Solar Compass

At the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 26, the International Solar Alliance and Elsevier have launched Solar Compass, an open access journal, to support the Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid and ISA’s vision of a rapid increase in solar energy use around the world.

Compass will be an Open Access journal, providing readers around the world with freely accessible, access. And with this Call for Papers, we invite well-researched articles to help us in our mission. All articles will be peer reviewed before publication. An advisory board of visionary leaders will guide the directions of the journal, and an editorial board of globally renowned experts will plan, solicit articles, and conduct reviews before accepting the articles for publication in Solar Compass.

For more information and call for papers click here Edition 2 Editions 3 & 4 Edition 5 Edition 6 Edition 7 Edition 8 Edition 9 Edition 10

By Carol Blair, Publications Editor, University of South Florida Clean Energy Research Center, and Solar Compass Editorial Coordinator.

Link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277294002200008X

This article by the Dr D. Yogi Goswami, Editor-in-Chief previews the articles in the first edition of the Journal.

Link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772940022000078

Summary: An editorial article by Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), explains the vision, plans and activities of ISA in support of its vision. Over the years, ISA has become a key stakeholder in the fight against climate change by leveraging the collective expertise of its global network of personnel and partners for helping deploy solar energy solutions while also advancing principles of economic development and social equity among its member countries. In this article, Dr. Mathur presents ISA’s journey towards 1000, which aims to mobilize investments worth USD 1,000 billion in solar energy solutions by 2030.

Link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772940022000091?via%3Dihub

Summary: Dr. David Renne, immediate past president of the International Solar Energy Society, details the progress and challenges of plans for net-zero emissions and 100% renewables. By analyzing several scenarios, his article shows that a transformation to a fully decarbonized energy system making extensive use of renewable technologies is technically feasible. And he breaks down the steps that the world should follow to get us there.

Link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772940022000017

Summary: Dr. Alan Weimer of the University of Colorado, Boulder writes about the present and prospects of solar thermochemical fuels. Solar thermochemical fuel production is an innovative and promising technology to harvest solar energy as synthetic fuels. Synthetic fuels from ambient CO2 and water will be an extremely important technology for air transportation of the future as the world moves toward net zero carbon emissions. Here, the sun rays are concentrated to achieve high temperatures that could split water without using electrolysis. Then the CO2 captured from the air and the H2 from water splitting are combined to form syngas and liquid fuels. Dr. Weimer presents the challenges to overcome and the areas to target for further research.

Link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772940022000042

Summary: Mini grids powered by renewables play a major role in electrification of rural Africa and other developing countries. But what happens when the main grid arrives? Using Zambia's effective grid encroachment regulations as a test case, an article led by author Kai-Wilfrid Schroeder looks at lessons learned from African nations and provides insight into the government regulations and policies required to achieve a smooth transition.

Link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772940022000029

Summary: For a rapid transition to solar energy in the world, manufacture of solar panels will have to increase at a rapid pace. Also, manufacturing will have to be diversified and localized in various countries and continents. This will be especially important to large and expanding economies of India and many other countries. Can India expand manufacturing of solar panels at the required pace and become one of the leading solar manufacturers in the world? An article led by Dr. Juzer Vasi, professor at IIT Bombay, describes the recent developments in solar PV manufacturing in India, and the government policies that could help India's solar industry thrive and become cost competitive with other leading countries.

Link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772940022000030

Summary: Inventions, innovations and new technologies will play key role in achieving the transition to renewable energy and to achieve the global NZE goal. Dr. Samantha Wijewardane will present an article on this theme in every issue of the Solar Compass, covering one or more key technology developments that are expected to revolutionize an energy sector and feature some recent inventions and patents in those areas. This article will be especially helpful for the existing industry interested in commercializing new technologies, start-up companies, investors, entrepreneurs, and new technology developers. The first issue highlights recent developments in Perovskite solar cells, batteries, and thermal energy storage. The article also lists abstracts of some significant recent patents and articles in these areas.

Link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772940022000066