Share Of Solar Energy Research Articles

Integration of energy storage and determination of optimal solar system size for biomass fast-pyrolysis

This study presents a model and analysis of a heliostat field collector (HFC) system integration with fast-pyrolysis of biomass and determination of the optimal solar system size for this integrated system. Given the intermittent nature of solar energy, an auxiliary heater and a thermochemical energy storage system (TCES) are included. Four cases of HFC integration with the fast-pyrolysis process have been studied: 1) low solar radiation, 2) sufficient solar radiation, 3) high solar radiation, and 4) no solar radiation with available stored energy in TCES. The solar energy system was modeled and calculated using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software, while the fast-pyrolysis process and the TCES were simulated using the Aspen Plus software. A thermodynamic and economic analysis has been conducted to estimate the share of solar energy for different process configurations. Economic calculations have been conducted for three different heliostat filed areas: 4000, 8000, and 12000 m2. Solar fraction, investment and operational costs, as well as total cost were calculated for these three heliostat field areas. The results indicate that the optimum heliostat field area for the studied biomass pyrolysis plant is 8000 m2 and the average solar fraction of the required energy in summer is 0.39 and while it is 0.34 for the whole year. Simulation results considering this optimized heliostat filed area indicate that 6.27 t/h of bio-oil is produced from 10 t/h of hybrid poplar biomass. Implementing this solar-assisted system reduces CO2 emissions, increases efficiency of the system and lowers thermal energy requirement for the fast-pyrolysis process from 6 MW to 3.99 MW.

Modeling load distribution for rural photovoltaic grid areas using image recognition

Expanding photovoltaic (PV) resources in rural-grid areas is an essential means to augment the share of solar energy in the energy landscape, aligning with the “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” objectives. However, rural power grids often lack digitalization; thus, the load distribution within these areas is not fully known. This hinders the calculation of the available PV capacity and deduction of node voltages. This study proposes a load-distribution modeling approach based on remote-sensing image recognition in pursuit of a scientific framework for developing distributed PV resources in rural grid areas. First, houses in remote-sensing images are accurately recognized using deep-learning techniques based on the YOLOv5 model. The distribution of the houses is then used to estimate the load distribution in the grid area. Next, equally spaced and clustered distribution models are used to adaptively determine the location of the nodes and load power in the distribution lines. Finally, by calculating the connectivity matrix of the nodes, a minimum spanning tree is extracted, the topology of the network is constructed, and the node parameters of the load-distribution model are calculated. The proposed scheme is implemented in a software package and its efficacy is demonstrated by analyzing typical remote-sensing images of rural grid areas. The results underscore the ability of the proposed approach to effectively discern the distribution-line structure and compute the node parameters, thereby offering vital support for determining PV access capability.

A Method for Searching for Defective Solar Panels in Telemetry Data of a Power Plant Based on the Results of a Digital Twin

Searching for faulty, and therefore operating in abnormal mode, solar panels at a power plant is an urgent task in the context of the development and growth of the share of solar energy in electricity generation. The research is aimed at developing and evaluating the effectiveness of a new methodology and software algorithm for searching for anomalies in the operation of solar panels based on the results of a digital twin created and trained using telemetry data from a solar power plant. The methodology is based on studies of deviations in power values at the point of maximum efficient operation of the solar panel, calculated by the digital twin, from the average statistical values for the power plant. Using the proposed methodology, over six months of direct observations, 16 anomalies in the operation of the solar panels of the power plant were discovered and confirmed. It has been established that when analyzing deviations of normalized power values at the maximum power point PN, it is possible to detect solar panels that have defects or operate with loss of efficiency.

