Solar Renewable Energy Systems: Study and Applications with Present and Future Potential

Climate change and sustainability mandates an urgent global transition from fossil fuels to solar energy. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the solar energy systems emphasizing on its current state, technological advances and diverse applications. Solar power stands out because it is abundant, scalable and affordable. We then discuss the evolution of photovoltaic materials across three generations from traditional silicon to innovative perovskite and quantum dot technologies. Several exciting developments like tandem solar cells, flexible printed panels and hybrid systems using nanomaterials have been highlighted. The discussion then moves on to solar still technology and on how integration of phase change materials and magnetic nanoparticles can enhance the efficiency. In the current world artificial intelligence and machine learning have become an integral aspect of research, technologies and everyday life. AI/ML play an important role in solar energy systems by improving maintenance predictions, boosting efficiency and discovery of new materials. In conclusion, the key to unlock a greener, more decentralized and resilient energy systems lies in the synergy of solar energy, advanced materials and artificial intelligence.