• Energy Research

Abstract Provided that LED street lighting is guided by quality principles, outdoor illumination using light-emitting diodes will have a significant global impact helping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, save relevant amounts of electricity and enhance the quality of life in cities as well as in remote areas. This study summarizes recent findings providing guidelines for further progress in this crucially important technology on the common pathway to sustainable development.

AbstractThe achievements of the last two decades in using solar energy for naturally ventilating and heating buildings of any size and scope across the world are remarkable, though comprising a niche market and being generally poorly known to this point. Air quality, thermal and hygrometric comfort, and reduced energy costs are some of the benefits provided by solar ventilated spaces. We identify the remaining hurdles to be addressed prior to forthcoming widespread adoption of this technology in the building environment across the world, well beyond the cold‐climate countries.

Combining different approaches, this article describes a multidisciplinary graduate course (Solar Master) on solar energy for science, engineering, economics and management students aimed to shape professionals capable to understand, develop and disseminate solar energy seen as a strategic and critical resource. Eventually, students ending the Solar Master will become professionals whose companies will not only use or install high quality solar energy systems, but will be able to increase public perception of solar energy as an intrinsically reliable and cost competitive energy source to produce electricity on utility scale as well as electricity, heat and light for all sort of buildings across the world.

AbstractDriven by insight for which new research and education requires new institutional organisation, and drawing on two decades of research and educational efforts, we devise the profile and activities of a new bioeconomy and solar energy institute at Italy's Research Council. We further articulate the institute's activities suggesting avenues on how to deploy sound and giving more useful research, education and policy advice in these crucial fields for making tomorrow's common development sustainable. The outcomes of the study are of general interest, because the transition to a solar economy is of intrinsic global nature and the challenges involved are similar in many countries.

AbstractRainwater harvesting decentralizes the water supply in full analogy to what building‐integrated photovoltaics and solar thermal do for electricity and heat. In this new decentralized generation scenario, the built environment is used to collect both sunlight photons and water molecules with significant economic and environmental benefits. Referring to recent progress and to real‐life findings from around the world, this work provides an answer to several relevant questions of direct interest to policy makers and early adopters of broadened distributed generation. The conclusions offer guidelines for developing a successful distributed generation strategy at the regional level by unifying solar energy and water management policies.

AbstractWe investigate the value of solar photovoltaic (PV) power in the Italian wholesale electricity market (IPEX). A model is developed and applied to simulate and predict the monthly average electricity prices in peak hours, as well as to simulate scenarios without PV generation. The computed merit‐order effect of the PV generation in Italy, around −2.9 €/MWh per each additional GWh of PV production, as well as the greater −4.5 €/MWh absolute value evaluated under the hypothesis of stationary electricity demand, are in line with the upper values found in related studies of near mature renewable energy markets. A strong relationship of the value of PV electricity in the IPEX with the electricity demand is clearly evident, leading to important policy implications in terms of possible actions on the granted subsidies, electrification of energy end use, and promotion of specific PV technologies. The anomalous temporal behavior of the IPEX, shown by high off‐peak electricity prices that followed the installation of Italy's large PV park, partly offsets the beneficial effect of PV generation.

Newly educated Energy managers will play a key role in the unfolding global transition to renewable energy and sustainability. We describe a new approach to energy management education via a cross-disciplinary postgraduate course ('Lean and Green') targeting management, economy, physical science and engineering graduates with the objective to shape Energy managers working in the top management of service and manufacturing organizations to effectively achieve higher levels of energy efficiency and renewable energy penetration, while improving the levels of quality, work and service.

AbstractThe potential of weather forecasting is increasingly being exploited by power generators and transmission‐system operators as renewable electricity generation has become a significant and increasing part of the energy mix in many countries. Showing how the forecasts are interpreted and actually used, we suggest avenues for policy makers on how best utilizing meteorology in the unfolding energy transition through new, integrated meteorology and energy services.