ASSESSING THE VIABILITY OF HIGH-CAPACITY PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANTS IN DIVERSE CLIMATIC ZONES: A TECHNICAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

Even though Turkey has a high potential in terms of solar energy, installed solar energy has a lower capacity than many European countries. With the new initiatives made in recent years, the share of solar energy among energy sources has increased. Turkey has been categorized into four different climate zones by the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE). The cities covered in this study (Antalya, Istanbul, Ankara, and Erzurum) were selected from different climatic regions by the criteria determined by TSE. High-capacity (3 MW) photovoltaic power plants using different system configurations for cities located in different climatic regions of Turkey have been analyzed in terms of technical, economic, and environmental aspects. PVSyst software was used to conduct simulations on fixed tilted (FT), horizontal single axis tracking system (HSAT), and two-axis tracking system (TAT) configurations in the study. It has been concluded that by using HSAT and TAT instead of FT, there will be an increase of 4-6% and 30-37% in annual energy production, respectively. The maximum performance rate for FT, and HSAT systems was calculated at 83.2% in Erzurum (4th region), and the lowest performance rate for TAT systems was determined at 82.3% in Antalya (1st region). The payback periods for the FT, HSAT, and TAT systems were determined to range between 2.9-4.3 years, 4-6 years, and 5.4-8.4 years, respectively. It has been concluded that there will be 41.8-64.7 ktCO<sub>2</sub>, 40.8-66.8 ktCO<sub>2</sub>, and 50.9-86.4 ktCO<sub>2</sub> fewer emissions for the FT, HSAT, and TAT systems, respectively, in 25 years of operation from an environmental point of view.

4E analysis and parameter study of a solar-thermochemical energy storage CCHP system

The combination of calcium looping and concentrating solar power (CSP) is a promising energy conversion technology that can greatly increase the share of solar energy used in combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) systems. This paper designs a CCHP system based on solar energy and thermochemical energy storage. The system runs all day through day and night modes. Under basic working conditions, the energy and exergy efficiencies of the system could reach 56.92 % and 35.94 %, respectively. The system is evaluated by multiple approaches including parametric sensitivity analysis and 4E (energy, exergy, economy and environment)) analyses. The results demonstrate that the system could produce 2618.09 MW of electricity, 305.56 MW of heat and 523.88 MW of cooling capacity per day, respectively. At the same time, the reductions of CO2 emissions and fossil fuel consumption could reach 2222.76 tons and 696.41 m3 per day, respectively. Furthermore, the increasing mass flow of main turbine inlet could increase both the system efficiency and the exergy efficiency. Thus, it is beneficial to reduce the environmental impact but with the increasing investment cost. In the meanwhile, the exergoeconomic factor and exergoenvironment factor of the system were 55.65 % and 0.139, respectively. Besides, as the extraction flow rate of the intermediate pressure turbine increases, the energy efficiency increases but the exergy efficiency descends. This is unfavorable to reducing the environmental impact, yet it could decrease the investment cost of the system. These results reveal that the hybrid system has the characteristics of high efficiency and emission reduction in energy storage, power generation, heating and cooling, and has great development potential.

