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Recent Advances in Solar Thermal Technologies and Solar Energy Application

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 April 2025 | Viewed by 1472

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80131 Naples, Italy
Interests: solar energy; energy efficiency; alternative fuels

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Demographic growth and the right of all populations to access ever-increasing technological standards are leading to a constant increase in global energy needs. On the other hand, the need to limit pollution and global warming of the planet increasingly requires the search for energy sources and the use of systems and processes that limit the production of greenhouse gases.

In this context, solar energy, which constitutes the most abundant energy source, still poses considerable challenges to its intensive exploitation, linked first and foremost to the low energy density of this source and the need to sacrifice large surfaces for its collection. Even the intermittency of this source constitutes a limit that scientific research is attempting to overcome by developing increasingly high-performance storage systems.

The current applications of solar energy are multiple, from the production of electrical energy by the photovoltaic effect to the production of mechanical energy through thermodynamic solar systems, and finally the production of thermal energy for both civil and industrial uses.

In particular, given their vast field of use, both for the user and for the thermal level of the energy to be produced, solar thermal technologies represent an interesting field of research for optimizing the efficiency of systems that use this source and for the development of increasingly advanced thermal storage systems.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to solar thermal technologies and solar energy applications.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Solar thermal technologies;
  • Thermal energy storage;
  • Solar energy collection and concentration;
  • Direct steam generation by solar energy;
  • Heat transfer enhancement in solar thermal plants;
  • Solar energy integration in smart grids;
  • Monitoring and control of solar thermal plants;
  • New materials for solar thermal plants;
  • Heat transfer fluids.

Prof. Dr. Langella Giuseppe
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • solar energy
  • thermal energy storage
  • solar energy collection and concentration
  • direct steam generation
  • heat transfer
  • solar energy integration in smart grids
  • monitoring and control of solar thermal plants
  • new materials for solar thermal plants
  • heat transfer fluids

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3427 KiB  
Article
Electrical Model Analysis for Bifacial PV Modules Using Real Performance Data in Laboratory
by Valentina González Becerra, Patricio Valdivia-Lefort, Rodrigo Barraza and Jesús García García
Energies 2024, 17(23), 5868; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17235868 - 22 Nov 2024
Abstract
The new PV technologies, such as bifacial modules, bring the challenge of analyzing the response of numerical models and their fit to actual measurements. Thus, this study explores various models available in the literature for simulating the IV curve behavior of bifacial photovoltaic [...] Read more.
The new PV technologies, such as bifacial modules, bring the challenge of analyzing the response of numerical models and their fit to actual measurements. Thus, this study explores various models available in the literature for simulating the IV curve behavior of bifacial photovoltaic modules. The analysis contains traditional models, such as single and double-diode models, and empirical or analytical methodologies. Therefore, this paper proposes and implements a model performance assessment framework. This framework aims to establish a common basis for comparison and verify the applicability of each model by contrasting it with experimental data under controlled conditions of irradiance and temperature. The study utilizes bifacial modules of PERC+, HJT, and n-PERT technologies, tracing IV curves using a high-precision A+A+A+ solar simulator and conducting two sets of laboratory illumination measurements: single-sided and double-sided. In the first case, each face of the module is illuminated separately, while in the latter, the incident frontal illuminating light is reflected on a reflective surface. Experimental data obtained from these measurements are used to evaluate three different approximations for bifacial IV curve models in the case of double-sided illumination. The employed model for single-sided illumination is a single-diode model. The evaluation of various models revealed that shadowing from frames and junction boxes contributes to an increase in the error of modeled IV curves. However, among the three evaluated bifacial electrical models, one exhibited superior performance, with current errors approaching approximately 20%. To mitigate this discrepancy, a proposed methodology highlighted the significance of accurately estimating Io, suggesting its potential to reduce errors. This research provides a foundation for comparing electrical models to identify their strengths and limitations, paving the way for the development of more accurate modeling approaches tailored to bifacial modules. The insights gained from this study are crucial for enhancing the precision of IV curve predictions under various illumination conditions, which is essential for optimizing bifacial module performance in real-world applications. Full article
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23 pages, 7672 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Insulation Coordination and Overvoltage for Utility Girds Integrated with Solar Farms
by Mansoor Soomro, Riaz Abbasi, Mazhar Baloch, Sohaib Tahir Chauhdary and Mokhi Maan Siddiqui
Energies 2024, 17(21), 5487; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17215487 - 2 Nov 2024
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Abstract
Due to the economic and environmental concerns associated with fossil fuels, many government and private organizations are progressively shifting towards the integration of solar farms with Utility Grids. However, these systems are facing insulation failure issues due to internal and external transient overvoltage’s, [...] Read more.
Due to the economic and environmental concerns associated with fossil fuels, many government and private organizations are progressively shifting towards the integration of solar farms with Utility Grids. However, these systems are facing insulation failure issues due to internal and external transient overvoltage’s, in which their shape, magnitude, and duration are unpredictable, and consequently, the insulation stress also becomes unpredictable. To ensure the safety and integrity of the system against any transient overvoltage event, it is important to carry out an insulation coordination analysis. The primary goal of this research work is to achieve this optimization in an economically viable manner, ensuring both operational stability and cost-effectiveness in the design of electrical equipment like surge Arresters. The research work presented in the literature does not fully evaluate all International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) overvoltage classes as specified in the insulation coordination standards for Utility Grids integrated with solar farms. Therefore, this research paper investigates the impact of various transient and switching overvoltage conditions, as defined in the IEC 60071.4 Insulation Coordination Standard at the Solar and Utility Grid Electrical power system using PSCAD 4.6/EMTP Software. Five distinct simulation scenarios were developed to assess the systems’ resilience against insulation stress events. The proposed system was also examined with and without the application of a lightning surge arrester. Full article
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