Solar Power Sector Research Articles

What impedes solar energy deployment? New evidence from power developers in the Arab Gulf states

The hydrocarbon-rich Gulf states are located in the heart of the global sunbelt which endows them with some of the highest solar resources in the world. Peak load hours in these countries also align well with daily and seasonal solar radiation levels. Nevertheless, actual deployment of renewable power, including solar, is among the lowest in the world. This article analyzes why solar power has seen some success in a few states, while in others there has been little momentum. To address the question, the authors undertake a qualitative, case-based inquiry into solar power development through data collected from interviews with solar power developers based in the Gulf. Our findings are two-fold. First, the quality of a regulatory regime (planning and enforcement) plays a significant role in explaining variations in solar deployment across the Gulf. Second, the most impactful pathways through which regulatory regimes affect solar power deployment include governance, competition among differently-sized developers, procurement, labor, and evenness within the same national jurisdiction. In so doing, the article offers policy-relevant implications for scaling up solar power sector in the Gulf and contributes to the wider literature on business-state relations in the region.

Predictive control technique for solar photovoltaic power forecasting

An accurate estimation of photovoltaic (PV) power production is crucial for organising and regulating solar PV power plants. The suitable prediction is often affected by the variable nature of solar resources, system location and some internal/external disturbances, such as system effectiveness, climatic factors, etc. This paper develops a novel strategy for applying a predictive control technique to PV power forecasting applications in a smart grid environment. The strategy develops the model predictive control (MPC) under demand response (DR) and some data-driven methods. It has been found that it is challenging to model an MPC for solar power forecasting regardless of its robustness and ability to handle constraints and disturbance. Thus, an optimal quadratic performance index-based MPC scheme is formulated to model a forecasting method for a PV power prediction. This strategy is then compared with some machine learning approaches. The developed strategies solve the problem of accurately estimating the direct current (DC) power yielded from the PV plant in a real-world implementation. The study also considers external disturbances to evaluate the significance of the developed methods for a suitable forecast. Therefore, this study optimally demonstrates that an accurate solar PV DC power prediction can relatively be estimated with an appropriate strategy, such as MPC and MLs, considering the system disturbances. This study also offers promising results for intelligent and real-time energy resource estimation that assist in developing the solar power sector.

Building a robust international carbon crediting framework: insights from Indonesia’s Joint Crediting Mechanism

Abstract This research explores the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) implementation and effectiveness in Indonesia, a program adopted by Japan for carbon emissions reduction and climate change mitigation. Using a quantitative case study methodology, we combine primary and secondary resources to gain insights into the mechanism’s impact on low-carbon development. Findings reveal challenges in government commitment to green energy promotion and financial losses in the solar power sector. Future agreements must consider past implementation and develop a clear framework for Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) to yield mutual benefits. The JCM has implemented 50 industrial projects in Indonesia, primarily in renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. It stands out as a leading pilot mechanism under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement and has reached full implementation, involving the collaboration of host and partner countries in line with international standards. Various funding models support JCM projects, but while some achieve impressive emissions reductions, the overall impact on Indonesia’s emissions remains relatively modest, emphasizing the need for more comprehensive strategies at the national level. The paper also compares the JCM with other carbon crediting mechanisms, highlighting differences and similarities. Challenges in constructing international carbon crediting mechanisms in Indonesia are discussed, and lessons learned from the JCM are outlined, offering valuable insights for the development of a global carbon crediting framework.

Towards a Circular Solar Power Sector: Experience with a Support Framework for Business Model Innovation

The rapid expansion of the global solar photovoltaic (PV) market as part of the transition to a low-carbon energy future will increase both demand for raw materials used in PV product manufacturing as well as future PV panel waste volumes. There is an urgent need for solar industry businesses to adopt circular business models, and to support this process through targeted tools and methods that can facilitate the innovation process of such models. This paper employs an action-oriented case study methodology, drawing on insights garnered from five demonstrator cases that have applied and validated a Circular Business Model Innovation (CBMI) framework within the PV sector. Results show how this framework was applied in practice during the ideation, design, experimentation, and scaling phases of the innovation process. Specifically, results show how an experimental and iterative approach was found critical to assess viability, desirability, and feasibility of circular business strategies. The study’s empirical testing of tools with the context of a Circular Economy complements earlier theoretical conceptualizations of business model innovation processes. It illustrates how using multiple tools can provide firms with complementary insights in each stage of ideation, design, testing, and scaling of business models. It is recommended that policy makers and business leaders endorse such co-creative and experimental approaches to foster learning and business model innovation, thereby catalysing the transformation of an entire renewable energy industry sector towards Circular Economy.