(Invited) Sustainable Recycling of Metals from Solar Cells

The share of solar energy is increasing worldwide, leading to a widespread use of solar panels. Knowing that the 80 Mt of waste solar panels will be produced by 2050, sustainable processes must be designed in order to deal with the inevitable increase of waste solar cells in the coming years.The main advantage associated with recycling is to avoid the inevitable dispersion of hazardous materials in the environment occurring when the solar cells are landfilled. It also reduces the need for primary mineral resources and may reduce the supply risk for important components like silicon wafers, for which the production is concentrated in a few countries. The recycling process applied plays a major role to allow reducing the carbon footprint of solar cells, advocating in favour of sustainable practices for solar cells recycling.Mono-crystalline solar cells representing 90% of the market, it is therefore this kind of solar cells that are more likely to reach their end-of-life soon. Mono-crystalline solar cells are made of an aluminium frame surrounding the solar module. Underneath a glass layer, layers of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulate the solar cell. The solar cell in itself is made of a silicon wafer with aluminium and silver electrode as well as a silicon nitride anti-reflective coating. Recycling of the metals, particularly silver, is the main economic driver for solar cells recycling.Recycling mono-crystalline solar cells involves a mechanical removal of the aluminium frame and the junction box prior to removal of the glass and EVA layers. Different process were evaluated to get rid of EVA. Solvent-assisted dissolution allowed EVA dissolution but it requires the use of harmful solvents and often leads to breakage of the solar cell. Pyrolysis allows to recover the wafer intact while removing the glass and polymers layers. Provided that the thermal treatment is applied under an inert atmosphere, EVA decomposition leads to relatively non-toxic chemicals such as acetic acid. Recent developments include laser assisted would lead to efficient and straightforward removal of EVA.The removal of metals from the solar cells involves the use of harsh chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid for the removal of silicon nitride, nitric acid to solubilise silver and sodium hydroxide for the dissolution of aluminium. Recently, the use of aqueous brines was introduced to recover silver and aluminium from solar cells. A green and re-usable oxidising agent such as iron(III) chloride can be used to oxidise and dissolve silver, as evidenced in Figure 1, which shows a solar cells before (up) and after (down) etching, revealing the removal of the white silver lines.Using water as a solvent, silver dissolution is impossible due to the low chloride content. By increasing the chloride content, oxidation of silver and its dissolution becomes possible due to the formation of iron-chloride and silver-chloride complexes which have a different redox behaviour and a higher solubility. Overall, silver is completely dissolved in about 10 minutes without using any acids or harmful chemical. Silver can be easily recovered by precipitation or cementation, while the oxidising agent can be regenerated using oxygen from air or via electrolytic means. The objective of this presentation is to give an overview of the current recycling options and provide some guidance on the best and more sustainable practices for the complete recycling of solar cells. The choice is guided by techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment as well as experimental demonstration of the recycling on real waste solar cells. Figure 1

ASSESSMENT OF SOLAR ENERGY PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION

Purpose and aim of the study: The present research aims to investigate and assess the production and consumption of solar energy. Design / Methodology / Approach: The research employed the following methods: descriptive and logical construction were used for reviewing and analysing research papers and other information sources, as well as for scientific discussion. Statistical analysis was employed to process and analyse secondary data on trends in the use of solar panel systems in the world and in Latvia. The graphic method was applied to better represent and compare the research results.Main Findings: It was concluded that the share of solar energy in the world tended to increase significantly. However, Latvia lagged far behind the neighbouring countries in terms of solar energy generation and was in last place in the entire European Union in terms of total installed capacity of solar panel systems. In Latvia, a significant increase in solar energy consumption could be observed from 2022. Originality: The research examined the technology of generating solar energy and factors in the output of solar energy, summarized information on trends in solar energy consumption in Latvia and the world and identified the role of solar energy in Latvia by comparing the share of solar energy consumption with the share of consumption of other renewable energy sources and the situation in neighbouring countries and the world.Implications: The present research represents the basis for further research on solar energy production and consumption

ECOLOGICAL STRATEGIES OF PLANTS IN THE PROCESS OF RESTORATION OF DISRUPTED NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS OF UKRAINIAN POLISSIA

