Search

The global photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity, vital for the electric sector's decarbonation, reached 1552.3 GW p in 2023. In France, the capacity stood at 19.9 GW p in April 2024. The growth of the PV installed capacity over a year was nearly 32% worldwide and 15.7% in France. However, integrating PV electricity into grids is hindered by poor knowledge of rooftop PV systems, constituting 20% of France's installed capacity, and the lack of measurements of the production stemming from these systems. This problem of lack of measurements of the rooftop PV power production is referred to as the lack of observability. Using ground-truth measurements of individual PV systems, available at an unprecedented temporal and spatial scale, we show that by estimating the PV power production of an individual rooftop system by combining solar irradiance and temperature data, the characteristics of the PV system inferred from remote sensing methods and an irradiation-to-electric power conversion model provides accurate estimations of the PV power production. We report an average estimation error (measured with the pRMSE) of 10% relative to the system size. Our study shows that we can improve rooftop PV observability, and thus its integration into the electric grid, using little information on these systems, a simple model of the PV system, and weather data. More broadly, this study shows that limited information is sufficient to derive a reasonably good estimation of the PV power production of small-scale systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comprehensive study explores the influence of aerosols and clouds on solar radiation in the urban environments of nine of Greece's largest cities over the decade from 2014 to 2023. Utilizing a combination of Earth Observation data, radiative transfer models, and geographic information systems, the research undertook digital surface modeling and photovoltaic simulations. The study meticulously calculated the optimal rooftop areas for photovoltaic installation in these cities, contributing significantly to their energy adequacy and achieving a balance between daily electricity production and demand. Moreover, the research provides an in-depth analysis of energy and economic losses, while also highlighting the environmental benefits. These include a reduction in pollutant emissions and a decrease in the carbon footprint, aligning with the global shift towards local energy security and the transformation of urban areas into green, smart cities. The innovative methodology of this study, which leverages open access data, sets a strong foundation for future research in this field. It opens up possibilities for similar studies and has the potential to contribute to the creation of an updated, comprehensive solar potential map for continental Greece. This could be instrumental in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, thereby promoting sustainable urban development and environmental preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of power system decarbonization, the demand-side strategy for increasing the share of renewable energy is studied for two constrained energy systems. This strategy, which is currently widely suggested in policies on the energy transition, would impact consumer behavior. Despite the importance of studying the latter, the focus here is on decisions regarding the type, location, and timeframe of implementing the related measures. As such, solutions must be assessed in terms of cost and feasibility, technological learning, and by considering geographical and environmental constraints. Based on techno-economic optimization, in this paper we analyze the evolution of the power system and elaborate plausible long-term trajectories in the energy systems of two European islands. The case studies, Procida in Italy and Hinnøya in Norway, are both electrically connected to the mainland by submarine cables and present issues in their power systems, which are here understood as relatively isolated power systems. Renewable energy integration is encouraged by legislative measures in Italy. Although not modeled here, they serve as a backbone for the assumptions of increasing these investments. For Procida, rooftop photovoltaics (PV) coupled with energy storage are integrated in the residential, public, and tertiary sectors. A price-based strategy is also applied reflecting the Italian electricity tariff structure. At a certain price difference between peak and off-peak, the electricity supply mix changes, favoring storage technologies and hence decreasing imports by up to 10% during peak times in the year 2050. In Norway, renewable energy resources are abundant. The analysis for Hinnøya showcases possible cross-sectoral flexibilities through electrification, leading to decarbonization. By fine-tuning electric vehicle charging tactics and leveraging Norway's electricity pricing model, excess electricity demand peaks can be averted. The conclusions of this double-prospective study provide a comparative analysis that presents the lessons learnt and makes replicability recommendations for other territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

---With the increasing request for integrating rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems into the distribution grid, it is crucial to prevent the potential negative impacts of high PV penetration. Considering the uncertainty and variability characteristics of high rooftop PV penetration, a stochastic approach for determining PV hosting capacity (HC)—the maximum capacity of a PV system to receive electricity from the power distribution network before the network reaches an operating limit violation—is necessary. Therefore, this study proposes calculating PV hosting capacity using the Monte Carlo simulation. Unlike previous works, this paper uses real feeders as case studies, representing both urban and rural areas. The feeder representing an urban area with many industrial and business customers has a higher hosting capacity, 31 % of full load, compared to the feeder representing rural areas, which has 18 % of full load. By using actual feeders that represent urban and rural areas, more representative results for specific problems can be achieved without assuming urban and rural feeders have the same specific problems.

To address environmental issues, Indonesia aims to achieve a 23% renewable energy share by 2025 and 31% by 2050, according to the National Energy Plan. This article examines the regulations governing the management of rooftop solar power plant (rooftop-PV) in Indonesia and their connection to pro-environment consumer behavior. Despite Indonesia’s ambitious targets for Renewable Energy (RE) growth, progress in the field still needs improvement. Pro-environmental behavior (PEB) within the community is crucial for adopting rooftop PV as a more environmentally friendly energy alternative. This research employs a qualitative descriptive methodology with content analysis to evaluate the current situation. The research findings indicate that rooftop PV offers economic benefits through cost savings for consumers and is supported by existing regulations. However, some businesses feel that the government needs to expedite revising relevant regulations to address investment stagnation and installed solar panel capacity. Concerns arise that proposed policy changes may hinder the growth of rooftop PV businesses and the achievement of national capacity targets. The role of pro-environment consumer behavior, which has the potential to drive rooftop PV adoption, will be influenced by psychological and social factors, as well as changes in applicable regulations.

