Fund manager and former corporate buyout specialist Travis Bradford argues—on the basis of standard business and economic forecasting models—that over the next two decades solar energy will increasingly become the best and cheapest choice for most electricity and energy applications. In this BIT, Bradford provides the basic facts about solar energy and describes a variety of economic and political incentives that would encourage its use.
A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Energy Systems: With Special Focus on Photovoltaic Systems, the most advanced and research focused text on all aspects of solar energy engineering, is a must have edition on the present state of solar technology, integration and worldwide distribution. In addition, the book provides a high-level assessment of the growth trends in photovoltaics and how investment, planning and economic infrastructure can support those innovations. Each chapter includes a research overview with a detailed analysis and new case studies that look at how recent research developments can be applied. Written by some of the most forward-thinking professionals, this book is an invaluable reference for engineers. - Contains analysis of the latest high-level research and explores real world application potential in relation to developments - Uses system international (SI) units and imperial units throughout to appeal to global engineers - Offers measurable data written by a world expert in the field on the latest developments in this fast moving and vital subject
This book examines the history of creative applications of photovoltaic (PV) solar power, including sound art, wearable technology, public art, industrial design, digital media, building integrated design, and many others. The growth in artists and designers incorporating solar power into their work reflects broader social, economic, and political events. As the cost of PV cells has come down, they have become more accessible and have found their way into a growing range of design applications and artistic practices. As climate change continues to transform our environment and becomes a greater public concern, the importance of integrating sustainable energy technologies into our culture grows as well. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, design history, design studies, environmental studies, environmental humanities, and sustainable energy design.
Energy conversion techniques are key in power electronics and even more so in renewable energy source systems, which require a large number of converters. Renewable Energy Systems: Advanced Conversion Technologies and Applications describes advanced conversion technologies and provides design examples of converters and inverters for renewable energy systems—including wind turbine and solar panel energy systems. Learn Cutting-Edge Techniques for Converters and Inverters Setting the scene, the book begins with a review of the basics of astronomy and Earth physics. It then systematically introduces more than 200 topologies of advanced converters originally developed by the authors, including 150 updated circuits on modern conversion technologies. It also discusses recently published topologies and thoroughly analyzes new converter circuits. Novel approaches include split-capacitor and split-inductor techniques that can be applied in super-lift and other converters. Resolve Historic Problems in Conversion Technologies Along with offering many cutting-edge techniques, the authors resolve some historic problems, such as the accurate determination of the conduction angle of single-phase rectifiers and power factor correction. They also describe a new series—laddered multilevel inverters—that uses few devices to produce more levels, overcoming the drawbacks of the pulse-width-modulation (PWM) inverter and providing great scope for industrial applications. Tap the Knowledge of Pioneers in the Field This book is written by pioneers in advanced conversion technology who have created a large number of converters, including the world-renowned DC/DC Luo-converters and super-lift Luo-converters. Featuring numerous examples and diagrams, it guides readers in designing advanced converters for use in renewable energy systems.
How solar could spark a clean-energy transition through transformative innovation—creative financing, revolutionary technologies, and flexible energy systems. Solar energy, once a niche application for a limited market, has become the cheapest and fastest-growing power source on earth. What's more, its potential is nearly limitless—every hour the sun beams down more energy than the world uses in a year. But in Taming the Sun, energy expert Varun Sivaram warns that the world is not yet equipped to harness erratic sunshine to meet most of its energy needs. And if solar's current surge peters out, prospects for replacing fossil fuels and averting catastrophic climate change will dim. Innovation can brighten those prospects, Sivaram explains, drawing on firsthand experience and original research spanning science, business, and government. Financial innovation is already enticing deep-pocketed investors to fund solar projects around the world, from the sunniest deserts to the poorest villages. Technological innovation could replace today's solar panels with coatings as cheap as paint and employ artificial photosynthesis to store intermittent sunshine as convenient fuels. And systemic innovation could add flexibility to the world's power grids and other energy systems so they can dependably channel the sun's unreliable energy. Unleashing all this innovation will require visionary public policy: funding researchers developing next-generation solar technologies, refashioning energy systems and economic markets, and putting together a diverse clean energy portfolio. Although solar can't power the planet by itself, it can be the centerpiece of a global clean energy revolution. A Council on Foreign Relations Book
