Definition
Solar energy is clean and renewable energy that uses sun as a power source. Solar energy can be harnessed using various solar technology for meeting residential, commercial, and industrial needs for thermal, electrical, and other forms of energy in a sustainable way. Two types of solar energy applications are available – passive and active systems. For the passive system, solar energy can be collected without using special mechanical devices or equipment. Greenhouses and sunrooms are common examples. Residential and industrial buildings can be designed to absorb and retain heat from the sun. On the other hand, in the active system, solar energy is collected using solar panels comprised of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. Various technologies to capture and transforming it to thermal and electrical energy have developed over the years, such as Parabolic Trough, Concentrating...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Celebrating the Completion of the World’s Largest Concentrating Solar Power Plant. (n.d.). https://www.energy.gov/articles/celebrating-completion-worlds-largest-concentrating-solar-power-plant. Accessed 30 June 2020.
Change, E. (2017). As pay-as-you-go solar proliferates, here are 7 lessons for business success. https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2017/12/12/bolstering-payg-agent-networks-7-lessons-learned-from-other-industries/?topic=263751#gref. Accessed 30 June 2020.
Crabtree, G. W., & Lewis, N. S. (2007). Solar energy conversion. Physics Today, 60, 37–42.
Dish/Engine System Concentrating Solar Power Basics. (n.d.). https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/articles/dishengine-system-concentrating-solar-power-basics. Accessed 30 June 2020.
DLR – Institute of Solar Research—The project enerMENA. (n.d.). https://www.dlr.de/sf/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-12621/. Accessed 30 June 2020.
FAA-Airport-Solar-Guide-2018. (n.d.). https://www.faa.gov/airports/environmental/policy_guidance/media/FAA-Airport-Solar-Guide-2018.pdf. Accessed 30 June 2020.
Rajeshwar, K., McConnell, R., & Licht, S. (2008). Solar hydrogen generation: Toward a renewable energy future. New York: Springer.
Rauschenbach, H. S. (1980). Solar cell array design handbook. The principles and technology of photovoltaic energy conversion. New York: Springer.
Renewables - World Energy Outlook 2019 – Analysis. (n.d.). https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2019. Accessed 30 June 2020.
Renewables – World Energy Outlook 2019 – Analysis. (n.d.). https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2019/renewables. Accessed 30 June 2020.
Singh, U. R., & Kumar, A. (2018). Review on solar Stirling engine: Development and performance. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 8, 244–256.
Singh, Y., & Pal, N. (2020). Obstacles and comparative analysis in the advancement of photovoltaic power stations in India. Sustainable Computing: Informatics and Systems, 25, 100372.
Solar. (n.d.). https://www.energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources/renewable-energy/solar. Accessed 30 June 2020.
Solar Panel Efficiency: What Panels Are Most Efficient? (n.d.). http://news.energysage.com/what-are-the-most-efficient-solar-panels-on-the-market/. Accessed 30 June 2020.
SunShot 2030. (n.d.). https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/sunshot-2030. Accessed 30June 2020.
Sweerts, B., Pfenninger, S., Yang, S., Folini, D., Van der Zwaan, B., & Wild, M. (2019). Estimation of losses in solar energy production from air pollution in China since 1960 using surface radiation data. Nature Energy, 4(8), 657–663.
The SunShot Initiative. (n.d.). https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/sunshot-initiative. Accessed 30 June 2020.
This Month in Physics History. (n.d.). http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200904/physicshistory.cfm. Accessed 30 June 2020.
Union of Concerned Scientists. 2009. Clean Power, Green Jobs. (n.d.). https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/clean-energy-green-jobs. Accessed 30 June 2020.
United Nations Sustainable Development. (n.d.). https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/. Accessed 30 June 2020.
World Energy Council. (n.d.). https://www.worldenergy.org. Accessed 30 June 2020.
World energy scenario 2019. (n.d.). https://www.google.com/search?q=world+energy+scenario+2019&oq=world+energy+ecenario&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l7.9442j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 28 June 2020.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Roy, M. (2020). Solar as a Sustainable Energy. In: Idowu, S., Schmidpeter, R., Capaldi, N., Zu, L., Del Baldo, M., Abreu, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02006-4_14-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02006-4_14-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-02006-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-02006-4
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences