The relentless advance of global climate change is requiring all countries to either restructure their existing energy systems, or find new ways of building and expanding them. Ongoing reliance on fossil fuels has been demonstrated to be unsustainable, especially if we are to avoid global temperatures to rise by more than 2 degrees. Harnessing the power stored in solar radiation, reaching our planet every day for free and in vast quantities, photovoltaics and solar heating are among the most popular techniques for renewable energy. However, they are the subject of intense, ongoing research; for example to increase the efficiency and capacity of solar cells. Solar heating provides a clean way to heat water and physical spaces. But other technologies are also advancing, such as the use of solar radiation to split water molecules and generate hydrogen for use as energy vector.
Renewable Energy - Solar brings together a systematic collection of research addressing the key challenges of solar energy. Research and review papers, and selected conference papers addressing all important ways to harness solar radiation are considered, including photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, solar-powered gas generation, solar heating, and other. This collection is meant to provide researchers and advanced students with an orientation of the field, to point them to relevant workgroups, and to address current challenges. This collection is meant to provide researchers and advanced students with an orientation of the field, to point them to relevant workgroups, and to address current challenges. The collection will grow over time as new research is published, and the research community engages with it. Wind energy and hydropower are not considered here, as they are not directly related to solar radiation. These technologies are, or will be, subjects of other collections within the Renewable Energy Super Collection .