Tasks related to the restoration of disturbed natural ecosystems are of theoretical and practical importance. Traditional approaches to remediation are often utilitarian. We often observe that the natural processes of ecosystem restoration occur faster and with better quality than those carried out by humans under similar conditions. The purpose of our work is to investigate the role of plants that have different ecological strategies during the process of restoration of disturbed ecosystems. The following tasks were outlined to achieve this goal: to identify groups of plants with different ecological strategies involved in the restoration of natural vegetation; develop models of vegetation restoration using plants with different ecological strategies. The materials of our research are standard geobotanical descriptions made on the territory of Ukrainian Polissia in the period from 2004 to 2023. We consider environmental strategies more broadly than R. Whittaker, L. H. Ramensky, J. Grim and E. Pianki in their classic works. The ecological strategies of plants differ in the way of spreading and reproduction, as well as in the signs of fixation on the soil; by methods of energy reservation; changing the environment around itself. The rate of restoration of natural ecosystems, as well as their characteristics, depend on the configuration of the disturbed area, the substrate of its surface, and the adaptive strategies of the plants that fall on it. The classification of adaptive strategies of species that affect the process of restoration of natural ecosystems is formed on the basis of the variety of methods of reproduction and distribution of fruits and seeds of autotrophs, as well as the peculiarities of their energy distribution in the reproduction process. The change in ecological strategies of species is because ecosystems are dynamic systems, therefore, during primary successions; disturbed ecotopes are most successfully populated by patient species, and during secondary ones by explerent species and violent species. Plants penetrate the primary substrate with the help of seeds, spores, or vegetative organs (most often rhizomes). In the early stages of primary succession, the seeds and spores of patient species are the most successful – those with low competitiveness and can achieve reproductive and vegetative success outside the communities. The balance of the amount of energy of Polissia pioneer patients is often shifted from supporting the vegetative part of the body to its seeds. Species that spread to pioneer substrates using rhizomes do not have such a limitation because they share a common distribution of matter and energy with the pioneer part of the community. Those species on the primary substrate, having no competitors, actively photosynthesize and share carbohydrates, while those on the formed substrate and have many competitors for solar energy share water and mineral nutrients. Global climate changes, which lead to xerophytization of Polissia and warm winters with little snow, are becoming an obstacle to the rapid natural restoration of pine forest ecosystems in large areas of disturbed areas.

Optimal artificial neural network configurations for hourly solar irradiation estimation

<span lang="EN-US">Solar energy is widely used in order to generate clean electric energy. However, due to its intermittent nature, this resource is only inserted in a limited way within the electrical networks. To increase the share of solar energy in the energy balance and allow better management of its production, it is necessary to know precisely the available solar potential at a fine time step to take into account all these stochastic variations. In this paper, a comparison between different artificial neural network (ANN) configurations is elaborated to estimate the hourly solar irradiation. An investigation of the optimal neurons and layers is investigated. To this end, feedforward neural network, cascade forward neural network and fitting neural network have been applied for this purpose. In this context, we have used different meteorological parameters to estimate the hourly global solar irirradiation in the region of Laghouat, Algeria. The validation process shows that choosing the cascade forward neural network two inputs gives an R2 value equal to 97.24% and an normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) equals to 0.1678 compared to the results of three inputs, which gives an R2 value equaled to 95.54% and an NRMSE equals to 0.2252. The comparison between different existing methods in literature show the goodness of the proposed models.</span>

Waste management of solar cells in South Asia: an environmental concern of the emerging market.

The share of solar energy in the energy mix has become a major concern, and the global effort is to increase its contribution. Photovoltaic technology is an environment-friendly way of electricity production compared to fossil fuels. Currently, third generation of solar cells with a maximum average conversion efficiency of 20% has been achieved. Asia is an emerging market for photovoltaic technology, and it has recorded the highest installation capacity for 2018 (280 MW), 2030 (1860 MW), and 2050 (4837 MW). Meanwhile, Asia is estimated to be the highest producer of PV waste by 2040, with 5,580,000 metric tons of waste volume. Solid waste management is already a big environmental issue in South Asian countries, and untested landfilling of solar cells can further increase the burden. This review emphasizes the end-of-life scenario of solar cells in developing South Asian countries. Solar cell waste is hazardous e-waste that can lead to environmental and health impacts if not managed properly. It consists of metals with market value, which can be waste or gold, depending on its management. The study finds that recycling is the economically and environmentally effective waste management option for solar cells in South Asia. This paper reviews the deficiencies in the existing solar cell waste management framework in South Asian countries. Moreover, practical implications are presented for designing an effective waste management plan for solar cells in South Asian countries. Strong legislation, sufficient recycling infrastructure, and high stakeholders' interests are required to resolve this environmental concern.