Efficient Risk Management for Distributed Clean Energy: Principal Component based Weather Derivatives

As global efforts to achieve net-zero emissions intensify, the integration of renewable energy has brought to the critical need for effective volumetric risk hedging strategies, particularly at the local level. However, existing financial instruments based on total power output, such as wind power futures, fall short in local hedging. This study introduces Principal Component (PC) derivatives designed for the solar power sector, using multi-regional solar radiation as the underlying to overcome data handling complexities. In particular, by incorporating our previous concept of prediction error derivatives, we provide a unique solution to complex pricing to help manage cash flow volatility risks. In addition, we propose PC derivatives based on solar radiation residuals to hedge volumetric risks. Empirical analysis shows that our PC derivatives outperform existing widearea derivatives in terms of hedge effectiveness, with a 20% increase over area-specific derivatives. Using as few as three or four PC derivatives can provide comprehensive coverage across different areas, enhancing market liquidity and creating an efficient transaction framework. Our results highlight the practical benefits of this approach, including the potential to reduce transaction costs by countertrading in different regions.

Assessing the competitiveness of Indian solar power industry using the extended Five Forces Model: a green innovation perspective.

India's demand-supply imbalance electricity market results from the country's rapid population growth and extensive industrialization. Due to increased costs, many residential and commercial customers have difficulty paying their electric bills. Households with lower incomes are confronted with the most severe energy poverty in the entire country. A sustainable and alternative form of energy is required to solve these issues. Solar energy is a sustainable energy choice for India; however, the solar industry faces many issues. One of them is managing end-of-life cycle photovoltaic (PV) waste, as massive deployment of solar energy capacity has resulted in generating large amounts of PV waste, ultimately affecting environmental and human health. Therefore, this research employs "Porter's Five Forces Model" to analyze the factors that significantly impact the competitiveness of India's solar power industry. The inputs for this model consist of semi-structured interviews conducted with experts in the solar power industry on various solar energy-related issues and a critical analysis of the national policy framework using the relevant literature and official statistics. The impact of five significant stakeholders of the solar power industry on solar power generation in India is evaluated: buyers, suppliers, competitors, substitutes, and potential competitors. Research findings indicate the Indian solar power industry's current status, challenges, competition environment, and future estimates. This study will help the government and stakeholders to understand the intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting the competitiveness of the Indian solar power sector and suggest policy recommendations to formulate procurement strategies that promote sustainable development within the solar industry.

Solar business prosumers in Ukraine: Should we wait for them to appear?

The prosumerism involving self-consuming green energy generated by small power producers significantly contributes to energy transition and sustainable development. Its practical implementation requires creating strong incentives for businesses and households. In Ukraine's example, this study covers a gap in substantiating business solar prosumerism in a transition economy. We used statistical and comparative analyses to assess the necessary legal and organizational conditions for developing the solar power sector and confirmed its positive outcomes. We applied investment analysis to substantiate the economic feasibility of converting industrial green energy producers to prosumers. The net present value, profitability index, and discounted payback period of constructing industrial photovoltaic solar power plants with 100, 300, 500, and 700-kW capacity were evaluated. Three options for the ratio “green electricity self-consumed/sold at a feed-in tariff” were chosen: 1) 20/80; 2) 50/50; 3) 100/0. We found that pure self-consumption was the most profitable and boosted creating the business solar prosumer class. Using multifactor and comparative analyses, we identified the prospective post-war factors of prosumerism, including electricity prices, green energy sales taxation, investment incentives, etc. The policy recommendations of the study contain the business feed-in tariff cancellation, investment support for deploying energy storage systems and prosumer microgrids.

