Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems: Prospect Development and Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid growth of world energy consumption poses challenges in terms of energy shortages and environmental pollution. The exhaustion of fossil fuel resources and their severe environmental impacts have seriously hindered global sustainable development. Solar energy technologies offer a low-cost and sustainable energy supply to overcome such challenges, aiding the energy transition. To meet the energy demands of our society, it is essential to develop low-cost and high-efficiency solar energy systems.

To further promote the technologies and methods related to solar energy applications, this Special Issue, entitled “Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems: Prospect Development and Challenges”, was proposed for the international journal Energies, which is an SSCI and SCIE journal (2015 IF = 3.2).

This Special Issue mainly covers original research and studies related to the above-mentioned topics, including, but not limited to, solar cells and materials, solar thermal systems, as well as photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems. Modeling techniques, as well as experimental work and results related to modern photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies, including novel one-sun or geometrical concentrating configurations incorporating thin films in tandem with novel spectral converters and/or filters, are of particular interest to this Special Issue. System integration of solar technologies based on open-source dynamic modeling and/or annual operation data from implemented solar energy systems are welcome in this Special Issue to aid the energy transition and overcome technical, financial and social barriers.

I am writing to invite you to submit your original work to this Special Issue. The papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer review procedure to ensure rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments and applications. I am looking forward to receiving your outstanding research.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

• Modern photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies;
• Novel photovoltaic/thermal configurations;
• Novel one-sun or geometrical concentrating configurations;
• Thin films in tandem with novel spectral converters and/or filters;
• Solar system integration based on open-source dynamic modeling;
• Analysis of annual operation from implemented solar energy systems;
• Systems aiding energy transition to overcome technical, financial and social barriers.

Dr. Georgios E. Arnaoutakis
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. Energies 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 2600 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 and PV systems
• concentrated solar power (CSP)
• optical materials and photonics
• solar energy conversion