How technology is reshaping solar panel infrastructure
Oct 2024
Shelly CarrollOct 2024
Shelly Carroll)
Solar power presents undeniable potential for sustainability, affordability and energy, and its global ascent shows no signs of slowing down. A technological revolution is underway, fueled by innovations that promise to fundamentally reshape the landscape.
Solar infrastructure—once a nebulous goal of environmentalists—now offers a viable alternative to shrinking fossil-fuel reserves and pollution-inducing power plants. This transformation extends beyond installing panels and inverters; it represents a fundamental shift, underscored by cutting-edge technologies and digital transformation. Aerial imagery and location-intelligence tools support installation processes by meticulously mapping the landscape and identifying optimal solar resource locations.
Perovskite solar cells come with significantly lower manufacturing costs and provide a higher solar conversion efficiency than traditional silicon cells. Smart tracking systems, guided by the sun’s path, maximize sunlight absorption and set a new standard for energy use. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms can be utilized to predict energy needs, manage grid integration and ensure seamless operation in minutes.
As solar-power technology continues to advance, location intelligence promises to shine an even brighter light on the benefits of solar infrastructure, and the path to prime society for a cleaner and more energy-secure future that will serve generations to come.
From cells to solar farms: the history of solar infrastructure
The history of solar infrastructure advancement illustrates just how far the technology has come—and how long humanity has been working to reach this point. Today’s solar power and the infrastructure that supports it is the culmination of centuries-long attempts to harness it.
Early attempts at directly employing the sun’s energy were rudimentary, but the invention of the photovoltaic (PV) cell in 1839 marked a turning point, making it possible to convert sunlight into electricity. Physicists and other luminaries continued to improve upon the PV cell for more than a century until the 1954 invention of the silicon solar cell by Bell Labs. The silicon solar cell offered significantly higher efficiency, paving the way for solar energy’s practical applications. Driven partially by a response to rising oil prices and the lowering cost of solar-panel production, the 1970s and 1980s saw the rise of rooftop solar installations.
At the turn of the 21st century, a new era of solar infrastructure was ushered in, characterized by the emergence of large-scale, grid-integrated “solar farms” that harness and store the sun’s energy to power communities. These facilities offered economies of scale, improved efficiency and attracted significant investment, leading to a dramatic increase in solar-energy generation.
However, despite these advancements, the evolution of solar was met with several roadblocks. For many years, the cost of manufacturing and installing solar panels was prohibitively expensive, making it inaccessible to the average consumer and less competitive than fossil-fuel alternatives. Early solar farms often required substantial tracts of land, raising concerns about land use and the potential environmental impact. Nevertheless, the historical evolution of solar infrastructure demonstrates remarkable progress in the solar industry, and the future promises even more transformative advancements in technology and deployment.
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The solar boom: where we stand today
As solar energy use increases in the ongoing shift away from fossil fuels, the energy industry is experiencing unprecedented levels of growth. The solar boom isn’t limited to a single region, either, with solar now being used to power homes, businesses and grids of up to 2,245 megawatts. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, cumulative installed solar PV power capacity surpassed a staggering 1,046 gigawatts in 2023 globally. The industry is flourishing, and substantial government incentives for adoption will make solar power increasingly more widespread and competitive.
The solar-energy industry’s growth is supported by technological advancements that encourage adoption by making clean energy more accessible and customizable. Of these technologies, rooftop systems lead the charge. These panels offer the advantage of decentralization, reducing reliance on traditional power plants and bolstering energy independence.
Another factor fueling solar energy growth is the uptick in utility-scale solar farms stretching across sizable landscapes. Solar farms generate ever-increasing amounts of clean power, often at competitive prices, making them ideal for bulk electricity generation. Experts are hopeful conditions soon will allow the United States to transition away from an over-reliance on coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory speculate that aggressive cost reductions, supportive policies and large-scale electrification could support solar-power technology accounting for as much as 40 percent of the nation’s electricity supply by 2035 and 45 percent by 2050.
Despite technological developments and supportive policies, integrating solar power into existing grids remains challenging. The sun offers intermittent availability, and storage options can be costly and take up significant space. For instance, solar panels operate at reduced power output on cloudy days, creating a need to store excess energy. Solar batteries, the most-common storage method, are affordable and effective for decentralizing power. In addition, mechanical-energy storage methods such as flywheels, pumped hydro and compressed air generate electricity for commercial uses. Although solar batteries typically are the least-expensive and space-efficient option, all storage options can be costly and prohibitive to solar-power adoption. Fortunately, ongoing advancements in battery technology and smart-grid solutions are rapidly paving the way for a smoother transition.
As solar energy becomes increasingly accessible, demand will continue to rise, and the current integration challenges will continue to be addressed on an ongoing basis through research and development.
Taking flight: aerial imagery and location intelligence take center stage
The solar industry is reaching new heights thanks to the powerful duo of aerial imagery and ML. These visually informative tools transform how solar projects are planned, built and managed, leading to greater efficiency and minimizing solar projects’ environmental impact. Instead of relying on time-consuming, ground-based surveys, developers now benefit from high-resolution aerial imagery that provides an 18,000-foot view of the world below. These image captures reveal crucial details such as roof dimensions and tilt, shading patterns, and potential obstacles.
