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New Solar Technologies for Sustainable Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 12444

Special Issue Editors

Department of Applied Physics, Radiology and Physical Medicine, University of Cordoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Interests: solar energy; sustainable mobility; teaching physics
Department of Electrical Engineering and Automatics, University of Cordoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Interests: systems and automation engineering; solar energy
Department of Electrical Engineering and Automatics, University of Cordoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Interests: electric engineering; solar energy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is one of the main concerns of society worldwide. Among its main causes are industrial emissions, deforestation, and fossil combustion. In this regard, the energy sector plays a fundamental role in the fight against climate change, both due to the evolution of its demand and the type of resources used. Thus, reducing the use of fossil fuel-based energy generation technologies and promoting renewable energy sources is crucial in the fight against climate change and, as a consequence, in achieving sustainable development.

For all these reasons, as well as its growing economic competitiveness, it is becoming increasingly clear that the future of the energy sector must be directed toward renewable energies. In accordance with this, different institutions have been developing policies that promote the use of renewable energies in general, and solar energy in particular. This, together with wind, is playing a leading role as it is a clean technology, which is abundant and neither complex nor expensive. In addition, it favors equity in access to energy resources as it is, to a greater or lesser extent, a resource that is available anywhere on the planet, including in rural or less developed areas. However, political measures are totally insufficient by themselves, and it is essential that they be accompanied by scientific–technological development that makes the generation of solar energy competitive and efficient. In accordance with this, this Special Issue on “New Solar Technologies for Sustainable Development” is dedicated to those works that involve progress in the development and/or implementation of new solar technologies applied to the agricultural or industrial sector, to construction and Smart Cities or sustainable mobility, among others. In a general sense, this Special Issue aims to collect the latest scientific–technological advances that seek to improve the development and implementation of solar technology and contribute to its advancement toward leadership as a renewable energy production technology.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Marta Varo-Martinez
Prof. Dr. Luis Manuel Fernández De Ahumada
Prof. Dr. José Cristóbal Ramírez Faz
Guest Editors

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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • Climate change
  • Smart cities and buildings
  • Efficiency and sustainable development
  • Solar energy
  • Solar technologies applied to agriculture
  • Solar technologies applied to civil engineering
  • Solar technologies applied to industry
  • Electric mobility
  • Technological developments in solar energy
  • Monitoring, communications and data treatment in solar energy

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 5275 KiB  
Article
A Cost-Effective and Efficient Electronic Design for Photovoltaic Systems for Solar Hot Water Production
by Luis Cámara-Díaz, José Ramírez-Faz, Rafael López-Luque and Francisco José Casares
Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10270; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131810270 - 14 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 9276
Abstract
A significant percentage of energy consumption in buildings is to produce hot water. Photovoltaic solar heating can be considered a clean and renewable energy option—easy to install, silent, and without maintenance—to replace the consumption of fossil fuels used in this process. This paper [...] Read more.
A significant percentage of energy consumption in buildings is to produce hot water. Photovoltaic solar heating can be considered a clean and renewable energy option—easy to install, silent, and without maintenance—to replace the consumption of fossil fuels used in this process. This paper presents a study that simulates the heating process using thermal electrical resistors powered by photovoltaic solar energy. For this purpose, a solar hot water installation has been set up. This installation consists of a water tank with an electric resistance connected to photovoltaic modules by means of a low-cost experimental electronic conversion system. This electronic system has been developed to avoid the need for inverters or batteries, typical of traditional photovoltaic solar installations. It is an isolated system since it is not connected to the power grid. The photovoltaic solar modules, the tank, and its heating resistance correspond to commercial models. This electronic system has a 95.06% yield, and it operates across the whole irradiance’s daily curve, having verified its operation over several months. Even though this is an experimental electronic device, it is financially viable as the cost of its components is below EUR 60 per kW peak capacity. The results obtained in a proper functioning system are promising, demonstrating the technical feasibility and economic advantages of using this type of isolated photovoltaic system to power heating processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Solar Technologies for Sustainable Development)
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19 pages, 407 KiB  
Article
Environmental Impact of Solar Home Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa
by Fernando Antonanzas-Torres, Javier Antonanzas and Julio Blanco-Fernandez
Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9708; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13179708 - 30 Aug 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2027
Abstract
Solar home systems (SHS) represent one of the most promising technologies for a rapid and independent electrification in those areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) without access to electricity. This study addressed the environmental impact of SHS in SSA through updated life cycle inventories [...] Read more.
Solar home systems (SHS) represent one of the most promising technologies for a rapid and independent electrification in those areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) without access to electricity. This study addressed the environmental impact of SHS in SSA through updated life cycle inventories and five impact categories: greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, fossil fuels, metal and water depletion and human toxicity. Sixteen scenarios were considered, including manufacturing, transportation, recycling and user-related variables, such as the installation site, adequacy of SHS user operation and battery lifespan. The results showed that lead-acid batteries were the largest contributor to environmental impact among the SHS components, accounting for up to 36–76% of the environmental impact indicators. Apart from the components, user training for SHS operation, with the goal of maximizing usable energy and battery lifetime, proved to be critical to achieve improvements in the energy payback time and GHG emissions, which (under scenarios of high solar resources) can reach the range of 5.3–7.1 years and 0.14–0.18 kgCO2 eq/kWh, respectively. In addition, SHS GHG emission factors were benchmarked with those of other electrification approaches, such as national grids, 100% PV and hybrid PV-diesel off-grid mini grids and off-grid diesel generators. SHS achieved GHG emission factor values equivalent to PV-based mini grids in most scenarios and was strikingly lower compared to SSA national grids and diesel generators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Solar Technologies for Sustainable Development)
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