SunPower: A Path Toward Strategic Development

SunPower Corporation is an American organization working in the solar energy sector specialized in power generation and solar energy storage. This case highlights the strategic growth path of SunPower corporation, which originated as an outcome of effective solar cells production. This case also discussed how the energy sector considers solar energy the vital energy source, and solar energy organizations grow to capture the energy demand. The case also highlights the various consolidations of SunPower in terms of different mergers and acquisitions as essential strategies to succeed. The case also discusses the competitors’ strategy of the top five solar power generation and storage firms, which give a clear view of how different solar firms are building their space in the solar energy sector. With competitors’ discussion, this helps to understand the challenge faced by SunPower to beat the competition among the other solar firms. In the end, the case focused on the ongoing and future strategic choices of SunPower as SunPower Corporation.

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Phase Change Materials (PCM) for Solar Energy Usages and Storage: An Overview

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12163167 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (16) ◽

pp. 3167 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

M. Mofijur ◽

Teuku Mahlia ◽

Arridina Silitonga ◽

Hwai Ong ◽

Mahyar Silakhori ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Solar Energy ◽

Phase Change ◽

Energy Use ◽

Phase Change Materials ◽

Solar Power ◽

Water Heating ◽

Commercial Development ◽

Solar Power Generation ◽

And Storage

Solar energy is a renewable energy source that can be utilized for different applications in today’s world. The effective use of solar energy requires a storage medium that can facilitate the storage of excess energy, and then supply this stored energy when it is needed. An effective method of storing thermal energy from solar is through the use of phase change materials (PCMs). PCMs are isothermal in nature, and thus offer higher density energy storage and the ability to operate in a variable range of temperature conditions. This article provides a comprehensive review of the application of PCMs for solar energy use and storage such as for solar power generation, water heating systems, solar cookers, and solar dryers. This paper will benefit the researcher in conducting further research on solar power generation, water heating system, solar cookers, and solar dryers using PCMs for commercial development.

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Photogalvanic cells: comparative study of various synthetic dyes and natural photo sensitizers present in spinach extract

RSC Advances ◽

10.1039/c4ra08373c ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 4 (86) ◽

pp. 46194-46202 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Pooran Koli

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Solar Power ◽

Synthetic Dyes ◽

Storage Devices ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

Solar Power Generation ◽

Spinach Extract ◽

And Storage

Photogalvanic cells (PG) are dye sensitized solution based solar power generation and storage devices.

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Study on a New Solar Thermal Energy Complementary Power Generation System Based on Gas-Steam Combined Cycle

ASME 2019 Power Conference ◽

10.1115/power2019-1814 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Duan Liqiang ◽

Lv Zhipeng ◽

Wang Zhen

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Solar Energy ◽

Thermal Efficiency ◽

Combined Cycle ◽

Energy Utilization ◽

Solar Thermal ◽

Solar Power Generation ◽

Cycle System ◽

Solar Energy Utilization ◽

New System

Abstract The integrated solar energy-driven chiller combined cycle system (SCCC) has a problem of low annual solar energy utilization. The solar thermal efficiency and power output of the traditional integrated solar combined cycle system (ISCC) are limited by the integrated solar mirror field area and Rankine cycle efficiency. This paper presents a new system, on the basis of the combined cycle system with the three pressure HRSG with reheat, the solar energy is integrated into the chiller for cooling the compressor inlet air of gas turbine and the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) for increasing the power output simultaneously. The Aspen Plus, TRNSYS and EBSILON softwares are applied in this paper to build the models of the overall system. The solar thermal efficiency, annual solar power generation and annual solar thermal efficiency are used to evaluate the performances of the new system, the traditional ISCC system and SCCC system. During the summer solstice, the proportions of solar energy used in cooling and heating are set as 40% and 60% in new system, respectively. The research results show that the new system has a higher power output (406.37MW), thermal cycle efficiency (53.61%) and solar thermal efficiency (48.85%) compared with the traditional ISCC system (385.63MW, 51.67%, and 24.43%, respectively) at the design point. The new system can regulates the proportions of solar energy used in the chiller and HRSG based on the monthly meteorological data, in order to maximize the annual solar energy utilization and annual solar power generation. The new system’s annual solar energy utilization hours (2071h) and solar power generation (25.863GW·h) are far greater than those of SCCC system (1498h, 18.185GW·h, respectively). Therefore, the proposed new system with the simultaneous integrations of solar energy with both the chiller and HRSG not only greatly increases the utilization rate of solar energy, but also has the significant thermodynamic advantages.

