Nanotechnology Applications for Solar Energy Systems

12 Recent Advances in the Simulation of Solar Photovoltaic Cell Cooling Systems Using Nanofluids

Javad Mohammadpour and Fatemeh Salehi^*

School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia^* Corresponding author

12.1 Introduction

Growing world energy demand has led to a rapid depletion of fossil fuels. Burning conventional fuels intensifies carbon dioxide emissions, causing adverse effects such as greenhouse gas, air pollution, and global warming [1]. Despite the rapid depletion of fossil fuels and global warming, many rural regions (for example, 45% of rural regions in India) remain deprived of electricity [2]. Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, and hydrogen are potential alternatives to conventional energy resources. The sun provides renewable, sustainable, abundant, and cost-competitive energy [3]. Photovoltaic (PV) cells are a promising self-sufficient technique for converting solar energy to electricity which has been able to draw attention from governments to support academia and industry through research funds and incentive schemes [2]. Although solar PV panels come with higher capital costs compared to other renewable energy sources, they offer lower operational and maintenance costs [4].

The transition to fully renewable energy is expected to intensify the global competition for potential land. However, many tropical regions are still waiting to be harnessed for large-scale PV solar farms to meet global energy demand in the foreseeable future. ...