The global photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity, vital for the electric sector’s decarbonation, reached 1552.3 GWp in 2023. In France, the capacity stood at 19.9 GWp in April 2024. The growth of the PV installed capacity over a year was nearly 32% worldwide and 15.7% in France. However, integrating PV electricity into grids is hindered by poor knowledge of rooftop PV systems, constituting 20% of France’s installed capacity, and the lack of measurements of the production stemming from these systems. This problem of lack of measurements of the rooftop PV power production is referred to as the lack of observability. Using ground-truth measurements of individual PV systems, available at an unprecedented temporal and spatial scale, we show that by estimating the PV power production of an individual rooftop system by combining solar irradiance and temperature data, the characteristics of the PV system inferred from remote sensing methods and an irradiation-to-electric power conversion model provides accurate estimations of the PV power production. We report an average estimation error (measured with the pRMSE) of 10% relative to the system size. Our study shows that we can improve rooftop PV observability, and thus its integration into the electric grid, using little information on these systems, a simple model of the PV system, and weather data. More broadly, this study shows that limited information is sufficient to derive a reasonably good estimation of the PV power production of small-scale systems.

This comprehensive study explores the influence of aerosols and clouds on solar radiation in the urban environments of nine of Greece’s largest cities over the decade from 2014 to 2023. Utilizing a combination of Earth Observation data, radiative transfer models, and geographic information systems, the research undertook digital surface modeling and photovoltaic simulations. The study meticulously calculated the optimal rooftop areas for photovoltaic installation in these cities, contributing significantly to their energy adequacy and achieving a balance between daily electricity production and demand. Moreover, the research provides an in-depth analysis of energy and economic losses, while also highlighting the environmental benefits. These include a reduction in pollutant emissions and a decrease in the carbon footprint, aligning with the global shift towards local energy security and the transformation of urban areas into green, smart cities. The innovative methodology of this study, which leverages open access data, sets a strong foundation for future research in this field. It opens up possibilities for similar studies and has the potential to contribute to the creation of an updated, comprehensive solar potential map for continental Greece. This could be instrumental in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, thereby promoting sustainable urban development and environmental preservation.

This paper reports on modelling outcomes for improvements to building energy performance in Indonesia. Long-term climate effects due to building energy demand and carbon emissions are also considered. The global change assessment model (GCAM) was used to generate the related end-user building energy data, including socioeconomics, for urban areas of Indonesia. As a comprehensive study, the total life cycle of carbon in the building sector and the concept of zero-carbon buildings, including energy efficiency, zero-emissions electricity and fuel-switching options, were considered. Building shell conductance (U-value) of the building envelope, floor area ratio (FAR), air conditioner (AC) efficiency, electrical appliance (APL) efficiency, rooftop photovoltaic (PV) performance and ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems were considered as parameters to mitigate carbon emissions under the operational energy category in the GCAM. Carbon mitigation associated with the cement production process was considered in the raw material category. Urban population and labour productivity in Indonesia were used as base inputs with projected growth rates to 2050 determined from the available literature. Low growth rate 'LowRate' and high growth rate 'HighRate' were considered as variable inputs for U-value, FAR, AC efficiency, APLs efficiency and PV capacity factor to model emissions mitigation. The energy consumption of the GSHP was compared to the conventional reverse cycle ACs to identify the potential of the GSHP as a fuel-switching option. In the GCAM, the benchmark (base case scenario) data set was generated based on input parameters (urban population and labour productivity rate) only for the residential building sector in Indonesia. Total potential carbon emissions mitigation was found to be 432 Mt CO2-e for the residential building sector in Indonesia over 2020–2050. It was found that an average of 24% carbon emissions mitigation could be achieved by 2020–2030 and 76% by 2031–2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of power system decarbonization, the demand-side strategy for increasing the share of renewable energy is studied for two constrained energy systems. This strategy, which is currently widely suggested in policies on the energy transition, would impact consumer behavior. Despite the importance of studying the latter, the focus here is on decisions regarding the type, location, and timeframe of implementing the related measures. As such, solutions must be assessed in terms of cost and feasibility, technological learning, and by considering geographical and environmental constraints. Based on techno-economic optimization, in this paper we analyze the evolution of the power system and elaborate plausible long-term trajectories in the energy systems of two European islands. The case studies, Procida in Italy and Hinnøya in Norway, are both electrically connected to the mainland by submarine cables and present issues in their power systems, which are here understood as relatively isolated power systems. Renewable energy integration is encouraged by legislative measures in Italy. Although not modeled here, they serve as a backbone for the assumptions of increasing these investments. For Procida, rooftop photovoltaics (PV) coupled with energy storage are integrated in the residential, public, and tertiary sectors. A price-based strategy is also applied reflecting the Italian electricity tariff structure. At a certain price difference between peak and off-peak, the electricity supply mix changes, favoring storage technologies and hence decreasing imports by up to 10% during peak times in the year 2050. In Norway, renewable energy resources are abundant. The analysis for Hinnøya showcases possible cross-sectoral flexibilities through electrification, leading to decarbonization. By fine-tuning electric vehicle charging tactics and leveraging Norway’s electricity pricing model, excess electricity demand peaks can be averted. The conclusions of this double-prospective study provide a comparative analysis that presents the lessons learnt and makes replicability recommendations for other territories.

The European Union has set itself the goal of increasing its share in renewable energy up to 42.5% by 2030 by accelerating the clean energy transition plan. National legislation within the Member States must now adapt the strategic plans to rapidly implement their allocation in renewable energy. Solar photovoltaics are in this context considered to be one of the technologies that could rapidly be rolled out, with both building-integrated as well as free-field photovoltaic systems needed to reach these ambitious goals. There are strong arguments for prioritizing photovoltaics on buildings, as they make use of land that is already sealed, and the environmental impact is considered lower as fewer resources might be needed for the structures holding the panels. However, since there is limited literature available to back this claim with quantitative data, this paper presents a comparative study of the structures needed to implement rooftop versus free-field photovoltaic applications. With a detailed life cycle analysis, several commonly used structures have been analyzed in relation to their environmental impact. The findings show that the impact on resources can be up to 50% lower in rooftop systems compared with free-field applications but that a series of site- and material-related factors need to be considered to prioritize one system over another on a regional scale. This study thus aims at providing fact-based decision support for strategic considerations related to photovoltaic implementation plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of small-scale Photovoltaics (PV) systems (such as rooftop PVs) decreases the visibility of power systems, since the real demand load is masked. Most rooftop systems are behind the metre and cannot be measured by household smart meters. To overcome the challenges mentioned above, this paper proposes an online solar energy disaggregation system to decouple the solar energy generated by rooftop PV systems and the ground truth demand load from net measurements. A 1D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) deep learning method is used as the core algorithm of the proposed system. The system takes a wide range of online information (Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) data, meteorological data, satellite-driven irradiance, and temporal information) as inputs to evaluate PV generation, and the system also enables online and offline modes. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by comparing it to baselines. The results show that the proposed method achieves good performance under different penetration rates and different feeder levels. Finally, a transfer learning process is introduced to verify that the proposed system has good robustness and can be applied to other feeders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the potential of rooftop solar PV to meet the electricity demand in the urban areas of Abha city, Saudi Arabia (KSA), minimising imports from the grid. A localised energy system for Abha is proposed that considers two types of loads: (i) residential loads with a monthly aggregated energy consumption of 172,440 MWh and an electric demand of 239.5 MW, and (ii) commercial loads with a monthly aggregated energy consumption of 179,280 MWh and an electric demand of 249 MW. The grid currently supplies this load. This paper proposes a PV development planning tool for residential and commercial areas to calculate the total PV production for each type of load to achieve a balanced energy area, considering (i) the number of buildings, (ii) the type of load, (iii) the peak load, and (iv) the total PV array area in m2 per building. The results of the modelling study using real data demonstrate that the anticipated total PV production in residential and commercial areas is sufficient to meet local peak demand, and there is an excess of power that can either be stored locally or exported to the grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electricity crisis is a common issue in Bangladesh; however, recently the electricity scenario has been getting worse due to various reasons including power generation and distribution all over the country. Meanwhile, the large number of people requires a huge amount of energy which is not possible to be met by the national grid due to the limited power generation from different plants. Among all renewable energy sources, the solar photovoltaics (PV) system is the best choice as a generation source, either off-grid or with a grid-tied connection, to reduce the pressure on the national grid. In Bangladesh, there are more than 175,000 schools, and it is possible to generate a huge amount of renewable (solar) power to supply all the schools by using rooftop PV systems. We propose a new approach that combines solar energy harvesting and savings to make the schools self-sufficient and energywise. We performed a Hybrid Optimization Model for Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) pro simulation and find that it was possible to generate approximately 200 megawatts (MW) of power. We conducted a feasibility study on generating power from rooftop PV systems on school buildings and reduced the power consumption using retrofitted thin-film-coated glass by around 16–20% per day depending on the school size, which can help the national power grid system by either making all the schools off-grid or grid-connected to supply power to the national grid. In addition, we perform a HelioScope simulation to investigate the maximum upscaling of PV sizing for the rooftops of school buildings in Bangladesh to realize how to make each school a mini solar power station in the future. The HelioScope simulation performance showed that it was possible to generate approximately 96,993 kWh per year from one school building.

Abstract The integration of small-scale Photovoltaics (PV) systems (such as rooftop PVs) decreases the visibility of power systems, since the real demand load is masked. Most rooftop systems are behind the metre and cannot be measured by household smart meters. To overcome the challenges mentioned above, this paper proposes an online solar energy disaggregation system to decouple the solar energy generated by rooftop PV systems and the ground truth demand load from net measurements. A 1D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) deep learning method is used as the core algorithm of the proposed system. The system takes a wide range of online information (Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) data, meteorological data, satellite-driven irradiance, and temporal information) as inputs to evaluate PV generation, and the system also enables online and offline modes. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by comparing it to baselines. The results show that the proposed method achieves good performance under different penetration rates and different feeder levels. Finally, a transfer learning process is introduced to verify that the proposed system has good robustness and can be applied to other feeders.

