to the five well-known morphological parameters, this study proposed two innovative morphological parameters SSU600 and SSU400, which captured the solar receiving properties of the building envelopes and could be easily calculated based on the meteorological data. For analytical purposes, the previously morphological parameters were considered as independent variables, whereas the new solar performance indicators SRU600 and SRU400 were both examined as dependent variables. The correlation analysis results suggested that the new morphological parameters displayed a strong linear correlation with the corresponding solar performance indicators, surpassing all the other morphological parameters. Two prediction models with respect to SRU600 and SRU400 were developed by multiple linear regressions using a stepwise method and their validity was verified by real residential cases. The findings provide key morphological parameters and rapid calculation tools for establishing solar energy friendly urban planning and design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Accelerating the Adoption of Solar Energy towards a Low-Carbon Future)
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8 pages, 827 KiB  
Article
Snapshot of Photovoltaics—February 2020
by Arnulf Jäger-Waldau
Energies 2020, 13(4), 930; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13040930 - 19 Feb 2020
Cited by 116 | Viewed by 10990
Abstract
Since the demonstration of the first modern silicon solar cells at Bell Labs in 1954, it took 58 years until the cumulative installed photovoltaic electricity generation capacity had reached 100 GW by the end of 2012. Then, it took another five years to [...] Read more.
Since the demonstration of the first modern silicon solar cells at Bell Labs in 1954, it took 58 years until the cumulative installed photovoltaic electricity generation capacity had reached 100 GW by the end of 2012. Then, it took another five years to reach an annual installation capacity of over 100 GW in 2017 and close to 120 GW in 2019. As a consequence, the total world-wide installed photovoltaic electricity generation capacity exceeded 635 GW at the end of 2019. Although it witnessed a 20% and 25% decrease in annual installations in 2018 and 2019, respectively, China was again the largest market with 30 GW of annual installations. The number of countries in the club with more than 1 GW annually has increased to 18 countries in 2019. The use of local battery storage systems in solar farms as well as decentralized photovoltaic electricity generation systems combined has again increased, due to the falling storage system costs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Accelerating the Adoption of Solar Energy towards a Low-Carbon Future)
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Review

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23 pages, 2075 KiB  
Review
A Survey on Applications of Hybrid PV/T Panels
by Zain Ul Abdin and Ahmed Rachid
Energies 2021, 14(4), 1205; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14041205 - 23 Feb 2021
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4493
Abstract
Photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) collectors have gained a lot of attention in recent years due to their substantial advantages as compared to ST or PV systems alone and even to other non-solar technologies. However, PV/Ts are still not as popular in industry or construction and [...] Read more.
Photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) collectors have gained a lot of attention in recent years due to their substantial advantages as compared to ST or PV systems alone and even to other non-solar technologies. However, PV/Ts are still not as popular in industry or construction and they are not even known to major players implementing solar energy installations. In this article, a general presentation of PV/Ts and a review of their applications are given. First, different heat extraction media (e.g., air, water, bi-fluid, etc.) and hybrid design configurations of hybrid PV/T collectors are addressed. Next, the main applications of PV/T collectors are discussed in order to highlight their feasibility and usefulness and to raise awareness for adoption in the industry and buildings sector. Applications include desalination, air-conditioning, drying, trigeneration, etc. This paper should be considered as a reference form of PV/Ts to extract key points for future research and development as well as for other applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Accelerating the Adoption of Solar Energy towards a Low-Carbon Future)
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