Solar energy conversion requires a different mind-set from traditional energy engineering in order to assess distribution, scales of use, systems design, predictive economic models for fluctuating solar resources, and planning to address transient cycles and social adoption. Solar Energy Conversion Systems examines solar energy conversion as an integrative design process, applying systems thinking methods to a solid knowledge base for creators of solar energy systems. This approach permits different levels of access for the emerging broad audience of scientists, engineers, architects, planners, and economists. Traditional texts in solar energy engineering have often emerged from mechanical or chemical engineering fields. Instead, Solar Energy Conversion Systems approaches solar energy conversion from the perspectives of integrative design, environmental technology, sustainability science, and materials science in the wake of amazing new thin films, polymers, and glasses developed by the optoelectronics and semiconductor industries. This is a new solar text for the new generation of green job designers and developers. It's highlighted with vignettes that break down solar conversion into useful stories and provides common points of reference, as well as techniques, for effective estimation of evolving technologies. - Contextualizes solar conversion for systems design and implementation in practical applications - Provides a complete understanding of solar power, from underlying science to essential economic outcomes - Analytical approach emphasizes systems simulations from measured irradiance and weather data rather than estimations from "rules of thumb" - Emphasizes integrative design and solar utility, where trans-disciplinary teams can develop sustainable solar solutions that increase client well-being and ecosystems services for a given locale
Solar Energy Forecasting and Resource Assessment is a vital text for solar energy professionals, addressing a critical gap in the core literature of the field. As major barriers to solar energy implementation, such as materials cost and low conversion efficiency, continue to fall, issues of intermittency and reliability have come to the fore. Scrutiny from solar project developers and their financiers on the accuracy of long-term resource projections and grid operators' concerns about variable short-term power generation have made the field of solar forecasting and resource assessment pivotally important. This volume provides an authoritative voice on the topic, incorporating contributions from an internationally recognized group of top authors from both industry and academia, focused on providing information from underlying scientific fundamentals to practical applications and emphasizing the latest technological developments driving this discipline forward. - The only reference dedicated to forecasting and assessing solar resources enables a complete understanding of the state of the art from the world's most renowned experts. - Demonstrates how to derive reliable data on solar resource availability and variability at specific locations to support accurate prediction of solar plant performance and attendant financial analysis. - Provides cutting-edge information on recent advances in solar forecasting through monitoring, satellite and ground remote sensing, and numerical weather prediction.
Sustainable Material Solutions for Solar Energy Technologies: Processing Techniques and Applications provides an overview of challenges that must be addressed to efficiently utilize solar energy. The book explores novel materials and device architectures that have been developed to optimize energy conversion efficiencies and minimize environmental impacts. Advances in technologies for harnessing solar energy are extensively discussed, with topics including materials processing, device fabrication, sustainability of materials and manufacturing, and current state-of-the-art. Leading international experts discuss the applications, challenges, and future prospects of research in this increasingly vital field, providing a valuable resource for students and researchers working in this field. - Explores the fundamentals of sustainable materials for solar energy applications, with in-depth discussions of the most promising material solutions for solar energy technologies: photocatalysis, photovoltaic, hydrogen production, harvesting and storage - Discusses the environmental challenges to be overcome and importance of efficient materials utilization for clean energy - Looks at design materials processing and optimization of device fabrication via metrics such as power-to-weight ratio, effectiveness at EOL compared to BOL, and life-cycle analysis
This book provides a broad overview on the different aspects of solar energy, with a focus on photovoltaics, which is the technology that allows light energy to be converted into electric energy. Renewable energy sources have become increasingly popular in recent years, and solar is one of the most adaptable and attractive types – from solar farms to support the National Grid to roof panels/tiles used for solar thermal heating systems, and small solar garden lights. Written by Delft University researchers, Solar Energy uniquely covers both the physics of photovoltaic (PV) cells and the design of PV systems for real-life applications, from a concise history of solar cells components and location issues of current systems. The book is designed to make this complicated subject accessible to all, and is packed with fascinating graphs and charts, as well as useful exercises to cement the topics covered in each chapter. Solar Energy outlines the fundamental principles of semiconductor solar cells, as well as PV technology: crystalline silicon solar cells, thin-film cells, PV modules, and third-generation concepts. There is also background on PV systems, from simple stand-alone to complex systems connected to the grid. This is an invaluable reference for physics students, researchers, industrial engineers and designers working in solar energy generation, as well those with a general interest in renewable energy.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. An invisible, tasteless, colorless gas, it can be converted to nonpolluting, zero-emission, renewable energy. In this BIT, Peter Hoffmann makes the case for hydrogen as the cornerstone of a new energy economy, offering a history of the technology from the nineteenth century to the present and introducing the concept of “hydricity.”
