Spectral Characteristics of Solar Radiation

Viorel Badescu is Professor of Engineering Thermodynamics and affiliated with Candida Oancea Institute at Polytechnic University of Bucharest, in Romani. He has contributed over 300 papers and 40 books related to various fields in science and engineering. His research interests include terrestrial and space solar energy applications, including photo-thermal energy conversion by flat plate collectors and solar power plants, the physics of radiation, photovoltaic conversion of solar energy and solar radiation properties, and solar radiation distribution and forecasting. Prof. Badescu has been associate editor or editorial member of several international journals, including Space Power, Energy, Renewable Energy, and the Journal of Energy Engineering, and acts as a reviewer for more than 50 international journals. He is a member of the Romanian Academy and various other scientific societies, and has received 4 scientific awards, including the Romanian Academy Prize for Physics in 1979. Marius Paulescu is Professor at the Faculty of Physics, West University of Timisoara, in Romania. He completed his habilitation in 2016 with a thesis on the estimation and forecasting of output power of PV systems. His research interests include physics of radiative transfer in the atmosphere, solar radiation modeling and forecasting and photovoltaic conversion of solar energy. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 1 book, and 7 book chapters, all in the fields of solar radiation and photovoltaics. Prof. Paulescu has recently directed three research projects dealing with solar energy modeling and forecasting, and was part of the Management Committee of the large-scale COST Action Performance and Reliability of Photovoltaic Systems. In 2015, he received the Romanian Academy “Anghel Saligny” Prize for the book ‘Weather Modeling and Forecasting of PV System Operation’. He is a member of the Renewable Energy Committee of the Romanian Academy and the International Solar Energy Society.

• Part I: Spectral characteristics of solar radiation1. Spectral nature of solar radiation 2. Solar spectrum at the top of the atmosphere and total solar irradiance 3. Spectral solar irradiance measurements4. Radiative transfer through the atmosphere5. Spectral solar irradiance estimation under clear sky and energy applications6. Integration of spectral atmospheric transmittances: Parametric models for solar irradiance7. Quantifiers for the solar radiation spectrum signaturePart II: Impact of spectral distribution of solar radiation on PV performance8. Spectral characteristics of materials9. Physics of solar cells. Spectral nature of the solar cell current10. Spectral factors for PV technologies11. Spectrum modification for PV applications: Up-down conversion. 12. Colored solar cells: BIPV applications13. Effect of the spectral distribution of solar radiation on PV power production 14. Aerosol-induced changes in solar radiation spectrum and PV power production15. Combined spectral and weather effects on PV power production16. Impact of the climate change on PV power production