Latest Research on Solar Thermal Systems
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 January 2025) | Viewed by 2888
Special Issue Editors
Interests: solar energy technology; heat transfer; cogeneration; control; life cycle assessment
Interests: concentrated solar thermal (CST) power; solar energy; energy policy; optimization; heat transfer and thermodynamics; optics
Interests: solar energy; advanced control theory; dynamic modelling; optimization
Interests: non-imaging optics; numerical modelling; concentrated solar power; solar process heat; thermochemical applications
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Solar energy is by far the largest renewable resource on Earth. The amount of solar energy reaching its surface in an hour is more than the overall world energy consumption in one year. Two different technologies are at our disposal to transform solar energy into useful energy: photovoltaics and solar thermal. The first is based on the photovoltaic effect, whereby specific materials generate voltage or electric currents when exposed to photons of specific wavelengths. The second is based on the intermediate transformation of sunlight into thermal energy and this, into any form of useful energy. The main advantages of photovoltaic technologies are their modularity and simplicity in terms of installation and deployment. This is because their key component, the solar panel, although being a complex product, can be manufactured in large series and can be easily installed at any solar power plant site. Their main disadvantages are the substantial environmental footprint, due to the use of scarce and environmentally challenging materials in the manufacturing process of the solar cells; the fact that their end product, electricity, cannot be easily and cheaply stored; and for countries other than China, where most photovoltaic panels are manufactured, the relatively low level of local content and the technological dependence on another country. The main advantages of solar thermal technologies are their huge range of direct potential applications, due to their ability to run all types of thermal and solar chemistry processes, including power blocks; their relatively benign environmental footprint; their high local content in most developed countries; and their easy and cheap integration with thermal energy storage systems. Their main disadvantages reside in their complexity of deployment compared to photovoltaic technologies, since they require more civil and engineering work at the plant site. Deciding which technology to use depends both on the application and on the perspective of the agent analyzing the investment, particularly in the current situation where there are still many externalities associated with the deployment of energy technologies. A trend in the electricity markets is to combine both in the appropriate proportions to maximize benefits.
The purpose of the present issue is to collect the latest studies demonstrating the importance of solar thermal technologies in the Energy Transition. Topics include any research advancing the state of the art of all types of solar thermal technologies and systems, from low to high temperature and analyzing any relevant aspect of those systems, from technical to economical and to societal. They also include research on the hybridization of solar thermal with photovoltaics or any other renewable energy technologies.
Dr. Alaric Christian Montenon
Prof. Dr. Manuel J. Blanco
Dr. Rowida Meligy Elsaid
Dr. Diogo Canavarro
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.
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Keywords
- low temperature solar thermal systems
- medium temperature solar thermal systems
- high temperature solar thermal systems
- flat plate collectors
- concentration solar thermal technologies
- parabolic trough
- linear fresnel
- parabolic dishes
- solar power towers
- solar fuels
- hybrid solar thermal and other renewable energy sources (pv, wind, etc.)
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