Solar Energy Innovation: Integrating Advanced Photovoltaics into Sustainable Built Environments

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will explore cutting-edge developments in solar cell technology and sustainable photovoltaic (PV) systems. It will examine how solar PV can be effectively integrated with conventional energy sources and be seamlessly incorporated into the built environment to create more efficient and sustainable energy solutions. This Special Issue will particularly emphasize technologies and approaches that enhance environmental sustainability throughout the entire solar energy lifecycle.

This Special Issue covers a comprehensive range of topics, including the following:

• Improved PV efficiency and performance optimization;
• Feasibility assessment of hybrid solar PV generator-based systems;
• Retrofitting solutions for existing buildings;
• Thermal management strategies for PV installations;
• Urban adaptability and integration challenges;
• Environmental and economic impacts across diverse PV technologies;
• Operational performance under varying climatic conditions.

This Special Issue will provide a state-of-the-art overview of current advancements and future trajectories in solar cell technology and sustainable photovoltaics. By facilitating discussions on renewable energy integration, cutting-edge technology applications, and the environmental and economic advantages of sustainable PV solutions, it aims to accelerate progress toward more efficient, reliable, and environmentally responsible solar energy systems.

In this Special Issue, we invite high-quality original research articles that explore the following topics:

1. Renewable energy integration: Fresh insights into integrating solar PV with conventional energy sources to reduce peak power demand and minimize environmental impact.
2. Building-integrated photovoltaics: Articles that explore the transformation of buildings from energy consumers to producers through innovative BIPV applications, or that examine architectural integration via facades and roofs, retrofit solutions for existing structures, urban space optimization, and advanced thermal management systems, offering sustainable solutions that reduce environmental footprint and operational costs throughout building lifecycles.
3. Advanced technologies: Applications of cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, to optimize PV system performance and reliability, providing researchers and practitioners with new tools and strategies to enhance PV effectiveness across diverse implementation scenarios.
4. Environmental and economic analyses: Comprehensive assessments of environmental impacts and economic viability across different photovoltaic technologies under various climatic conditions, delivering valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and industry professionals developing sustainable, cost-effective solar solutions.
5. Future directions: Articles that synthesize current advancements and identif emerging trends in solar cell technology and sustainable photovoltaics, creating an invaluable resource for researchers, practitioners, and students in this rapidly evolving field.

With these contributions, this Special Issue, ‘Solar Energy Innovation: Integrating Advanced Photovoltaics into Sustainable Built Environments’, will provide critical new insights, data, and analyses that will significantly advance the development of next-generation solar energy systems that are more efficient, reliable, and environmentally sustainable.

We cordially invite you to contribute to this Special Issue. Whether you have full articles, or review articles, your valuable contribution is most welcome.

Dr. Maria Malvoni
Guest Editor

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.

• solar cells
• sustainable photovoltaics
• building-integrated photovoltaics
• renewable energy integration
• thermal management
• urban adaptability
• environmental impact
• economic analysis
• retrofitting solutions
• artificial intelligence in photovoltaics