This paper surveys recent progress in solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, concentrating on fresh materials, higher efficiencies, and new use cases. Rising energy demand and accelerating climate impacts make affordable, clean solar power ever more vital. We compare well-established silicon panels with emergent options like perovskite and thin-film cells, weighing each systems efficiency, drawbacks, and life-cycle footprint. The review also considers advanced designs-multi-junction devices, bifacial modules, and building-integrated PV (BIPV) that push performance beyond heritage architectures. Together, these innovations are finding homes in residences, offices, farms, and even vehicles. Yet hurdles persist: grid fit, uneven policy support, and end-of-life waste remain pressing issues. Drawing on recent studies and comparative statistics, we propose actionable pathways for wider adoption and stronger governance around the world.

Very Large Floating Structures (VLFS) have emerged as promising offshore solutions for energy production and logistics in the context of global decarbonization. However, despite extensive technical literature on their engineering feasibility, there remains a lack of strategic and comparative assessments that evaluate how VLFS can be effectively deployed in emerging economies, particularly in regions characterized by ultra-deepwater resources, regulatory complexity, and capital constraints, such as the South Atlantic and Brazil’s pre-salt province. This gap limits informed decision-making regarding which VLFS-based energy pathways are most viable for supporting the energy transition. This study addresses this problem by developing an integrated strategic assessment of VLFS applications for offshore transformation of natural gas into blue hydrogen, blue ammonia, and methanol. The methodology combines a systematic literature review with a SWOT analysis grounded in empirical and conceptual evidence, followed by a weighted multi-criteria decision framework based on sixteen technical, economic, environmental, regulatory, and social criteria. Criteria weights were assigned through structured expert consultation, enabling a semi-quantitative comparison of the three technological alternatives under Brazilian offshore conditions. The results indicate that, while all pathways present strategic opportunities, blue ammonia achieves the highest overall performance, particularly in the most heavily weighted criteria of greenhouse gas reduction and economic viability. Its advantages in storage, transport, market maturity, and alignment with Brazil’s domestic fertilizer demand position it as a lower-risk and more immediately deployable option compared to blue hydrogen and offshore methanol. The study concludes that VLFS-based blue ammonia production represents a strategically robust pathway for monetizing offshore gas while advancing decarbonization in the South Atlantic. The novelty of this work lies in moving beyond engineering-focused VLFS studies by integrating strategic management tools, expert-weighted criteria, and regional context into a transparent comparative framework. This approach provides actionable insights for policymakers and investors and offers a replicable methodology for evaluating offshore energy transition infrastructures in other Global South regions.

The evacuation of bulk electrical power over long distances can be done mainly by high voltage alternating current (HVAC) transmission systems. However, where there are large water bodies and long distance between the generation source and demand centres like most islands in European countries, high voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission is gaining more traction and is proving to be a sustainable solution. Regarding the distance between HVDC and HVAC, the break-even threshold in terms of cost is approximately 600 - 800 km for overhead line systems (OHLs) and 40 - 70 km for systems with cables. The global thirsty to harness the renewable energy sources is diverting the attention towards efficiency and flexibility of power transmission. Traditional HVAC systems are being quickly replaced with HVDC systems in various parts of the world. This report highlights the significance of modern HVDC power transmission networks, topologies, converter varieties, contrasts, and main equipment associated with HVDC systems. Through the use of HVDC converters, renewable energy sources (RES), such as offshore, onshore, coastal wind farms and photovoltaic power plant can be linked to the current existing AC grids. Although the difficulties associated with the upcoming DC grids are also highlighted, the views on multi-terminal HVDC systems and DC grids are also outlined.

The current microgrids are experiencing growing difficulties in voltage stability and operational capacity, particularly with constant power loads (CPLs), leading to negative impedance behavior and probability of voltage collapse. Although there are notable improvements in both conventional and smart control strategies, there is still a research gap, namely creating a framework of control that facilitates stability precision and quick adaptation to operation alterations without augmenting the computational load and the operational risks. The current work was based on the creation of a mathematical model based on state equations to model the dynamics of a system, as well as the application of a numerical simulation environment to test the performance of three control modes: MPC, RL, and an environment of a hybrid (hereafter referred to as Hybrid MPC -RL) framework. The approach involved the creation of an MPC algorithm where prediction horizons are brief, and the incorporation of a DRL algorithm into the structure of a hybrid regime that can switch or combine the two strategies based on operating conditions. The findings indicated that on average the DC bus voltage was about 46.7 V compared to the reference of 48 V with a standard deviation of 2.98 V and the current was between 4.09 and −3.97 A with an average of about zero. The data on working indicated that the system used MPC 99.7% of the time and 0.3% in the hybrid mode, without any use of RL alone. This proves the reliability and consistency of MPC, the adaptability of DRL, and the effective combination of these two approaches. The scientific feature of this paper is the addition of a hybrid framework that combines MPC and DRL in an adaptive safety mechanism that leads to high stability in CPL conditions and improves the efficiency of operation over the traditional control.