METHODS AND SOFTWARE TOOL FOR AUTOMATING STATIC AND DYNAMIC SEARCH FOR ANOMALIES IN TELEMETRY DATA OF A SOLAR POWER PLANT

Annotation: The search for faulty, and therefore operating in an abnormal mode, solar panels at a power plant is an urgent task in the context of the development and growth of the share of solar energy in electricity generation. The purpose of the study is to develop new methods and software algorithms for finding anomalies in the operation of solar panels based on the results of a digital twin created and trained according to the telemetry data of a solar power plant. Methods: The developed methods are based on studies of deviations of power values at the point of maximum efficient operation of the solar panel calculated by a digital twin from the average statistical values for the power plant. In addition, the normalized power value at the point of maximum efficient operation of the solar panel is introduced. Results. Using the developed methods of static search for half a year of observations, 18 anomalies in the operation of the solar panels of the power plant were detected and confirmed using direct Observation: 16 using the static analysis method and 2 using the dynamic analysis method. Conclusions: It has been established that when using normalized power values in MPP PN in the analysis of deviations, it is possible to detect anomalies in the operation of solar panels.

Motives for the Use of Photovoltaic Installations in Poland against the Background of the Share of Solar Energy in the Structure of Energy Resources in the Developing Economies of Central and Eastern Europe

Increasing the use of renewable energy sources (RES) is one of the greatest challenges faced by modern emerging and developing economies. Its effective implementation largely depends on the acceptance and involvement of consumers in the process of sustainable energy transformation. Bearing in mind the above premises, the purpose of this article is to identify the motives for the use of photovoltaic installations in Poland against the background of the share of solar energy in the structure of energy consumption in the developing economies of Central and Eastern Europe. In order to achieve this goal, the scope of the use of renewable energy sources in 11 countries of the analyzed region was determined in the course of the research; then, on the basis of the results of the survey, the motives for using solar energy by 754 Polish prosumers were identified (a statistically representative sample). The results indicate a low and relatively slow-growing use and a very different structure of RES in the surveyed economies. From the pro-consumer perspective, the decision to use solar energy is primarily influenced by economic motives, including, above all, the possibility of reducing costs and using energy also for heating. Independence factors related to the possibility of at least partial independence from energy suppliers and diversification of energy sources are also important. Ecological motivation and promotion of RES, including government incentives, are definitely less important.

Review of the current state and development perspectives of the solar energy in Ukraine

This paper analyzes the prospects for developing solar power generation systems and the economic feasibility of further industry development. The state of global solar energy, its expansion potential, and Ukraine's position in the total statistics are examined. The rate of increase in the introduction of alternative types of energy has been determined. Statistical data on the number of commissioned power plants and the electricity they produced were analyzed. Solar energy is one of the most promising and powerful renewable energy sources. As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that Ukraine is gradually taking essential steps to expand the use of solar energy, developing a regulatory and legislative basis for the service, implementation, optimization, and stimulation of households to implement and build solar power plants. The relevance and expediency of the use of solar energy in connection with the constant growth of the cost of electricity and the future forecast of the increase of public investments in the industry at the global level are characterized. According to the analysis of statistical data and forthcoming plans for solar energy development, high rates of its growth in Ukraine have been determined. The consequences the war has on the solar energy industry are described. It is explained that, due to the war, half of the renewable energy objects are under threat of complete or partial destruction, in particular, 47% of solar power plants are located in regions where active fighting continues. The general trend of post-war development will be an increase in the share of solar energy in the overall energy balance. This will be facilitated by eliminating financial and legislative restrictions on the development of renewable energy, expanding opportunities for the export of electricity from renewable energy sources, and considering the green course, which is focused on clean energy. Keywords: alternative energy, renewable energy sources, solar power plants, electric energy

A study on a novel solar contribution evaluation method for the solar-aided coal-fired power generation system