An Empirical Study on Solar Performance, Cost, and Environmental Benefits of Solar Power Supply

Developing countries are still using fossil fuels as the conventional method to produce electricity. Pakistan is one of the developing countries which relies on fossil fuels to produce electricity. Based on United Nations 17 sustainable goals and high fuel prices, the government of Pakistan is encouraging the solar power sector and investments from private companies in the technology by reducing tariffs to import solar technology. The report aims to analyze the technical and commercial aspects of solar power generation, net metering, impact on the supply and demand of power generation on the K-Electric grid system, and its environmental impact. The research is applied research based on the data provided by the company. By sustaining the demand for conventional power through solar energy, Pakistan and other developing countries could better perform by increasing solar energy performance.

Foreign Direct Investment in the Solar Power Sector and Its Impact on Bangladesh Economic Development

This study finds the prospects of FDI in the solar power sector and the impact of economic development in the case of Bangladesh. As per, we found that FDI in solar energy has huge prospects and has some challenges. This country signed Paris Agreement, so the government has to think about the environmental issue. The government takes several renewable energy projects to attract foreign investors in this sector. If the Bangladesh government looks at it carefully, this will help Bangladesh's economic development. Keywords: FDI, Solar energy prospects, Economic Development, Bangladesh DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-8-05 Publication date: April 30 th 2022

TRENDS IN SOLAR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN LITHUANIA

The rapid development of renewable resources is seen around the world. This article provides recent statistics on the solar power sector worldwide and in Lithuania. It is known that the development of solar energy power plants has advanced significantly in recent years, and the total installed capacity continues to grow. The purpose of this article is to assess the impact upon the development of solar power plants of the progress in solar photovoltaic technologies and the applicable financing schemes intended to reduce the financial burden on the consumer when installing a solar power plant. The article analyzes the concept and classification of solar energy projects, provides an overview of trends worldwide and in Lithuania, and examines the change in the price of solar power plants. The influence of the mentioned factors on the development of solar power plants is evaluated using statistical data analysis and correlation regression analysis. After the analysis of statistical data, the forecast for the development of solar power plant projects in Lithuania in the coming years is made.

Status of solar photovoltaic systems in India

India is marching forward to achieve solar power generation, with a target of 100 GW by the year 2022. This paper reports the recent progress and developments in solar power sector in India. It also supports the prevailing progressive path for solar power projects and recommends future course of actions.

23 Years of Development of the Solar Power Generation Sector in Spain: A Comprehensive Review of the Period 1998–2020 from a Regulatory Perspective

Spain has become one of the leading countries in the world in promoting electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES), due to their positive socioeconomic and environmental impacts, through highly favorable regulatory frameworks and public incentives set by Spanish governments mainly during the first decade of 2000s, i.e., Royal Decree (RD) 2818/1998, RD 436/2004 and RD 661/2007. Conversely, the highly favorable regime applicable to RES, and specifically to solar power plants during the 1998–2008 promotion period turned into an extremely unfavorable scenario during the 2008–2020 cost-containment stage, characterized by the dismantling of the previous promotion schemes so as to reduce the skyrocketing electricity system tariff deficit, in which regulations such as RD 1578/2008, Royal Decree Law (RDL) 6/2009, RDL 14/2010, RDL 1/2012, Law 15/2012, RDL 9/2013, Law 24/2013 and RD 413/2014 stood out. Nonetheless, the Spanish renewable sector, and especially the solar power sector, has shown great dynamism in its energy policy in the period 1998–2020. This academic contribution provides a comprehensive review of the energy policy evolution for the whole solar power sector in Spain, specifically both solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, over the last 23 years. Thus, considering both the boom in the solar power sector as well as the solar sector’s bust, a survey of the different legislation in force during the 1998–2020 period, as well as of the existing academic literature dealing with this issue, is conducted to first contextualize and describe, and then carefully assess, the last 23 years of solar energy policy in Spain. In brief, the decisive role of the Spanish government in developing the RES sector, and especially the solar power sector, in recent years has been noted. In this vein, a good planning of the energy development model, the regulatory stability, the simplicity and agility of the corresponding administrative process, the appropriate design of support mechanisms, as well as security and predictability of support levels in the mid and long term, play an important role in providing certainty to all the stakeholders. During the 1998–2008 promotion stage, even with a stable, quite favorable and easily predictable RES support mechanism in place, the Spanish solar system behaved as an open-loop system without any control structure detecting and reacting to problematic situations. The fact that the Spanish government was compelled to implement ex-post measures during the period 2008–2020, seriously jeopardizing the viability of the power plants in operation, as well as compromising the legal–economic stability of the renewable energy sector, clearly indicated a malfunctioning of the energy policy control mechanism. In essence, it is hoped that the lessons extracted from this 23-year comprehensive review of the Spanish solar power sector pathway could be quite useful for other countries either in the initial development stage or fully immersed in the promotion of solar power sector or any other renewable technology.