Realizing urban energy systems with net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 is a major goal of global societies in building sustainable and livable cities. Developing cities hold a key to meeting this goal, as they will expand rapidly in the next decades with increasing energy demand, potentially associated with rising CO2 emissions and air pollution if fossil fuels continue to be utilized. Therefore, identifying equitable, cost-effective, and deep decarbonization pathways for developing cities is essential. Here, we analyzed Bangkok City, Thailand, using the System Advisor Model (SAM) for techno-economic analysis to evaluate the decarbonization potential of rooftop photovoltaics (PV) integrated with electric vehicles (EVs) as batteries on a city scale. The analyses took into consideration hourly local weather conditions, electricity demand, electricity tariffs, feed-in-tariffs, degradation, declining costs of PV and EV, etc., specific to Bangkok. As the prices of PV and EVs decrease over the next several decades, the "PV + EV" system may provide a basis for new urban power infrastructure with high energy efficiency, low energy cost, and large CO2 emission reduction. The results show that the "PV + EV" scenario in 2030 has the highest CO2 emission reduction of 73% from electricity and vehicle usage, supplying 71% of the electricity demand of the city. The "PV + EV" system may reduce energy costs by 59% with estimated technology costs in 2030. Most of the energy generated from rooftop PV is consumed owing to large EV battery capacities, which can contribute to the rapid decarbonization of Bangkok City by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing rooftop photovoltaic (PV) has become an important initiative for achieving carbon neutrality in China, but the carbon reduction potential assessment has not properly considered the spatial and temporal variability of PV generation and the curtailment in electricity dispatch. In this study, we propose a technical framework to fill the gap in assessing carbon reduction potential through remote sensing data-driven simulations. The spatio-temporal variations in rooftop PV generations were simulated on an hourly basis, and a dispatch analysis was then performed in combination with hourly load profiles to quantify the PV curtailment in different scenarios. Our results showed that the total rooftop PV potential in China reached 6.5 PWh yr−1, mainly concentrated in the eastern region where PV generation showed high variability. The carbon reduction from 100% flexible grids with 12 h of storage capacity is close to the theoretical maximum, while without storage, the potential may be halved. To maximize the carbon reduction potential, rooftop PV development should consider grid characteristics and regional differences. This study has important implications for the development of rooftop PV and the design of carbon-neutral pathways based on it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy from rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) has been continuously increasing during the last decade. How much this change has affected power demand from electricity networks is an important question for both regulators and utility investors. This study aims to quantify the impact of rooftop solar energy generation on spot electricity demand and also to forecast power system load in the post-covid-19 era. Using half-hourly data from 2009 to 2019, we develop a novel approach to estimate rooftop solar energy generation before building regression models for wholesale electricity demand of each state. We find that the adoption of solar PV systems has significantly changed the levels and intra-day patterns of power demand, especially by reducing daytime power consumption from the grid and creating a “duck curve”. The results also show that most states in the NEM would see decreased electricity demand during 2019–2034.

The current high energy consumption can cause scarcity as Indonesia's population growth has increased quite significantly. Alternative energy is needed to anticipate energy problems in the future. Solar energy is one of the options given the most significant potential for energy produced in Indonesia. This research aims to see the strategies that PLN can do to increase the use of Rooftop PV in Indonesia based on the results of the analysis that has been done. The approach to this research is a qualitative approach with the SWOT and FGD methods. Also, the data used are primary data from survey results on Rooftop PV users in Indonesia. The SWOT analysis results show that PLN is in quadrant I, which means it has an extreme market position. PT PLN has the potential to increase the use of Rooftop PV in Indonesia. Two strategic points can be carried out by PLN, namely, carrying out vertical integration and diversifying conglomerates. Also, the researcher has proposed several alternative strategies, namely the upstream (manufacturing) development plan, the downstream (consumer) development plan, and the internal development plan.

This paper proposes a comprehensive framework for estimating the regional rooftop photovoltaic (PV) potential. The required rooftop information is extracted from Gao Fen-7 satellite images. In particular, the rooftop area is obtained using a semantic segmentation network. The azimuth and inclination angles are calculated based on the digital surface model. In addition, to improve the accuracy of the economic evaluation, buildings are divided into commercial and industrial buildings and residential buildings. Based on the difference in the roof inclination, the rooftops can be divided into flat roofs, on which the PV panels are installed with the optimal inclination angle, and sloped rooftops, on which the PV panels are installed in a lay-flat manner. The solar irradiation on the plane-of-array is calculated using the isotropic sky translocation model. Then, the available installed capacity and generation potential of the rooftop PV is obtained. Finally, the net present value, dynamic payback period, and internal rate of return are used to evaluate the economic efficiency of the rooftop PV project. The proposed framework is applied in the Da Xing district of Beijing, China, with a total area of 546.84 km2. The results show that the rooftop area and available installed capacity of PV are 25.63 km2 and 1487.45 MWp, respectively. The annual rooftop PV generation potential is 2832.23 GWh, with significant economic returns.

Improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and achieving independence from fossil fuels have led most countries towards deploying solar photovoltaics (PV) in the power distribution grid and electrifying the transportation fleet. Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are, in particular, one of the main culprits of injecting greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, making electric vehicles (EVs) an important tool in combating climate change. Despite their considerable environmental and economic benefits, the integration of PVs and EVs can introduce unique operational challenges for the power distribution grid. If not coordinated, high penetration of PVs and EVs can result in variety of power quality issues, such as instances of overvoltage and undervoltage, frequency fluctuations, and/or increased losses. This paper proposes a mixed-integer multi-objective nonlinear optimization model for optimal energy dispatch in a power distribution grid with high penetration of PV and EV resources. The model proposed here is an extension of the traditional voltage and var optimization (VVO) into a comprehensive and coordinated control of voltage, active power, and reactive power. A modified version of the IEEE 123-bus test distribution system is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electricity crisis is a common issue in Bangladesh; however, recently the electricity scenario has been getting worse due to various reasons including power generation and distribution all over the country. Meanwhile, the large number of people requires a huge amount of energy which is not possible to be met by the national grid due to the limited power generation from different plants. Among all renewable energy sources, the solar photovoltaics (PV) system is the best choice as a generation source, either off-grid or with a grid-tied connection, to reduce the pressure on the national grid. In Bangladesh, there are more than 175,000 schools, and it is possible to generate a huge amount of renewable (solar) power to supply all the schools by using rooftop PV systems. We propose a new approach that combines solar energy harvesting and savings to make the schools self-sufficient and energywise. We performed a Hybrid Optimization Model for Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) pro simulation and find that it was possible to generate approximately 200 megawatts (MW) of power. We conducted a feasibility study on generating power from rooftop PV systems on school buildings and reduced the power consumption using retrofitted thin-film-coated glass by around 16–20% per day depending on the school size, which can help the national power grid system by either making all the schools off-grid or grid-connected to supply power to the national grid. In addition, we perform a HelioScope simulation to investigate the maximum upscaling of PV sizing for the rooftops of school buildings in Bangladesh to realize how to make each school a mini solar power station in the future. The HelioScope simulation performance showed that it was possible to generate approximately 96,993 kWh per year from one school building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on modelling outcomes for improvements to building energy performance in Indonesia. Long-term climate effects due to building energy demand and carbon emissions are also considered. The global change assessment model (GCAM) was used to generate the related end-user building energy data, including socioeconomics, for urban areas of Indonesia. As a comprehensive study, the total life cycle of carbon in the building sector and the concept of zero-carbon buildings, including energy efficiency, zero-emissions electricity and fuel-switching options, were considered. Building shell conductance (U-value) of the building envelope, floor area ratio (FAR), air conditioner (AC) efficiency, electrical appliance (APL) efficiency, rooftop photovoltaic (PV) performance and ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems were considered as parameters to mitigate carbon emissions under the operational energy category in the GCAM. Carbon mitigation associated with the cement production process was considered in the raw material category. Urban population and labour productivity in Indonesia were used as base inputs with projected growth rates to 2050 determined from the available literature. Low growth rate ‘LowRate’ and high growth rate ‘HighRate’ were considered as variable inputs for U-value, FAR, AC efficiency, APLs efficiency and PV capacity factor to model emissions mitigation. The energy consumption of the GSHP was compared to the conventional reverse cycle ACs to identify the potential of the GSHP as a fuel-switching option. In the GCAM, the benchmark (base case scenario) data set was generated based on input parameters (urban population and labour productivity rate) only for the residential building sector in Indonesia. Total potential carbon emissions mitigation was found to be 432 Mt CO2-e for the residential building sector in Indonesia over 2020–2050. It was found that an average of 24% carbon emissions mitigation could be achieved by 2020–2030 and 76% by 2031–2050.

The increase in the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix plays a pivotal role in the decarbonisation of power systems, thus facilitating the achievement of international and national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change. Due to the intermittent nature of variable renewable energy, the integration of these sources in power systems requires investments in additional solutions and setting strategies to ensure grid stability and reliability. For that purpose, a prospective modelling was applied to the relatively isolated island named Procida, located in the gulf of Naples in Italy, through the bottom-up optimization model TIMES-Procida for a long-term energy plan where technical solutions, i.e., deployment of photovoltaics on rooftops and storage, and policy scenarios, i.e., energy efficiency, were used to analyse the evolution of the energy system. The introduction of renewable energy could be much more relevant when dealing with islands; they appear as decisive territories for experimentation and analysis of the transformation of all power systems. At year 2050, our results address decarbonisation and energy autonomy. They show that only with high shares of renewable energy will the territory see a noticeable decarbonisation of its economic sectors (up to 24%) and a decreasing dependency on imports (−16.6% compared to low renewable integration). By comparing the results of scenarios including or lacking storage solutions, we showcased how this reflected on the investments in PV and on grid congestion relief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the optimization of energy conversion when solar radiation occurs at peak power conditions, namely at 11.00 am to 2.00 pm where the position of the sun is parallel to the layout of the PV Rooftop installation. The panels used are 5 units with the type of polycrystalline with a capacity of 1 panel unit consisting of 250 Wp. The position of the panels installed on the roof of the Andalas University building is based on an angle of 90o degrees with a position of ±255m above sea level. The advantages obtained when placed on the roof of the building are due to the minimal impact of shadow effects and environmental disturbances. Data retrieval using DC current and voltage sensors is then connected to the Arduino Uno microcontroller which is then interfaced in graphic form. Considerations in the installation of PV by reviewing the weather conditions at that time where the conditions were sunny and the air was clean with the aim that the performance when solar radiation entered the solar cells could be produced more optimally. Based on the data obtained at peak power, PV can convert DC power to 972.56 Wp. In the final stage of collecting data recorded on this PC, it can later be used as a reference for installing solar panels for household electricity scales in the West Sumatra region.

This paper explores the potential of rooftop solar PV to meet the electricity demand in the urban areas of Abha city, Saudi Arabia (KSA), minimising imports from the grid. A localised energy system for Abha is proposed that considers two types of loads: (i) residential loads with a monthly aggregated energy consumption of 172,440 MWh and an electric demand of 239.5 MW, and (ii) commercial loads with a monthly aggregated energy consumption of 179,280 MWh and an electric demand of 249 MW. The grid currently supplies this load. This paper proposes a PV development planning tool for residential and commercial areas to calculate the total PV production for each type of load to achieve a balanced energy area, considering (i) the number of buildings, (ii) the type of load, (iii) the peak load, and (iv) the total PV array area in m2 per building. The results of the modelling study using real data demonstrate that the anticipated total PV production in residential and commercial areas is sufficient to meet local peak demand, and there is an excess of power that can either be stored locally or exported to the grid.

