Digital Management of Solar Energy En Route to Energy Self‐Sufficiency

Abstract

The Internet of Things approach to manage clean electricity produced from sun, wind, and water is, alongside the hydrogen fuel cell and the Li‐ion battery, the key enabling technology for the transition to 100% renewable energy. Practical examples from distant countries are used to show how today's digital control technology is actually used to ease the generation and utilization of clean, reliable, and cheap solar energy on an annual basis. The conclusions are of relevance also to the redesign of energy education programs in response to dramatic changes in energy technologies.

Renewable Energy in Russia: A Forthcoming Transformation Driven by Economic and Industrial Factors

“…The energy density of hydrogen is so high (120 MJ/kg for H2 vs. 43 MJ/kg for diesel fuel) that it is enough to store the excess PV energy generated during Spring and Summer as electrolytic H2 under pressure in today's safe reservoirs in composite material to provide off-grid buildings with power and hot water for the whole year even in Sweden (experiencing 220 days of rain each year) where the first offgrid homes of a public housing company powered only by solar hydrogen generated via water electrolysis driven by PV energy are currently being completed prior to customer delivery [38].…”

Renewable Energy Systems: Enhanced Resilience, Lower Costs

“…Dramatic technical and industrial progress in clean energy generation (PV modules and wind turbines), storage (Li‐ion battery and solar hydrogen), and energy digital management technologies has opened the route to renewable energy systems of enhanced resilience, reliability, and lower costs compared with conventional energy systems based on burning fossil fuels.…”

Preparing for the future: Solar energy and bioeconomy in the United Arab Emirates

“…23 What is also relevant is that the complete system solution enabling 24 hours supply of high-quality energy from renewable solar energy only for 365 days (8760 hours) is a combination of a number of key technology components with digital technology and system logics, 24 developed in this case by the complete solution provider, acting as a system integrator. 23 What is also relevant is that the complete system solution enabling 24 hours supply of high-quality energy from renewable solar energy only for 365 days (8760 hours) is a combination of a number of key technology components with digital technology and system logics, 24 developed in this case by the complete solution provider, acting as a system integrator.…”

“…Hydrogen has high energy density (40 kWh/kg), and the amount of H 2 locally produced at low cost and stored for winter needs is enough to supply the off-grid houses for the whole year with emission-free electricity and heat in the form of hot water generated by hydrogen fuel cells. 23 What is also relevant is that the complete system solution enabling 24 hours supply of high-quality energy from renewable solar energy only for 365 days (8760 hours) is a combination of a number of key technology components with digital technology and system logics, 24 developed in this case by the complete solution provider, acting as a system integrator. 23 In this way, Sweden which like many other countries is struggling with a large number of outdated and energy inefficient housing estates and has shown how in practice solar energy and hydrogen generation (via electrolysis) and recombination (in fuel cells) technologies can solve practical problems of large societal relevance such as energy consumption in buildings.…”