Solar-aided coal-fired power generation (SACPG) technology is an effective method of solar energy utilization. It could balance the demand of carbon dioxide emission reduction and renewable energy efficient power generation and promote carbon peaking and carbon neutralization. Accurate analysis of the share of solar energy in the unit output power could benefit the selection of the best integration scheme and exploitation of solar energy for further research. A novel solar contribution evaluation method of an SACPG system is put forward. The exergy is taken as the evaluation benchmark, and the method can be applied in an SACPG system with multiple integration positions with solar energy. The solar energy input from different positions in the system is analyzed separately. The solar energy input positions and the impact of solar exergy destruction on the solar energy contribution are considered. The proposed method also analyzes the flow direction and destruction of each solar exergy in different parts of the SACPG system and expresses the solar contribution in the electricity generated by each stage steam turbine in the form of a theoretical formula. Ultimately, the solar exergy contribution in the whole SACPG system is calculated by accumulating each result. Furthermore, the new method is applied to a tower solar-aided coal-fired power generation (TSACPG) system with thermal energy storage (TES) for comparative analysis. Compared with other solar contribution evaluation methods, the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the novel method are analyzed. Meanwhile, the exergy destruction distributions of the TSACPG system are revealed. The method can also be further used to excavate the application potential of solar energy in coal-fired units and provide theoretical support for highly efficient utilization of solar energy.

Factors Determining the Development of Prosumer Photovoltaic Installations in Poland

The development of energy production from renewable sources includes the production of energy from photovoltaic installations by prosumers. In Europe, RES development is driven by political goals and requires subsidies during the deployment period, at least as long as the cost of renewable electricity does not reaches grid parity. The study attempts to determine the importance of factors in the development of energy production by prosumers from PV installations in Polish regions. In 2019, the ‘Moj Prad’ program was introduced, applying subsidies to investment costs and the settlement of energy production in the net-metering system. Almost 900 thousand prosumer PV installations were built by the end of 2021, with a total capacity of 5.9 GW. Solar energy share grew from 0.1 to 2.1%. Spatial econometrics models were use in research to determine factors of prosumer PV systems development in Poland (at NUTS-2). Spatial regimes were found in the studied regions, as indicated by a positive autocorrelation (0.75). Considering the pseudo-R-square co-efficient, we can conclude that the spatial error, i.e., factors not included in the GNS model, constitutes approximately 10%. The economic variables included in the Mansky model, i.e., level of salaries and GDP, explain 90% of the variability of installed PV capacity (Nagelkerke pseudo-R-squared value is 0.906). The level of development of prosumer photovoltaic installations (in W per capita) in regions depends primarily on economic factors represented by the level of salaries in a given region. With the increase in salaries by one unit, we also have an increase in installed power capacity in watts per person by 3.52. Surprisingly, the region’s overall wealth did not matter, as the relative number of installations in regions with lower GDP was higher than in others. One can explain that the individual income of households is more important for increasing the number of prosumer installations than the income of the regional economy. The increase in the number of installations in one region contributed to the subsequent increase in their number in neighboring regions.

Experimental study of heliothermal processing of municipal solid waste based on solar energy

The article examines the sources of solid waste generation, their impact on the environment and human health. The morphological composition of municipal solid waste (MSW) and the factors influencing the dynamics of their change were analyzed. Based on the results of the study, the physical and thermal parameters of solid waste- ρ, φ were determined and the elemental composition and heat of combustion of solid waste were analyzed. It was found that the physical properties of MSW and the morphological composition of MSW depend on the seasons and other conditions. An energy balance diagram for heliothermal processing of solid household waste with different morphological compositions in a solar device for thermal treatment of solid waste was calculated and it was found that the share of solar energy for thermal processing of solid household waste was 78%. As a result of the thermal processing of organic compounds, which formed the morphological composition of the MSW, it was found that it is possible to obtain alternative fuels and produce thermal energy and electricity in the traditional way.

Scenario-Based Modelling of Residential Sector Consumption: A Case Study in Latvia

Abstract Promoting the development of energy communities is one of the planned development areas mentioned in the Latvian National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). Even though energy communities do not yet exist in Latvia, they could improve the quality of the environment and stimulate the local economy. In any case, it is expected that the structure of household energy consumption in Latvia will change as households start to adopt new technologies such as electric cars and heat pumps, as well as participate in energy production and demand response. Often the starting point for the development of an energy community is the geographic location of consumers. Therefore, for this study, a microdistrict was chosen in one of the most developed suburbs of Riga in Latvia, in which 76 households are located. The study identified five milestones on the path from mere neighborhood to the energy community. The resLoadSIM Residential Load Simulation tool was chosen to simulate realistic energy consumption with a 1-minute time resolution, as well as to model the future solar energy consumption and generation in the community on its way to becoming an energy community and meeting these goals. The network constraints associated with the transformer and lines are taken into account and it is assumed that the district will not invest in the development and expansion of the network. Based on the results of the modelling, an analysis was made of the impact of the development of the energy community in Latvia and how each stage of development will affect energy consumption, the amount of renewable energy, the energy sent to the grid, the power consumed directly, and the share of solar energy in energy consumption.

