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Solar photovoltaics have emerged as an economic source of renewable electricity generation for regions with high solar irradiation. Still, the installation of utility-scale PV systems is often disrupted due to the unavailability of land. Sparsely populated areas with a hot, dry climate can mitigate the land-energy conflict as they experience higher solar irradiation. In arid areas, the PV systems incur more losses due to dust deposition on PV modules and reduced energy conversion efficiency at higher temperatures. The shortage of water makes the module cleaning procedures cost-prohibitive. Floating Solar photovoltaic (FSPV) systems resolve these problems due to their reduced land footprint, higher efficiency, and reduce evaporative water loss. This study estimates the energy generation of a 4.8 MW FSPV-based microgrid in a hot, semi-arid urban area. By utilizing 5% area of the waterbody, the FSPV system yields 8.876 GWh of electricity annually, to meet 41.7% electricity demand of the study area. The system generates 16.7% more power compared to the land-based PV system. The performance ratio of 82%, and a DC capacity utilization factor of 20.3% is achieved. The system saves 52,810.32 m3 of water per year, compensating for the water requirement of 786.99 m3. for cleaning and dust removal of PV modules. The weekly cleaning procedure limits the soiling loss to 2.79%, compared to 8.47% after a month without cleaning. The FSPV-based microgrid reduces annual CO2 emissions by 2.93 tonnes. This study shall enable engineers, urban planners, and policymakers to develop clean energy-based, sustainable microgrid solutions for urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global electricity demand is increasing with the rising population and rapid urbanization. Building Integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system is a new method of renewable energy generation where solar photovoltaic (PV) modules are integrated into the building surfaces such as façade, shades, windows, roofs, and tiles. BIPV systems reduce the urban energy demand. Utilization of vertical surfaces makes the BIPV system a preferable choice where land scarcity affects the implementation of large PV systems. The economic viability depends on the maximum power generated by the BIPV array. In urban environments, the BIPV arrays experience severe partial shading conditions (PSCs). The PSCs cause mismatch losses, reducing the global maximum power of the BIPV array and efficiency. Fixed array configurations such as series-parallel (SP), total-cross-tied (TCT), triple-tied (TT), and quarter-tied (QT) are designed to solve this issue. The cross ties across the rows of the BIPV array improve the performance at the expense of more wiring. Researchers proposed various optimal array configurations with different shading patterns. This research attempts to generalize the design of the BIPV array configurations by considering the trade-off between wiring requirements and shading losses. The performance of SP, TT, QT, and TCT configurations under four different shading conditions is simulated with the proposed BIPV array design algorithm. A 9 × 8 BIPV array of 3.6 kW is considered. QT configuration reduces the wiring requirement by 10.45% compared to TCT and improves up to 8.43% maximum power than SP. The fill factor is improved to 48.49%, and the mismatch loss is limited to 34.10%. Therefore, QT and TCT are considered favorable configurations for BIPV array design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is emerging as an affordable source of low-carbon electricity in India. The rapid installation of PV systems is promoting sustainability. However, unplanned disposal of end-of-life PV modules threatens the environment. This paper explores the techno-economic feasibility of PV recycling facilities in India to mitigate PV waste. This study is conducted through numerical data collection regarding projected PV waste, the composition of valuable materials in waste, and their economic value. The technical parameters for PV recycling are curated from reports, datasheets, literature, and websites. The requirements for energy, materials, and capital are estimated based on the collected data. Qualitative information regarding employment generation and its relation with green manufacturing sectors are explored. A recycling facility with a daily recycling capacity of 5 tons PV is considered. The recycling machines consume 6418.63 MWh of electricity. The nitric acid and the limewater requirements are 1.69 tons and 8.74 tons, respectively. A capital cost of 77,000 INR is required. The revenue from selling the recycled secondary materials is INR 27,125/ton. The water footprint is computed to be 74,17,554 m3. The daily transport and electricity cost is calculated to be INR. 39,380. The return on investment (ROI) is estimated at 13.76%, with a payback period of 8 years. 13,124 recycling plants are required to operate 10 h every day to mitigate the PV modules discarded in 2047. This study might be applicable as a planning framework to mitigate solar PV waste economically and sustainably in the upcoming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]