The looming threat of global warming may be the greatest challenge of the present generation. Confronted by the potential of such a massive worldwide calamity, the average citizen often wonders what he or she can do.In this inspiring and optimistic story of a green revolution in the making, veteran science and technology journalist Bob Johnstone shows how the unrelenting efforts of a small band of grassroots activists have discovered ways to make solar a practical retail energy solution. The crucial driver for the adoption of solar energy has not been technology but policy. Focusing on initiatives in Germany, he describes the use of the feed-in tariff as the most successful policy mechanism yet invented to spur on widespread deployment of solar energy.Turning to California, Johnstone reviews the efforts of policy wonks to create new schemes to make solar affordable at the municipal level. Pioneers in both tree-hugging Berkeley and golf-playing Palm Desert have united in common cause, and other towns and cities are planning to follow suit. As with other emerging trends, as California goes so goes the rest of the country.Concluding with a positive view of the future, Johnstone describes the creativity of many startups fueled by venture capital. Innovation is being applied to every part of the process, from silicon production to financing and installation. The details may still be uncertain, but there's no doubt that the solar revolution is underway.Bob Johnstone (Melbourne, Australia) is the author of Brilliant!: Shuji Nakamura and the Revolution in Lighting Technology; We Were Burning: Japanese Entrepreneurs and the Forging of the Electronic Age; and Never Mind the Laptops: Kids, Computers, and the Transformation of Learning. He has also contributed numerous articles on technology to Forbes, Nature, New Scientist, MIT Technology Review, Wired, and the Far Eastern Economic Review.

Solar Energy Technologies in Cultural Heritage offers a comprehensive overview of the solar renewable energy possibilities, developments, innovations, and challenges for cultural heritage applications. This book bridges the traditional boundary between research, professional practices, and policies, as well as between arts, architecture, engineering, and social science. Conservation of heritage buildings, especially in urban settings, has evolved from purely physical preservation to functional redevelopment and repurposing. This opens new opportunities for active solar energy systems in buildings, towns, and landscapes. This book presents international contributions on the integration of solar renewable energies within cultural heritage, providing detailed coverage of cultural, legislative, and social frameworks, design criteria, simulation tools, innovative materials, and technologies. This book is an essential resource for anyone interested in solar energy technologies for the built environment, including researchers, scientists, graduate students, engineers, designers, developers, and policymakers. - Presents current knowledge and innovative technologies for the integration of photovoltaic and solar thermal systems in cultural heritage - Illustrates approaches and solutions for solving the complex cost–benefit balance between conservation and energy production - Includes contributions from major experts and scientists in the field, supported by real experience and practical examples

A reliable and secure protection and control system is a paramount requirement for any electrical network. This book discusses protection and control schemes of various parts of Solar Power Plants (SPP) namely solar generator, inverter, and SPP network connected to the grid. For this purpose small, medium, and large size of solar power energy sources have been considered. This includes residential, commercial buildings and large power plants. There are significant literature about solar energy, modeling and different aspects of integration of SPP to grids. But there is no book to address directly the setting/design of protection and control schemes, testing techniques and fault findings of solar generators and its networks. The topology and characteristics of solar generators and their networks are different from conventional ones. This has caused the following issues: - Conventional protection & control scheme may fail to detect different type of faults which may occur on solar cells/panels/arrays, DC cables, and inverters. This necessitated the requirement of special schemes for the detection of faults in blind spots, - Fault findings required tests, and testing equipment for solar generators are different from conventional ones, - The fault current contribution from solar generators is low (1.1-1.2 pu) as compared to conventional ones. The above problems have caused significant challenges for appropriate setting and design of protection & control scheme of SPP network which in some cases have resulted to several major plants shut down, safety risks and fire incidents. This book discusses the above challenges and proposes mitigation techniques to rectify the deficiencies of existing industry practices for the protection and control systems of solar generators. Most of the content of this book has been observed or successfully applied in the field for various SPPs projects worldwide and consequently can be used or considered as a practical guideline for future projects. Main Objectives of the Book The main objectives of the book are: - To familiarize engineers, technical officers, testers, and project managers with required power system protection and control schemes of solar power plants (SPP). - To provide a guideline for preparation of standards, technical specification, business case, functional scope, test, and commissioning plan as applicable to the installation of new SPP; - To provide adequate information to electricity companies, consultants, contractors, relay manufacturers,s and SPP owners about the requirement of protection and control systems of SPP. Acknowledgment The author wishes to acknowledge that the contents of this book are based on utilizing the following resources: 1) Extensive research of the author for design, specifications, and commissioning of SPPs 2) Experiences of other individuals, electricity companies, and consultants Disclaimer The author is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, up-to-dateness, or quality of the information provided. The author is therefore not liable for any claims regarding damage caused by the use of any information provided. The information in the book should only be used as a guideline and may not be suitable for a specific case. Copyright The material made available is intended for the customer’s personal use only. Author reserves all rights to the book. Therefore the book can not be reproduced or replicated or processed or distributed without the author’s written permission.

