Solar Energy


Book Description

An introduction to the fundamental science and engineering of solar energy technologies. Gives a concise and detailed review of solar energy and its interaction with materials, and discusses photovoltaic devices and solar thermal technologies like the solar chimney, solar (power) tower, flat plate water heater, and electricity generation.




Solar Energy


Book Description

Solar Energy is an authoritative reference on the design of solar energy systems in building projects, with applications, operating principles, and simple tools for the construction, engineering, and design professional. The book simplifies the solar design and engineering process, providing sample documentation and special tools that provide all the information needed for the complete design of a solar energy system for buildings to enable mainstream MEP and design firms, and not just solar energy specialists, to meet the growing demand for solar energy systems in building projects.




Solar Energy


Book Description

It is rare that a book draws together the knowledge and experience of scientists, each a world leader in his or her discipline, to create a work that presents the state of the art in a field as rich and diverse as solar energy. In Solar Energy - the State of the Art this aim has been achieved. The book comprises twelve individual chapters, each dedicated to one of the major solar energy sub-disciplines and authored by an internationally recognised expert in the field. Areas covered range from solar radiation and meteorology, solar collectors and concentrators, solar energy and the built environment, to solar thermal electricity, photovoltaics, wind energy and the potential cost of ignoring solar energy resources. The papers examine the technology and field in question, discuss the rudiments and major applications, review the current science and technology and explore the remaining challenges for the future. Solar Energy - the State of the Art is an essential reference work for all solar energy practitioners, students, researchers and engineers wishing to gain a broad-based understanding of the theory, technology, applications and issues surrounding the broad, interdisciplinary field of solar energy. The book will form an important component of any library's solar energy holding and will be of particular benefit as an academic reference, as well as being of practical value to professionals who wish to gain a clear understanding of the concepts required to move forward in this field. Published with ISES.




Solar Energy


Book Description

Drawing on the authors' extensive research and project implementation around the globe, Solar Energy: Renewable Energy and the Environment covers solar energy resources, thermal and photovoltaic systems, and the economics involved in using solar energy. It provides background theory on solar energy as well as useful technical information for implem




Solar Energy Forecasting and Resource Assessment


Book Description

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.




How Solar Energy Became Cheap


Book Description

Solar energy is a substantial global industry, one that has generated trade disputes among superpowers, threatened the solvency of large energy companies, and prompted serious reconsideration of electric utility regulation rooted in the 1930s. One of the biggest payoffs from solar’s success is not the clean inexpensive electricity it can produce, but the lessons it provides for innovation in other technologies needed to address climate change. Despite the large literature on solar, including analyses of increasingly detailed datasets, the question as to how solar became inexpensive and why it took so long still remains unanswered. Drawing on developments in the US, Japan, Germany, Australia, and China, this book provides a truly comprehensive and international explanation for how solar has become inexpensive. Understanding the reasons for solar’s success enables us to take full advantage of solar’s potential. It can also teach us how to support other low-carbon technologies with analogous properties, including small modular nuclear reactors and direct air capture. However, the urgency of addressing climate change means that a key challenge in applying the solar model is in finding ways to speed up innovation. Offering suggestions and policy recommendations for accelerated innovation is another key contribution of this book. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy technology and innovation, climate change and energy analysis and policy, as well as practitioners and policymakers working in the existing and emerging energy industries.




Design, Analysis and Applications of Renewable Energy Systems


Book Description

Design, Analysis and Applications of Renewable Energy Systems covers recent advancements in the study of renewable energy control systems by bringing together diverse scientific breakthroughs on the modeling, control and optimization of renewable energy systems as conveyed by leading energy systems engineering researchers. The book focuses on present novel solutions for many problems in the field, covering modeling, control theorems and the optimization techniques that will help solve many scientific issues for researchers. Multidisciplinary applications are also discussed, along with their fundamentals, modeling, analysis, design, realization and experimental results. This book fills the gaps between different interdisciplinary applications, ranging from mathematical concepts, modeling, and analysis, up to the realization and experimental work. Presents some of the latest innovative approaches to renewable energy systems from the point-of-view of dynamic modeling, system analysis, optimization, control and circuit design Focuses on advances related to optimization techniques for renewable energy and forecasting using machine learning methods Includes new circuits and systems, helping researchers solve many nonlinear problems




Wind and Solar Power Systems


Book Description

The search for clean, renewable energy sources has yielded enormous growth and new developments in these technologies in a few short years, driving down costs and encouraging utilities in many nations, both developed and developing, to add and expand wind and solar power capacity. The first, best-selling edition of Wind and Solar Power Systems prov




Solar Energy


Book Description

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.




Photovoltaic Solar Energy Generation


Book Description

The intention of this book is to provide an impression of all aspects of p- tovoltaics (PV). It is not just about physics and technology or systems, but it looks beyond that at the entire environment in which PV is embedded. The ?rst chapter is intended as an introduction to the subject. It can also be considered an executive summary. Chapters 2–4 describe very brie?y the basic physics and technology of the solar cell. The silicon cell is the vehicle for this description because it is the best understood solar cell and also has the greatest practical importance. A reader who is not interested in the ph- ical details of the solar cell can skip Chap.2 and still understand the rest of the book. In general, it was the intention of the authors to keep the book at a level that does not require too much previous knowledge of photovoltaics. Chapter5isdevotedtoothermaterialsandnewconceptspresentlyunder- velopment or consideration. It intends to provide an impression of the many possibilities that exist for the conversion of solar radiation into electricity by solid state devices. These new concepts will keep researchers occupied for decades to come. Chapter 6 gives an introduction to cell and module techn- ogy and also informs the reader about the environmental compatibility and recycling of modules. The following chapters are devoted to practical applications. Chapters 7 and 8 introduce systems technology for di?erent applications. The envir- mental impact of PV systems and their reliability is the subject of Chap.9.