Photovoltaic Technology for Hot and Arid Environments

Brahim Aïssa is a senior scientist at the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI). He earned his PhD with highest honors from INRS-EMT in Canada, then joined QEERI in 2014. In collaboration with the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, he participated to hit, twice, the new world record for power conversion efficiencies in quasi-mono silicon solar cells. He published over 180 refereed papers, three books, and holds many patents, and has numerous international awards and fellowships including the NPI award from European Space Agency.Nouar Tabet is a professor in the Physics Department and Dean of the college of Science at the University of Sharjah, United Arabic Emirates. His research interests include solar cells, defects in semiconductors and oxides, thin films, nanostructured materials, X-ray, electron and ion spectroscopies. He published more than 120 journals papers, edited and authored books, and won numerous awards. Previous positions include chief scientist at Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), visiting scientist at Berkeley National Laboratory and MIT, USA, and rector of the University of Constantine in Algeria.

• Chapter 1: Solar energy resources and harvesting technologiesChapter 2: Solar cell fundamentalsChapter 3: Thermodynamics of solar energy conversionChapter 4: Solar cell technologiesChapter 5: PV module technology and energy yield under desert environment conditionsChapter 6: Bifacial solar technology and module installationChapter 7: Photostatic soiling in desert environmentChapter 8: Desert PV applicationsChapter 9: PV systems in Australia: market evolution and performance in desert applicationsChapter 10: Conclusions, learned lessons and outlook into the future