Abstract
It is becoming increasingly important to include information about power generation from renewable energy sources in the training of electrical engineers. Solar energy is arguably the most common renewable energy source in use today. Providing practical hands-on training on solar energy power generation today requires the use of photovoltaic panel devices which are used for transforming solar energy into electrical energy. 
 In many developing countries, practical hands-on training on solar power generation is limited due to the cost of photovoltaic panel devices and so the training consists of theoretical and tutorial classes sometimes supported by remote and virtual laboratories. 
 This paper presents an augmented virtuality tool where real-time information from a mobile device’s sensors is used directly within a virtual or computer generated environment. The tool provides a practical context for hands-on tutorial exercises on solar energy power generation.
Highlights
A good understanding of alternative sources of energy including solar energy is becoming important for the modern electrical engineer
In many nations, providing electricity power supply to all citizens even in rural locations is of paramount importance and energy sources such as solar energy power generation are viewed as attractive alternative solutions capable of extending the reach of national power grids especially to island and/or other rural locations [2]
There are already some remote and virtual laboratory experiments on photovoltaic that are relevant for training on solar energy power generation; these tend to focus on measuring performance of devices along with the effects of the immediate physical environment on the photovoltaic cells [3]
Summary
A good understanding of alternative sources of energy including solar energy is becoming important for the modern electrical engineer. There is a global drive to use new energy sources even at the level of individual home units and it is estimated that at least 20% of solar panels deployed worldwide are for residential use [1]. In many nations, providing electricity power supply to all citizens even in rural locations is of paramount importance and energy sources such as solar energy power generation are viewed as attractive alternative solutions capable of extending the reach of national power grids especially to island and/or other rural locations [2]. Electrical engineers and professionals in many countries are increasingly, tasked with proving solutions/projects that involve a mix of energy from different sources such as solar, wind and micro-hydro
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