Numerical Assessment of Downward Incoming Solar Irradiance in Smoke Influenced Regions—A Case Study in Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado

Smoke aerosol plumes generated during the biomass burning season in Brazil suffer long-range transport, resulting in large aerosol optical depths over an extensive domain. As a consequence, downward surface solar irradiance, and in particular the direct component, can be significantly reduced. Accurate solar energy assessments considering the radiative contribution of biomass burning aerosols are required to support Brazil’s solar power sector. This work presents the 2nd generation of the radiative transfer model BRASIL-SR, developed to improve the aerosol representation and reduce the uncertainties in surface solar irradiance estimates in cloudless hazy conditions and clean conditions. Two numerical experiments allowed to assess the model’s skill using observational or regional MERRA-2 reanalysis AOD data in a region frequently affected by smoke. Four ground measurement sites provided data for the model output validation. Results for DNI obtained using δ-Eddington scaling and without scaling are compared, with the latter presenting the best skill in all sites and for both experiments. An increase in the relative error of DNI results obtained with δ-Eddington optical depth scaling as AOD increases is evidenced. For DNI, MBD deviations ranged from −2.3 to −0.5%, RMSD between 2.3 and 4.7% and OVER between 0 and 5.3% when using in-situ AOD data. Overall, our results indicate a good skill of BRASIL-SR for the estimation of both GHI and DNI.

Windows of opportunity for catching up in formative clean-tech sectors and the rise of China in concentrated solar power

We analyse the potential for industry entry and catching up by latecomer countries or firms in formative sectors, by deriving a framework that builds on the concept of windows of opportunity for catching up. This framework highlights differences in technological, market, and institutional characteristics between formative and mature sectors, and elaborates how this may affect opportunities for catching up. We apply this framework to the global Concentrated Solar Power sector, in which China has rapidly narrowed the gap to the global forefront in terms of technological capabilities and market competitiveness. We find that the formative nature of the sector resulted in turbulent development of the technological, market, and institutional dimensions, making it more difficult for early leaders to retain leadership, and therefore easier for latecomer firms or countries to catch up. This signals an increased role in early-stage technology development in the next phase of the energy transition.

Solar power sector reforms in India

Solar power sector reforms in India

An exploratory study of the South African concentrated solar power sector using the technological innovation systems framework

Wide-scale deployment of variable renewable energy (wind and solar photovoltaic) is constrained by its associated requirements for energy storage, the technologies for which are currently too expensive to be routinely used. Concentrated solar power (CSP), with its inherent storage capacity, offers semi-dispatchable electricity at large scale. However, its deployment to date has been restricted by high capital costs and the limited geographical locations with optimal solar radiation to attain required efficiencies. South Africa, with its abundant solar resources, has the potential to develop an export-competitive CSP industry by leveraging existing capabilities in innovation, manufacturing and construction, but has yet to attain this goal. This study applied a qualitative, exploratory approach and the framework of technological innovation systems (TIS) to understand the factors that are currently prohibiting the country from being a global leader in CSP. The assessment has revealed the presence of largely immature TIS, characterised by a heavy reliance on imported technology and market support from the state-supported procurement programme. The advancement of CSP remains contingent on further allocation of CSP procurement targets in this programme and sufficient support to develop entrepreneurial activity. An integrated industrial policy strategy, which can ensure technology transfer and address the high cost of CSP, is recommended as a means of addressing the barriers to its development as a competitive industry.