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China’s roadmap to low-carbon electricity and water: Disentangling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity-water nexus via renewable wind and solar power generation, and carbon capture and storage

Applied Energy ◽

10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.10.087 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 235 ◽

pp. 31-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Mahdi Sharifzadeh ◽

Raymond Khoo Teck Hien ◽

Nilay Shah

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Carbon Capture ◽

Solar Power ◽

Carbon Capture And Storage ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Solar Power Generation ◽

And Storage

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Simultaneous electrochemical solar power generation and storage using metanil yellow-formic acid as a new sensitizer-reductant couple in photogalvanic cells

RSC Advances ◽

10.1039/c8ra10014d ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (13) ◽

pp. 7560-7574

Author(s):

Pooran Koli ◽

Yashodhara Dayma ◽

Ramesh Kumar Pareek

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Formic Acid ◽

Solar Power ◽

Solar Power Generation ◽

Lower Curve ◽

Metanil Yellow ◽

And Storage

Variation of the pH. (1) Current vs. pH (lower curve); (2) power vs. pH (upper curve).

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The impacts of generation efficiency and economic performance on the solar power generation and storage scale: An empirical analysis of 20 countries

Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments ◽

10.1016/j.seta.2021.101084 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

pp. 101084

Author(s):

Huijie Zhou ◽

Yan-Kai Fu ◽

Nan Li ◽

Chi Zhang ◽

Fangfang Zhang

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Empirical Analysis ◽

Economic Performance ◽

Solar Power ◽

Generation Efficiency ◽

Solar Power Generation ◽

And Storage

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Comparison between China and the United States in Solar Energy Development

Studies in Engineering and Technology ◽

10.11114/set.v4i1.2578 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 131 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jack Fuller ◽

Yang Guo

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Power Generation ◽

Solar Energy ◽

Solar Power ◽

Research Effort ◽

The United States ◽

Energy Development ◽

Economic Effects ◽

Solar Power Generation ◽

Generation Capacity

The popularity and importance of solar power generation in the United States and China continues to increase. This research effort investigated the present status of solar power generation in both countries. The solar installation incentives provided by the two governments were analyzed. Comparisons between the countries would also focus on: (1) solar electricity generation capacity, (2) solar energy policy comparisons, (3) economic effects of solar energy development, and (4) future solar energy challenges. Conclusions would then be discussed on the comparison topics.

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Solar energy, wind energy and storage for the electricity grid of today and tomorrow

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/201911900020 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 119 ◽

pp. 00020

Author(s):

Filippo Spertino ◽

Alessandro Ciocia

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Solar Energy ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Primary Objective ◽

Electricity Grid ◽

Simulation Results ◽

Electrical Consumption ◽

And Storage ◽

National Consumption

Photovoltaic (PV) generators and wind turbines (WT) are, nowadays, the most used technologies for power generation. This paper has the primary objective to explain the reasons of this success, in the present and in the future. Secondly, in this paper, an estimation of PV-WT percentage share of the electrical consumption is provided, according to a case study of power generation in southern Italy. The simulation results demonstrate that the PV-WT share can exceed the 40% threshold, considering about 10% of the national consumption located in a region where sun shines and wind blows generously.

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Short Survey of Architectures of Photovoltaic Arrays for Solar Power Generation Systems

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14164917 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (16) ◽

pp. 4917

Author(s):

Alexander Abramovitz ◽

Doron Shmilovitz

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Solar Energy ◽

Capital Investment ◽

Solar Power ◽

Energy Generation ◽

Green Energy ◽

Solar Power Generation ◽

Photovoltaic Arrays ◽

Short Survey ◽

Power Generation Systems

Since the industrial revolution, the world’s economy has mainly relied on the consumption of fossil fuels. The burning of coal releases vast amounts of toxic COx greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere that bear an undesirable environmental impact. The ongoing offshore oil exploration activities; the infrastructure for oil extraction, production, and transportation; and the inevitable oil spills cause severe damage to the environment and huge loss of sea life, flora, and fauna. Recent awareness of the environmental issues and the worldwide climate change spurred public interest in clean and environmentally friendly “green” energy generation. Solar energy is an abundant and inexhaustible resource that can meet much of the worlds’ energy needs and, thus, has been in the focus of scientific attention for many years. Yet, converting solar energy into usable electric power is a formidable engineering and economical challenge. The recent environmental awareness triggered governments and private companies around the world to encourage further research and capital investment into the development and deployment of efficient and cost-effective solar technologies. This review reports on advances in the technological approaches that can be employed to convert sunlight to electricity. This article presents a short survey of the state-of-the-art architectures of photovoltaic arrays and a review of the concepts and strategies of their associated electronic power processors for solar energy generation. The paper aims to be of assistance to engineers and scientists who are already engaged or just joining this fascinating field, to promote the knowledge of photovoltaic energy and facilitate the proliferation of the solar power generation systems.

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