Solar energy status in the world: A comprehensive review

The utilization of renewable energy as a future energy resource is drawing significant attention worldwide. The contribution of solar energy (including concentrating solar power (CSP) and solar photovoltaic (PV) power) to global electricity production, as one form of renewable energy sources, is gen...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hamed H. Pourasl, Reza Vatankhah Barenji, Vahid M. Khojastehnezhad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-11-01
Series:Energy Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484723014579
_version_ 1797378704657088512
author Hamed H. Pourasl
Reza Vatankhah Barenji
Vahid M. Khojastehnezhad
author_facet Hamed H. Pourasl
Reza Vatankhah Barenji
Vahid M. Khojastehnezhad
author_sort Hamed H. Pourasl
collection DOAJ
description The utilization of renewable energy as a future energy resource is drawing significant attention worldwide. The contribution of solar energy (including concentrating solar power (CSP) and solar photovoltaic (PV) power) to global electricity production, as one form of renewable energy sources, is generally still low, at 3.6%. However, it has firmly established itself among other renewable energy technologies, comprising nearly 31% of the total installed renewable energy capacity in 2022, making it the second most installed renewable energy resource behind hydropower energy. The present review study, through a detailed and systematic literature survey, summarizes the world solar energy status along with the published solar energy potential assessment articles for 235 countries and territories as the first step toward developing solar energy in these regions. A comparison of the solar power status among countries and territories has been provided, considering their concentrated solar power and PV installed capacities for each continent. Although there has been a significant increase of approximately 22% in global solar energy installed capacity between 2021 and 2022, the literature survey reveals that clear gaps still exist in the field of solar energy. In the next three decades, the solar PV field can advance to become the second prominent generation source by constructing more solar farms, allowing countries to generate approximately 25% of the world's total electricity needs by 2050.
first_indexed 2024-03-08T20:10:32Z
format Article
id doaj.art-cd6c25a884bd4b4fb59277dfcd14e03d
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2352-4847
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-08T20:10:32Z
publishDate 2023-11-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Energy Reports
spelling doaj.art-cd6c25a884bd4b4fb59277dfcd14e03d2023-12-23T05:21:55ZengElsevierEnergy Reports2352-48472023-11-011034743493Solar energy status in the world: A comprehensive reviewHamed H. Pourasl0Reza Vatankhah Barenji1Vahid M. Khojastehnezhad2Mechanical Engineering Department, Cyprus International University, Nicosia, TRNC, Via Mersin 10, Turkey; Corresponding authors.Department of Engineering, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK; Corresponding authors.Mechanical Engineering Department, Cyprus International University, Nicosia, TRNC, Via Mersin 10, TurkeyThe utilization of renewable energy as a future energy resource is drawing significant attention worldwide. The contribution of solar energy (including concentrating solar power (CSP) and solar photovoltaic (PV) power) to global electricity production, as one form of renewable energy sources, is generally still low, at 3.6%. However, it has firmly established itself among other renewable energy technologies, comprising nearly 31% of the total installed renewable energy capacity in 2022, making it the second most installed renewable energy resource behind hydropower energy. The present review study, through a detailed and systematic literature survey, summarizes the world solar energy status along with the published solar energy potential assessment articles for 235 countries and territories as the first step toward developing solar energy in these regions. A comparison of the solar power status among countries and territories has been provided, considering their concentrated solar power and PV installed capacities for each continent. Although there has been a significant increase of approximately 22% in global solar energy installed capacity between 2021 and 2022, the literature survey reveals that clear gaps still exist in the field of solar energy. In the next three decades, the solar PV field can advance to become the second prominent generation source by constructing more solar farms, allowing countries to generate approximately 25% of the world's total electricity needs by 2050.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484723014579Solar energy potentialSolar resource assessmentPVConcentrating solar power
spellingShingle Hamed H. Pourasl
Reza Vatankhah Barenji
Vahid M. Khojastehnezhad
Solar energy status in the world: A comprehensive review
Energy Reports
Solar energy potential
Solar resource assessment
PV
Concentrating solar power
title Solar energy status in the world: A comprehensive review
title_full Solar energy status in the world: A comprehensive review
title_fullStr Solar energy status in the world: A comprehensive review
title_full_unstemmed Solar energy status in the world: A comprehensive review
title_short Solar energy status in the world: A comprehensive review
title_sort solar energy status in the world a comprehensive review
topic Solar energy potential
Solar resource assessment
PV
Concentrating solar power
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484723014579
work_keys_str_mv AT hamedhpourasl solarenergystatusintheworldacomprehensivereview
AT rezavatankhahbarenji solarenergystatusintheworldacomprehensivereview
AT vahidmkhojastehnezhad solarenergystatusintheworldacomprehensivereview