The current high energy consumption can cause scarcity as Indonesia's population growth has increased quite significantly. Alternative energy is needed to anticipate energy problems in the future. Solar energy is one of the options given the most significant potential for energy produced in Indonesia. This research aims to see the strategies that PLN can do to increase the use of Rooftop PV in Indonesia based on the results of the analysis that has been done. The approach to this research is a qualitative approach with the SWOT and FGD methods. Also, the data used are primary data from survey results on Rooftop PV users in Indonesia. The SWOT analysis results show that PLN is in quadrant I, which means it has an extreme market position. PT PLN has the potential to increase the use of Rooftop PV in Indonesia. Two strategic points can be carried out by PLN, namely, carrying out vertical integration and diversifying conglomerates. Also, the researcher has proposed several alternative strategies, namely the upstream (manufacturing) development plan, the downstream (consumer) development plan, and the internal development plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy is a renewable energy source that can be used as a source of electricity using a photovoltaic (PV) system to reduce our dependence on fossil energy. This paper discusses an overview of the use of a rooftop PV system in accordance with applicable regulations in Indonesia. Computer simulation was conducted to determine the potential power and output energy of the rooftop PV system in the city of Surabaya. The simulation was carried out by SolarGIS Pvplanner software. Mathematical equations are derived to estimate the unit price of electric energy for the PV system, and the calculations are done numerically. The simulation results show that the total daily energy average generated from the 3 kWP roof solar PV system in Surabaya is about 13 kWh. Meanwhile, the unit price for PV system electricity is obtained between 0.08 USD - 0.11 USD / kWh.

Rooftop Photovoltaic (RTPV) systems have gained more interest due to modularity and environmental friendliness. This article proposes an RTPV system for fulfilling the load demand of the main campus of Assuit University. The proposed system's economic and technical feasibility is comprehensively explored, including the expense and reliability. The system's sizing is implemented as a constrained optimization challenge. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is employed to identify the proposed RTPV modules' optimal quantity, considering expanding Assuit University until 2025. Robust and reasonably accurate load forecasting models are developed and examined, including medium and long terms, to identify the monthly/annual load peaks from 2019 to 2025. The sizing procedure's PSO outcomes are validated via their comparison with Software such as PVsyst and PVGIS. The results indicated the economic efficacy of the proposed RTPV system and the ability of PSO to yield improved sizing than the other Software because of the well-formed objective function.

Realizing urban energy systems with net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 is a major goal of global societies in building sustainable and livable cities. Developing cities hold a key to meeting this goal, as they will expand rapidly in the next decades with increasing energy demand, potentially associated with rising CO2 emissions and air pollution if fossil fuels continue to be utilized. Therefore, identifying equitable, cost-effective, and deep decarbonization pathways for developing cities is essential. Here, we analyzed Bangkok City, Thailand, using the System Advisor Model (SAM) for techno-economic analysis to evaluate the decarbonization potential of rooftop photovoltaics (PV) integrated with electric vehicles (EVs) as batteries on a city scale. The analyses took into consideration hourly local weather conditions, electricity demand, electricity tariffs, feed-in-tariffs, degradation, declining costs of PV and EV, etc., specific to Bangkok. As the prices of PV and EVs decrease over the next several decades, the “PV + EV” system may provide a basis for new urban power infrastructure with high energy efficiency, low energy cost, and large CO2 emission reduction. The results show that the “PV + EV” scenario in 2030 has the highest CO2 emission reduction of 73% from electricity and vehicle usage, supplying 71% of the electricity demand of the city. The “PV + EV” system may reduce energy costs by 59% with estimated technology costs in 2030. Most of the energy generated from rooftop PV is consumed owing to large EV battery capacities, which can contribute to the rapid decarbonization of Bangkok City by 2050.

Renewable energy sources and the possible sustainability that can be achieved through them has become a common discourse in the world today. The Middle East and Northern African countries have high potential to benefit from large scale renewable energy projects. These nations may initiate or permit the use of residential rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems in the near future. However, data regarding system design, grid compatibility, and consumption of energy produced through rooftop photovoltaic systems is insufficient. The supporting policies and a feed-in tariff lack, thereby creating more research and development issues. Therefore, this research study aims to use the ten most populated nations in the Middle East and Northern Africa to (1) compare the use of rooftop PV systems in ten populated cities and (2) to evaluate the economic viability of rooftop PV systems under varying policies and electricity rate schemes. The findings of the study can help policymakers understand the application of rooftop PV systems in the Middle East and Northern African countries. The study, the first of its kind, uses an economic model to evaluate rooftop PV systems in ten identical houses in ten of the most populated cities in the Middle East and Northern African countries.

The utilization of cropland and rooftops for solar photovoltaics (PVs) installation holds significant potential for enhancing global renewable energy capacity with the advantage of dual land-use. This study focuses on estimating the global area suitable for agrivoltaics (PV over crops) and rooftop PVs by employing open-access data, existing literature and simple numerical methods in a high spatial resolution of 10 km × 10 km. For agrivoltaics, the suitability is assessed with a systematic literature review on crop-dependent feasibility and profitability, especially for 18 major crops of the world. For rooftop PV, a non-linear curve-fitting method is developed, using the urban land cover to calculate the PV-suitable built-up areas. This method is then verified by comparing the results with open-access building footprints. The spatially resolved suitability assessment unveils 4.64 million km ^2 of global PV-usable cropland corresponding to a geographic potential of about 217 Terawatts (TW) in an optimistic scenario and 0.21 million km ^2 of rooftop-PV suitable area accounting for about 30.5 TW maximum installable power capacity. The estimated suitable area offers a vast playground for energy system analysts to undertake techno-economic assessments, and for technology modellers and policy makers to promote PV implementation globally with the vision of net-zero emissions in the future.

Improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and achieving independence from fossil fuels have led most countries towards deploying solar photovoltaics (PV) in the power distribution grid and electrifying the transportation fleet. Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are, in particular, one of the main culprits of injecting greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, making electric vehicles (EVs) an important tool in combating climate change. Despite their considerable environmental and economic benefits, the integration of PVs and EVs can introduce unique operational challenges for the power distribution grid. If not coordinated, high penetration of PVs and EVs can result in variety of power quality issues, such as instances of overvoltage and undervoltage, frequency fluctuations, and/or increased losses. This paper proposes a mixed-integer multi-objective nonlinear optimization model for optimal energy dispatch in a power distribution grid with high penetration of PV and EV resources. The model proposed here is an extension of the traditional voltage and var optimization (VVO) into a comprehensive and coordinated control of voltage, active power, and reactive power. A modified version of the IEEE 123-bus test distribution system is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution.

Mauritius relies heavily on fossil fuel imports to satisfy the energy requirements of its population. Urged by policies to address climate change at the national and international levels, the government is committed to promote sustainable development, with emphasis laid on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, we provide an assessment of rooftop PV potential at the national level. A sampling strategy is used to acquire reduction coefficients, which are thereafter applied to energy-based equations. The result suggests that the rooftop PV potential at the country-scale is estimated at 20.04 GW with an annual energy output of 32,512 GWh. A novel architectural layout for a Solar City to be located at an identified optimum site is proposed. A shading analysis is conducted to verify the appropriateness of the city's structural design to harness energy from the sun. An energy analysis performed, reveals that the Solar City has a solar power potential of 13.55 MW and an annual energy generation capacity equivalent to 21.99 GWh. Construction of the Solar City would help avert the emissions of 13,744 tons of CO2 annually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix plays a pivotal role in the decarbonisation of power systems, thus facilitating the achievement of international and national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change. Due to the intermittent nature of variable renewable energy, the integration of these sources in power systems requires investments in additional solutions and setting strategies to ensure grid stability and reliability. For that purpose, a prospective modelling was applied to the relatively isolated island named Procida, located in the gulf of Naples in Italy, through the bottom-up optimization model TIMES-Procida for a long-term energy plan where technical solutions, i.e., deployment of photovoltaics on rooftops and storage, and policy scenarios, i.e., energy efficiency, were used to analyse the evolution of the energy system. The introduction of renewable energy could be much more relevant when dealing with islands; they appear as decisive territories for experimentation and analysis of the transformation of all power systems. At year 2050, our results address decarbonisation and energy autonomy. They show that only with high shares of renewable energy will the territory see a noticeable decarbonisation of its economic sectors (up to 24%) and a decreasing dependency on imports (−16.6% compared to low renewable integration). By comparing the results of scenarios including or lacking storage solutions, we showcased how this reflected on the investments in PV and on grid congestion relief.

In this study, 1-year real life performance of a 30kWp rooftop solar PV power plant installed at the Köprübaşı Vocational School of the Manisa Celal Bayar University was evaluated and is presented here. The PV plant is comprised of 116 polycrystalline modules mounted 15 cm proud of the roof surface providing a gap between roof surface and the bottom of the panels for air circulation. The panels were tilted at 12° with horizontal and orientated at an azimuth angle of −20°. Measured power output of the plant was compared against the predictions of a spreadsheet based simulation model developed. Results were found to be in excellent agreement with the measured values. Annual array yield, final yield and reference yield values of the system that produced 45,592 kWh of energy, under an average 1,818 kWh/m2/a radiation incident on the panels inclined surfaces, were found to be 4.25, 4.97 and 4.16 h/d, respectively. The annual performance ratio of the system has been calculated as 83.61% and the capacity factor 17.35%. It has been determined that the power plant displaced 23.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2018.

This study explores Bangladesh’s present energy condition, renewable energy (RE) possibilities and designs an optimal 100% RE-based off-grid power system for St. Martin’s Island, Bangladesh. The optimal size of a hybrid renewable microgrid based on photovoltaic (PV) cells, a battery energy storage system (BESS), fuel cells (FC), and an electrolysis plant (EP) is proposed. Advanced direct load control (ADLC) and rooftop PV meet the energy demand at the lowest cost, and profits are maximized by selling chemical products produced by seawater electrolysis. Four cases are explored with the mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) optimization technique using MATLAB® software to demonstrate the efficacy of the suggested power system. The system cost in case 1 is lower than in the other cases, but there is no chance of profiting. Cases 2, 3, and 4 have greater installation costs, which may be repaid in 8.17, 7.72, and 8.01 years, respectively, by the profits. Though the revenue in case 3 is 6.23% higher than in case 2 and and 3.85% higher than in case 4, case 4 is considered the most reliable power system, as it can meet the energy demand at the lowest cost while increasing profits and not putting a burden on customers.

