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Solar energy: charting the way forward

 


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Having thorough knowledge of solar energy resources, their components (direct and diffuse radiation), and their manifestations over various time scales is a prerequisite. The characteristics of the sun must be examined along with the energy demand, its components (energy, heat, transportation, fuel), and its variations throughout time.

To produce electricity, heat, and cold, as well as gas, solar energy employs the radiative power of light in a variety of forms. Solar thermal heating and cooling (SHC), concentrated solar power (CSP), and photovoltaics (PV) should all be viewed as complementing technologies rather than being compared one to the other.

Photovoltaic generation is precise in its high scalability, spanning from small, individual structures at the watt scale to distributed, domestic and commercial electrical structures at the kilowatt and megawatt scales and up to powering the life of plants with hundreds of megawatts of capacity. As a result, it can offer access to off-grid electricity to improve microgrids and minigrids further, enhance grids at their edges, and supply massive amounts of electricity to today's fully developed grids.

To generate energy from sunshine, photo voltaics and CSP are two fundamental technologies. While PV is less expensive, CSP with integrated thermal storage can boost energy device flexibility and stability, raise the proportion of solar energy, and combine more variable sources. In addition, chemical products and fuels rich in hydrogen can be manufactured and exported using solar energy.

The selection of options provided by SHC is still extensive, with solar thermal systems, like solar heating and refrigeration equipment, offering incredibly eco-friendly solutions for a range of temperatures and for specific applications (domestic hot water, local heating, district heating, system heating, or even thermal cooling). 

Despite being mostly used to heat water in houses today, solar thermal power has the extraordinary ability to secure subsequent deployment by developing and implementing roadmaps. Due to the way the archives' content is structured, the strategy must incorporate everyone who is interested and guarantee the best level of cooperation from numerous ministerial departments.

In order to provide policymakers, business leaders, members of civil society, and other stakeholders with the technological knowledge and methodological tool they need to forge a path toward a robust deployment and improved solar electricity, the International Energy Agency and the International Solar Alliance have teamed up to produce this handbook. Despite declining costs, the expansion of solar energy still heavily depends on insurance companies having lofty goals and putting good policies, market strategies, and regulatory frameworks in place, including technology research, development, and application. 

This guide aims to offer a thorough breakdown of the procedures and concerns for each stage of the design and execution of the solar energy roadmap, as well as a broad overview of the implementation elements and obstacles, useful pointers for movements and equipment, and valuable statistics resources.

The planning and training, vision, roadmap development and implementation, monitoring and review levels make up the four streams of sporting activities that make up the IEA strategy for roadmap development.

Photovoltaics (PV), initially one of the most costly power production technologies, has now become one of the most expensive due to tremendous adoption and price reductions over the past ten years. In cutting-edge auctions, the competitiveness of distributed electricity from hybrid photovoltaic and concentrated solar power (CSP) plants is rising, and solar thermal generation is entering new markets for industrial business plans and district heating networks.

The amount of new solar power additions in 2018 was about the same as it was in the previous 365 days (PV additions stayed below one), despite lowering prices and a 20-year worldwide boom that hasn't stopped. a hundred GW (gigawatts). Even worse, since 2013, the market for warm, sunny weather has been rapidly declining and is not.