Sustainable Solar Energy

Abstract

Solar energy is one of the most rapidly developing renewable energies in the world. The global solar PV market has been exceeding future market projections and giant untapped markets are only now waking up. For many years proposals have been made about using the Sahara desert as a place where a gigantic solar farm would be able to power the world. But is solar energy always the best solution out there? What can hold it back? What are some major drawbacks it has? Νοt all solar energy applications are created equal. Even amongst certain applications – for example PV- there are numerous technologies that are competing for greater efficiency, lower cost etc. In fact this can go even further, as apart from the more mainstream PV and solar thermal panels, other applications exist such as solar parabolic troughs, solar concentrators, solar desalination, solar ponds etc. This chapter will provide an overview of various solar technologies, explain their characteristics and discuss scenarios for best practice in regards to maximising energy yield, minimising environmental impacts and making sure that solar energy is used in the most sustainable way possible.