The efficient management of solar energy requires controllers capable of maximizing the power extracted from photovoltaic panels while ensuring optimum battery protection. This article presents the results of the design, realization and experimentation of a solar controller integrating a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technique. This regulator is based on a Buck-Boost DC-DC converter with the SEPIC (Single Ended Primary Inductor Converter) configuration, designed to lower and raise voltage as required, to ensure efficient charging. To evaluate the effectiveness of the design, the regulator’s performance was analyzed by implementing a prototype, and experimental tests show that the system works well.

This paper presents a new integrated design of solar-powered roads and an inductive charging system that would be specifically tailored to the unique climate conditions of the Gulf region. This study suggests a new multi-layered adaptive infrastructure model that alters the traditional road surfaces into intelligent energy-producing platforms with unparalleled resilience to the desert environment. The suggested system will feature state-of-the-art dust-repellent nanotechnology coating, thermally responsive photovoltaic materials with improved temperature coefficients as well as a revolutionary modular power management system that adapts dynamically to the surrounding environmental conditions. This study provides a rough evaluation of the performance of the proposed system in different conditions, based on climate data, traffic rate, and current infrastructure in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Based on the conclusions, it becomes evident that the presence of high solar resources in the Gulf region and the sustainability of development emphasis of GCC countries can precondition the good conditions under which this type of infrastructure will be implemented, and potential energy generation can be estimated at 1.2 - 1.8 MWh per kilometer of road per day under the optimum conditions. The study also provides groundbreaking solutions to the issue of durability in the arid desert setting, which introduces dedicated engineering solutions to resolve the challenges of the environment.

This present research work focuses on the valorization of pig droppings for production of biogas in mono digestion and co-digestion with proportions of cow dung from the urban commune of N’Zérékoré. It was carried out in December 2020 in the Physics laboratory of the University of N’Zérékoré. The anaerobic digestion process took 25 days in an almost constant ambient temperature of 25˚C. Five digesters were loaded on 12/06/2020, two of which with 1 kg of pig dung and 1 kg of cow dung both in mono-digestion. The 3 other digesters in co-digestion with different proportions of pig manure and cow dung. The substrate in each digester is diluted in 2 liters of water, with a proportion of (1/2). The main results obtained are: 1) the evolution of the temperature and pH during digestion process, 2) the average biogas productions 0.61 liters for (D1); 1.20 liter for (D2); 1.65 liter for (D3); 1.51 liter for (D4) and 1.31 liter for (D5). The cumulative amounts of biogas are respectively: D1 (7.95 liters), D2 (15.60 liters), D3 (21.50 liters), D4 (19.65 liters) and D5 (17.05 liters). The total cumulative production is 81.75 liters at the end of the process. The originality of this research work is that the proposed model examines the relation between the daily biogas production and the variation of temperature, pH and pressure. The combustibility test showed the biogas produced during the first week was no combustible (contains less than 50% methane). Combustion started from the biogas produced from the 15th day and it is from the 20th day that a significant amount of stable yellow/blue flame was observed. The results of this study show the combination of pig manure and cow dung presents advantages for optimal biogas production.

Energy in its varied forms and applications has become the main driver of today's modern society. However, recent changes in power demand and climatic changes (de-carbonization policy) has awakened the need to rethink through the current energy generating and distribution system. This led to the exploration of other energy sources of which renewable energy (like thermal, solar and wind energy) is fast becoming an integral part of most energy system. However, this innovative and promising energy source is highly unreliable in maintaining a constant peak power that matches demand. Energy storage systems have thus been highlighted as a solution in managing such imbalances and maintaining the stability of supply. Energy storage technologies absorb and store energy, and release it on demand. This includes gravitational potential energy (pumped hydroelectric), chemical energy (batteries), kinetic energy (flywheels or compressed air), and energy in the form of electrical (capacitors) and magnetic fields. This paper provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of some of the state-of-the-art energy storage technologies, its evolution, classification, and comparison along with various area of applications. Also highlighted in this paper is a plethora of power electronic Interface technologies that plays a significant role in enabling optimum performance and utilization of energy storage systems in different areas of application.

In recent years, there has been global interest in meeting targets relating to energy affordability and security while taking into account greenhouse gas emissions. This has heightened major interest in potential investigations into the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycles. Climate change mitigation is the ultimate driver for this increased interest; other relevant issues include the potential for high cycle efficiency and a circular economy. In this study, a 25 MWe recompression closed Brayton cycle (RCBC) has been assessed, and sCO2 has been proposed as the working fluid for the power plant. The methodology used in this research work comprises thermodynamic and techno-economic analysis for the prospective commercialization of this sCO2 power cycle. An evaluated estimation of capital expenditure, operational expenditure, and cost of electricity has been considered in this study. The ASPEN Plus simulation results have been compared with theoretical and mathematical calculations to assess the performance of the compressors, turbine, and heat exchangers. The results thus reveal that the cycle efficiency for this prospective sCO2 recompression closed Brayton cycle increases (39% - 53.6%) as the temperature progressively increases from 550˚C to 900˚C. Data from the Aspen simulation model was used to aid the cost function calculations to estimate the total capital investment cost of the plant. Also, the techno-economic results have shown less cost for purchasing equipment due to fewer components being required for the cycle configuration as compared to the conventional steam power plant.