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High-resolution aerial images, when coupled with advanced location intelligence, can significantly assist contractors in selecting the most-suitable sites for solar panels. This data help developers pinpoint the ideal spots for installation, optimizing energy production and conserving land usage. For instance, location intelligence can rapidly assess a large area of land for a solar farm within hours, identifying potential challenges such as power lines or sensitive ecological zones that would ordinarily take weeks to discover through physical surveys. Furthermore, beyond aiding in site selection, the combination of aerial imagery and location intelligence can help developers identify opportunities to integrate disparate infrastructure, such as solar-powered streetlights equipped with sensors that adapt to real-time traffic patterns.
At the heart of modern location-intelligence innovation lies AI, which analyzes these aerial images to create detailed maps highlighting the optimal layout for panels and ensures maximum sunlight exposure as well as heightened environmental awareness. Developers can use these insights from location intelligence, aerial imagery and AI to verify property details and surrounding areas remotely. Viewing current roof conditions, panel requirements, access points and wiring distances from their desks, developers can reduce construction time, lower costs and ultimately minimize the physical footprint of solar farms.
With the surge in potential customers, solar providers will invariably face the challenge of scaling their operations while managing projects with easily accessible and highly accurate insights. Equipping development teams with these tools can prove instrumental in streamlining processes and enhancing operational efficiency.
Building the future: technologies shaping solar infrastructure
The wave of technologies transforming solar panels and the corresponding infrastructure is now harnessing solar energy more efficiently than ever. One such technology is the perovskite solar cell, a type of solar cell made from inexpensive materials. Perovskite solar cells are cheaper to manufacture than traditional silicon-based cells and are more efficient in solar conversion, contributing to lower panel installation and infrastructure costs that, in turn, lead to increased production of solar-power technology.
Solar technology appropriately takes a page from nature, as flower beds are the original solar-powered communities. Smart tracking systems resemble the movement of sunflowers as they follow the sun’s direction, dynamically adjusting panels throughout the day to maximize sunlight capture and reduce energy waste.
Products such as these contribute to the efficiency of increasingly sophisticated solutions. For example, energy-storage solutions such as advanced batteries and pumped hydro are used to store excess energy when the sun dips below the horizon. This is crucial for grid stability, ensuring a reliable flow of clean power day and night. AI and big data are also part of the mix, analyzing weather patterns, energy consumption and panel performance to optimize energy management and grid integration. The collaboration among these various technologies creates an ecosystem where homes and businesses automatically adjust their energy use based on real-time data, seamlessly balancing supply and demand.
Considering the current direction of progress, it’s safe to assume that future communities will feature responsive, self-sustained homes and businesses. For example, the solar energy industry is counting the days until transparent solar panels are common fixtures on building facades. Glass surfaces then become conduits of the sun’s energy to power heating, cooling and electrical systems, which effectively transforms structures into miniature power plants. The benefits provided to infrastructure-development teams by these technologies will play an important role in bringing this vision of the future to fruition.
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Sun-powered sustainability: the ripple effect
Aerial imagery, location intelligence and AI are shaping the future of solar energy and paving the way for a cleaner, more-sustainable tomorrow. Transitioning from excessive reliance on conventional energy sources to solar power can significantly decrease carbon emissions, a major contributor to intensifying climate change.
With a reduction in carbon emissions comes cleaner air, leading to healthier communities and enhanced quality of life. By replacing pollution-heavy energy sources, solar power directly contributes to a substantial reduction in carbon emissions. This decrease in air pollutants leads to cleaner, healthier air as well as lower rates of respiratory conditions and other health issues often linked to poor air quality such as asthma and lung disease. In addition, the mitigation of climate-change impacts associated with carbon emissions, such as extreme weather events and heatwaves, also enhances community wellbeing and safety. The shift to solar energy therefore not only represents an environmental necessity but also a pathway toward safer, healthier communities.
Unlike traditional power plants, solar energy conserves precious resources such as water and promotes a circular economy through responsible panel recycling. If society were to follow circular-economy principles, solar panels could be recycled, restored and reused on an ongoing basis. This has the potential to translate into more than 17.7 megatons of raw materials being recycled from solar PV panel waste by 2050—a value of nearly $9 billion.
The advancements in solar technology and the tools that facilitate their adoption empower city managers, commercial builders and stakeholders with the insights to design for long-term economic, environmental and equitable impacts for a more-sustainable community.
Solar energy creates new green jobs in manufacturing, installation and maintenance, boosting local economies and fostering innovation. This shift toward energy independence empowers communities, particularly in remote areas, to break free from the volatility of fossil-fuel markets and generate their own electricity.
Localized power generation also strengthens the grid, reducing reliance on centralized infrastructure and enhancing energy security. The key to maximizing these benefits lies in supporting technologies such as perovskite solar cells and location intelligence that ease the transition toward a sun-powered future.
As climate change and its impacts on society intensify, so does the urgency to adopt sustainable solutions. The interconnectedness of technologies such as aerial imagery, AI and ML promises a future where sustainability does not exist in a microcosm. It will be a tangible reality for all.
Reprinted with permission from the September 5, 2024 edition of Informed Infrastructure published by V1 Media, LLC. ©2024. All Rights Reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.