Solar cooling systems can be a cost-effective and environmentally attractive air-conditioning solution. The design of such systems, however, is complex. Research carried out under the aegis of the International Energy Agency's Solar Heating and Cooling Program has shown that there is a range of seemingly subtle design decisions that can impact significantly on the performance of solar cooling systems. In order to reduce the risk of errors in the design process, this guide provides detailed and very specific engineering design information. It focuses on case study examples of installed plants that have been monitored and evaluated over the last decade. For three successful plants the design process is described in detail and the rationale for each key design decision is explained. Numerical constraints are suggested for the sizing / selection parameters of key equipment items. Moreover, the application conditions under which the system selection is appropriate are discussed. By following The Guide for any of the three specific solar cooling systems, the designer can expect to reliably achieve a robust, energy-saving solution. This book is intended as a companion to the IEA Solar Cooling Handbook which provides a general overview of the various technologies as well as comprehensive advice to enable engineers to design their own solar cooling system from first principles.

The development of solar energy is becoming increasingly widespread all over the world. One significant way to reduce the cost of energy generated by solar modules, as well as reduce the need for centralized energy supply, is the use of non-tracking concentrator solar modules integrated into the building structure. As this area of engineering gains interest from all sectors, it is crucial to understand how to increase productivity in order to make solar modules an excellent source of energy. Solar Concentrating Modules With Louvered Heliostats: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential publication that formulates a scientifically based approach to the development of non-tracking solar modules with a system of linear louvered heliostats and the selection of the operating mode of the developed modules depending on various requirements of the consumer of thermal or electric energy. The proposed design can solve the problem of the lack of space for placing solar energy facilities in the city, as well as provide heat and electricity to consumers in the residential and public sectors and agricultural enterprises. The research results presented in the book can be used in the development of technological schemes and designs of photovoltaic, thermal, and cogeneration power plants with solar energy concentrators. Highlighting a wide range of topics including economic characteristics, artificial intelligence, and applications, this book is ideally designed for engineers, urban planners, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and students.

This text comprehensively discusses the modeling of photovoltaic (PV) modules, PV array interconnections, multi-level inverters, distributed maximum power point tracking techniques, and static and dynamic PV array reconfiguration techniques. It gives a step-by-step procedure for hardware validation of the partial shading mitigation techniques. This book: Focuses on the impacts and mitigation techniques related to partial shading problems associated with PV systems. Presents a step-by-step guide for addressing partial shading problems in PV systems. Covers methods like array reconfiguration through Tom-Tom puzzle pattern and Arrow Sudoku pattern. Presents hardware validation of the partial shading mitigation techniques. Elaborates static and moving shading conditions in a detailed manner. It will serve as an ideal reference text for graduate students and academic researchers in the fields of electrical engineering, electronics and communication engineering, environmental engineering, and renewable energy.