Photovoltaics for Commercial and Utilities Power Generation is an in-depth review of the solar industry development, and present day state-of-the-art. It emphasizes current and future applications of photovoltaic equipment in the commercial and utility energy sectors, highlighting its use in large scale power generating plants operating in the U.S. deserts. The book reviews all key aspects of the photovoltaic technologies from a theoretical point of view, looking closely at their design parameters, materials, manufacturing, quality and performance. It also covers the practical applications, focusing on large scale photovoltaics as a major alternative energy source. The author examines the advantages and disadvantages of each of today’s solar technologies and projects them into the future in search of optimized niche markets and maximum utilization. Key technical issues related to: manufacturing and test procedures, product quality and safety, field performance, environmental impact, and other issues are thoroughly analyzed. Lack of standardized manufacturing processes and operating procedures, fluctuating political and regulatory policies, and the different financing, legal and marketing aspects of the solar industry are amidst the topics discussed in detail as well. Photovoltaics for Commercial and Utilities Power Generation provides a 360 degree view of today’s solar energy products and the related manufacturing and operating procedures. It exposes the issues plaguing the solar industry, with the ultimate goal of finding the best solutions as needed to bring photovoltaic technologies to acceptable level of efficient, reliable and cost-effective operation in large scale power generation plants. Large scale PV power generation is one of the keys to meeting the energy and environmental demands of the 21st century. This book identifies the major issues and suggests solutions to the obstacles hindering the large scale deployment of photovoltaics in the U.S. and abroad.

Covering both technical and financial aspects, this professional reference work provides an overview of solar power technology.

This study presents options to fully unlock the world’s vast solar PV potential over the period until 2050. It builds on IRENA’s global roadmap to scale up renewables and meet climate goals.

• New York Times bestseller • The 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming, based on meticulous research by leading scientists and policymakers around the world “At this point in time, the Drawdown book is exactly what is needed; a credible, conservative solution-by-solution narrative that we can do it. Reading it is an effective inoculation against the widespread perception of doom that humanity cannot and will not solve the climate crisis. Reported by-effects include increased determination and a sense of grounded hope.” —Per Espen Stoknes, Author, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming “There’s been no real way for ordinary people to get an understanding of what they can do and what impact it can have. There remains no single, comprehensive, reliable compendium of carbon-reduction solutions across sectors. At least until now. . . . The public is hungry for this kind of practical wisdom.” —David Roberts, Vox “This is the ideal environmental sciences textbook—only it is too interesting and inspiring to be called a textbook.” —Peter Kareiva, Director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change. One hundred techniques and practices are described here—some are well known; some you may have never heard of. They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air. The solutions exist, are economically viable, and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination. If deployed collectively on a global scale over the next thirty years, they represent a credible path forward, not just to slow the earth’s warming but to reach drawdown, that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline. These measures promise cascading benefits to human health, security, prosperity, and well-being—giving us every reason to see this planetary crisis as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.

Solarenergie ist die Basis für eine nachhaltige Wirtschaftsweise. Die Liberalisierung der Elektrizitätsindustrie stellt die Stromerzeugung aus erneuerbaren Energien vor eine große Herausforderung. Solarstrom gilt als teuer und nicht wirtschaftlich. Dieses Buch untersucht die ökonomischen Aspekte von kleinen dezentralen Photovoltaikanlagen, die auch von Konsumenten betrieben werden können. Der Autor entwickelt eine Marktstrategie, die es kleinen kommunalen Energieversorgern erlaubt, mit erneuerbaren Energien in einem zukünftigen freien Stromwettbewerb zu bestehen. Aktuelle Fallstudien aus Deutschland und den USA illustrieren die Chancen und Herausforderungen für eine umweltfreundliche Energieversorgung mit Solarstrom. Mit zahlreichen Abbildungen, Tabellen und einem englisch-deutschen Wörterverzeichnis.

I have great pleasure in presenting the Proceedings of the 10th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference held in Lisbon from 8 to 12 April 1991. These Proceedings contain all the scientific papers delivered at the Conference. The following is a short summary of the Conference activities. The Conference was opened by the Minister of Industry and Energy of Portugal, Eng. Luis Mira do Amaral. At the opening ceremony the Becquerel Prize, created by the Commission of the European Communities, was awarded to Professor Werner Bloss of the University of Stuttgart, and presented by Professor Philippe Bourdeau, Director at the Directorate-General for Science, Research and Development. The Becquerellecture delivered by Professor Bloss constituted the scientific opening to the conference. About 760 delegates from 53 countries presented around 350 contributions, 50 of them as plenary lectures; the contributions were selected among the many papers submitted, this time more strictly than ever before. Also a selected group of scientists were invited to deliver 15 review lectures, to provide an adequate context to the contributions to the Conference. A Symposium on Photovoltaics in Developing Countries, which was very well attended, took place as a parallel event. The Symposium provided an opportunity to hear not only experts of the industrialized countries, but also speakers from the countries where photovoltaics provides services of paramount value.

Solar energy is a substantial global industry, one that has generated trade disputes among superpowers, threatened the solvency of large energy companies, and prompted serious reconsideration of electric utility regulation rooted in the 1930s. One of the biggest payoffs from solar’s success is not the clean inexpensive electricity it can produce, but the lessons it provides for innovation in other technologies needed to address climate change. Despite the large literature on solar, including analyses of increasingly detailed datasets, the question as to how solar became inexpensive and why it took so long still remains unanswered. Drawing on developments in the US, Japan, Germany, Australia, and China, this book provides a truly comprehensive and international explanation for how solar has become inexpensive. Understanding the reasons for solar’s success enables us to take full advantage of solar’s potential. It can also teach us how to support other low-carbon technologies with analogous properties, including small modular nuclear reactors and direct air capture. However, the urgency of addressing climate change means that a key challenge in applying the solar model is in finding ways to speed up innovation. Offering suggestions and policy recommendations for accelerated innovation is another key contribution of this book. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy technology and innovation, climate change and energy analysis and policy, as well as practitioners and policymakers working in the existing and emerging energy industries.