Comparative analysis of real-time data for stand-alone PV and floating PV system using MPPT technique

Solar energy is one of the most important and rapidly developing technologies in India. In recent years, India's attempts to increase the share of solar energy in electricity generation have led to the use of all renewable energy sources in electricity generation. It does not require fuel and has no negative impact on the environment. This research paper compared real-time data for off-grid and floating Photovoltaic (PV) systems. A stand-alone photovoltaic system assumes that a battery is used to store energy. He encountered a problem with the heating on the ground or on the roof, causing the panel's efficiency to drop. A floating solar panel is a novel solution to the problem of scarce land and rising panel temperatures in standalone systems. The efficiency of a floating PV system is higher than that of a stand-alone PV system because the water constantly cools the temperature of the floating solar panel. This paper explored the performance of both standalone and floating PV modules. The systems used the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) approach and the simulations were performed in MATLAB. Other MPPT algorithms are available, but this is the one uses the Perturb and Observe (P & O) technique.

GIS Analysis of Solar PV Locations and Disaster Risk Areas in Japan

Following the global trend of climate change mitigation, Japan has been rapidly increasing its share of renewable energy, in particular, its share of solar energy. However, Japan has limited flat land area that is suitable for solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation and a high risk of natural disasters. There is a possibility that some of its newly built solar power plants are located in areas where landslides and floods are likely to occur. Therefore, it is important to study the locations for solar PV from the perspective of disaster risk management. Previous studies have reported a number of incidents where solar PV installations were damaged as a result of natural disasters. One study utilized geographical analysis technology to reveal the overlapping of solar PV powerplant locations and disaster-prone areas in Fukuoka prefecture in Japan. However, to our best knowledge, no previous research about the solar PV locations' hazard risks has been done on a national scale. This paper investigates the risks stemming from landslides and floods for the existing solar PV power plants in Japan. We compare the geographical data of disaster risks in Japan with the location data of solar PV power plants to investigate the number of solar PV power plants located in disaster risk areas. Our results show that the shares of medium and large-scale solar PV power plants located in areas where landslides and floods are likely to occur are about 8.5 and 9.1% respectively.

Influence of solar radiation and surrounding temperature on heating water inside solar collector tank

The expected global warming and rapid population growth associated with limited traditional energy sources have put pressure on governments everywhere in the world. In this regard, this research investigated the behavior of solar energy in the heat storage tank. The study aims to find a solution for energy shortage by increasing solar energy share in heating the solar systems' storage tank. As an arid region, Egypt has high solar radiation throughout the country, which is a promising way to be an alternative energy source. The research investigated the potential of storage tanks for storing solar heat energy over the daytime to use it over inactive periods (night time)—the experimental study was conducted from 18 to December 22, 2018, using a thermosyphon evacuated solar collector. The obtained results showed that the maximum increase of storage tank temperature was 3.7 °C during an hour in daylight.Furthermore, the maximum heating storage tank temperature was 69.9 °C throughout the whole day. The values of solar radiation ranged from 200 to 1200 W/m2 during the experimental period. The heat values in the storage tank were 0.952, 1.072, 3.175, and 1.406 kWh recorded on the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st of December. The average heat losses from the storage tank during these days were 0.628, 0.631, 0.637, and 0.565 kWh. These small amounts of heat could be a result of keeping the same amount of water inside the tank was over four days. Consequently, the reliability of heating water by this collector and availability to store heating water were achieved to the level requirements.