The research investigates the financial and environmental implications of rooftop PV installation in a case study of commercial buildings in Bangladesh. With annual horizontal solar radiation of 4.65 kWh/m2/day, Bangladesh has a great potential to avail sustainable solar energy which would have environmental and economic ramifications. To accomplish this, the simulation has been carried out using the RETScreen software. To perform the calculation, the climatic data from NASA for the selected location have been considered. Numerous economic indices encompassing net present value, payback period, internal rate of return and benefit–cost ratio have been taken into consideration as a measure of performance indicator for the enacted project. The determined economic outcome of the case study points out a net present value of $756,896 with 14.2% internal rate of return, 10.1 years simple payback time, 8.1 years equity payback and 1.5 benefit–cost ratio which implies that the project is remarkably appealing. In addition, the sensitivity analysis of the project highlights that the profitability of the investment is protected in most of the cases for ± 30% variation in input parameters. For example, initial and fuel costs of the proposed case may generate a negative net present value beyond 15% variations. However, a positive net present value within the wide sensitivity ranges for fuel costs base case, operation and maintenance costs, fuel cost escalation and discount rate, debt ratio and debt term imply that economic feasibility is still obvious. This may encourage the building owner to incorporate solar PV in commercial buildings in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building sector consumed a total of 580 million tons-coal equivalent (Mtce) terminal energy in China in 2018 including 1,888 terawatt-hours (TWh) electricity, accounting for 20.2% of total terminal energy consumption in this country. As the capital of China, Beijing is striving to improve the air quality while ensuring power and heat supply due to heavy reliance on electricity intake from other energy-rich provinces. The distributed photovoltaic, as a flexible application of renewable energy systems in urban and rural regions, can contribute to the power supply for rapid urbanization and mitigate the negative environmental impact of fossil energy use. In the context of grid parity, this article provides a systematic analysis of solar resource potential, power generation economics and policy support for the rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system in Beijing. The deployment potential of rooftop PV is estimated to be 11.47 GW and the large-scale commercial rooftop PV is approaching grid parity. Furthermore, this article discusses the feasibility of large-scale distributed PV deployment in Beijing by considering distributed electricity trade envisioned the ongoing power market reform in China.

This study aimed to examine the customer interest in using rooftop PV considering the economic background and customer profile in Indonesia’s electricity market using primary survey data with potential and existing (households and industries) respondents. This research uses logit model regression to analyze the impact of the demographic background of respondents and uses exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to understand the reasons why the existing users utilize rooftop PV at their homes. The results show that education, residence location, and income can positively and significantly affect the probability of using rooftop PV as the source of electricity. Then, there are several factors that influence the use of rooftop PV, such as easily finding it in their area, having concern for the environment, following trends, and loyalty. Some disadvantages of installing rooftop PV are felt by users, such as relatively high installation cost and frequent overheating during usage. Regarding customer satisfaction, most of the respondents from both households and industries answered that they were satisfied with their rooftop’s PV. Consumers say that the benefits they obtain are comparable to the required installation costs, and the majority of consumers also said that the rooftop PV worked well and did not need many repairs every month, so consumers did not need to spend significant money on it.

Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems are usually behind the meter and invisible to utilities and retailers and, thus, their power generation is not monitored. If a number of rooftop PV systems are installed, it transforms the net load pattern in power systems. Moreover, not only generation but also PV capacity information is invisible due to unauthorized PV installations, causing inaccuracies in regional PV generation forecasting. This study proposes a regional rooftop PV generation forecasting methodology by adding unauthorized PV capacity estimation. PV capacity estimation consists of two steps: detection of unauthorized PV generation and estimation capacity of detected PV. Finally, regional rooftop PV generation is predicted by considering unauthorized PV capacity through the support vector regression (SVR) and upscaling method. The results from a case study show that compared with estimation without unauthorized PV capacity, the proposed methodology reduces the normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) by 5.41% and the normalized mean absolute error (nMAE) by 2.95%, It can be concluded that regional rooftop PV generation forecasting accuracy is improved.

The aim of this research is to perform an in-depth performance comparison of ground-mounted and rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems. The PV modules are tilted to receive maximum solar irradiance. The efficiency of the PV system decreases due to the mutual shading impact of parallel tilted PV modules. The mutual shading decreases with the increasing interrow distance of parallel PV modules, but a distance that is too large causes an increase in land cost in the case of ground-mounted configuration and a decrease in roof surface shading in the case of rooftop configuration, because larger sections of roof are exposed to sun radiation. Therefore, an optimized interrow distance for the two PV configurations is determined with the aim being to minimize the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) and maximize the energy yield. The model of the building is simulated in EnergyPlus software to determine the cooling load requirement and roof surface temperatures under different shading scenarios. The layout of the rooftop PV system is designed in Helioscope software. A detailed comparison of the two systems is carried out based on energy output, performance ratio, capacity utilization factor (CUF), energy yield, and LCoE. Compared to ground-mounted configuration, the rooftop PV configuration results in a 2.9% increase in CUF, and up to a 23.7% decrease in LCoE. The results of this research show that installing a PV system on a roof has many distinct advantages over ground-mounted PV systems such as the shading of the roof, which leads to the curtailment of the cooling energy requirements of the buildings in hot regions and land cost savings, especially for urban environments.

The efficient uptake of decentralized solar rooftop photovoltaics (PV) is in some cases hindered by ineffective energy and political framework conditions. These may be based on inaccurate and uncertain potential assessments in the early development stage of the solar market. This paper develops a more accurate, cost-effective, and robust potential assessment for emerging and developing economies. Adjusting the module efficiency corresponding to regional and household conditions improves the output accuracy. The rooftop PV market changes are simulated regarding different input changes and policy designs, including changing the Feed-In Tariff (FIT), grid tariff, and technology development. In the case study, the market potential in Vietnam is estimated at 260–280 TWh/a and is clustered into six groups in priority order, in which Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh need the most policy focus. Changing the FIT from 8.83 to 9 Euro cent/kWh and using different regional FITs can activate an additional 16% of the market and lead to a possible 28 million Euro benefit. Increasing the grid tariff to 8.7 cents/kWh could activate the self-consumption model, and the self-sufficient market can be guaranteed in the case of CAPEX and OPEX being lower than 650 Euro/kWp. Future developments of the method should focus on combining this top-down method with detailed bottom-up approaches.