China’s role in the next phase of the energy transition: Contributions to global niche formation in the Concentrated Solar Power sector

The role that emerging economies, and China in particular, play in the global energy transition appears to be transforming. Transition literature to date characterizes the formation of cleantech sectors in emerging economies as being heavily dependent on foreign inputs of knowledge and other key resources. This article argues that in the, currently unfolding, next phase of the global energy transition, Chinese actors may play a more central role in global niche development for high-tech industries, including in constructing innovative and effective socio-technical configurations. This argument is illustrated with a case study of the Chinese Concentrated Solar Power industry, which is found to have developed largely independently of foreign resources. The case is used to highlight a number of specificities of the Chinese environment that set it apart from niche formation environments in OECD countries, and may allow China to open up technological trajectories unlikely to develop in those OECD countries.

Benchmarking analysis of a novel thermocline hybrid thermal energy storage system using steelmaking slag pebbles as packed-bed filler material for central receiver applications

The aim of this research is to provide the techno-economic and benchmarking analysis of a 100 MWe class molten salt central receiver system using a thermocline hybrid thermal energy storage (TES) system versus conventional two-tank storage. The techno-economic analysis used has been carried out by means of specifically developed transient simulation models to find out a robust comparison between technologies. Thermal energy from storage, annual net electricity production and Levelized Cost of Electricity are the concise and comprehensive figures of merit of this study. An exhaustive effort has been made in order to achieve a well-founded comparison between concentrated solar power plants with equivalent storage system designs in terms of capacity factor and performance. Finally, this research demonstrates that the thermocline hybrid TES system provides a reliable cost effective storage solution that achieves the same Levelized Cost of Electricity as state-of-the-art technology. This is achieved due to the competitive price of the steelmaking slag pebbles versus molten salts, a revalorized processed steel by-product waste from the metallurgical industry used as packed-bed solid filler material for thermocline tanks. The results of this research open an attractive potential for cost reduction in the concentrated solar power sector, a key competitive value for a new market opportunity.

Scoping the potential usefulness of seasonal climate forecasts for solar power management

Solar photovoltaic energy is widespread worldwide and particularly in Europe, which became in 2016 the first region in the world to pass the 100 GW of installed capacity. As with all the renewable energy sources, for an effective management of solar power, it is essential to have reliable and accurate information about weather/climate conditions that affect the production of electricity. Operations in the solar energy industry are normally based on daily (or intra-daily) forecasts. Nevertheless, information about the incoming months can be relevant to support and inform operational and maintenance activities.This paper discusses a methodology to assess whether a seasonal climate forecast can provide a useful prediction for a specific sector, in this paper the European solar power industry. After evaluating the quality of the forecasts in providing probabilistic information for solar radiation, we describe how to assess their potential usefulness for a generic user by proposing an approach that takes into account not only their accuracy but also other potentially relevant factors. This approach is called index of opportunity and is then illustrated by presenting an example for the European solar power sector. The index of opportunity provides indications about where and when seasonal climate forecasts can benefit the decision-making in the photovoltaic sector. Even more importantly, it suggests an approach on how to evaluate their usefulness for the user's decision-making. This approach has the advantage of not limiting the definition of the usefulness only to the quality of the forecasts but rather considering, in an explicit way, all the factors that must be combined with the forecast's quality to define what is useful or not for the user.

Breaking the Stagnant Spell: How Blockchain is Disrupting the Solar Energy Industry

Purpose: The energy sector has experienced insignificant growth over the past few decades, despite the global shift towards renewable resources. As Blockchain technology and the IoT begin to disrupt multiple industries, utilities and individuals are both presented with the opportunity to capitalize on the fastest-growing energy source. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the current pain points facing the solar power sector and discuss existing blockchain-based solutions to mitigate said issues. Approach: Online research and Internet-based resources were used to explore the potential use cases of blockchain to initiate the permanent shift of the energy industry towards renewable resources. Findings: The findings identified several blockchain-based applications such as smart metering, peer-to-peer trading, EV charging, renewable cryptocurrencies, wholesale trading and settlements, energy access, blockchain labs, and various decentralized energy applications. Results demonstrate the high potential for utility companies to benefit from this technology while also considering limitations of the applications. Discussion: It is likely to be over a decade before any significant progress is made in the renewable energy sector, which can be mainly attributed to the high cost of energy storage and the inability to conduct large-scale research-backed pilots. Value: There are several publications on blockchain and energy which focus on specific applications within the industry. This paper provides value through its comprehensive list of existing pain points in energy production, storage, and distribution, while also exploring the most prominent use-cases currently aiming to tackle these issues.