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The chapter will explore the growth and opportunities of small-scale local power generation and the implications for internet access for rural communities. Solar power has grown exponentially in the last decade across the world and has provided opportunities for the development of local energy communities and on microgrids across the world and in Europe.

The huge cost reductions experienced in solar and its relative mobile and flexible nature have made it a technology perfect for rural areas to develop their own sustainable source of electricity supply. The increasing rise of digital tools has coupled nicely with the advent of mass use of solar in rural areas and thus the connection between smart solar and smart villages has become increasingly a norm.

Rural communities in Europe have embraced solar technology, with many farmers using solar as a means to reduce their electricity costs and also generate new streams of income to improve their overall livelihoods. Some case studies from India, Germany, and Africa will be examined. Other experiences will also be considered, especially where double land use between solar technology and livestock has empowered rural communities.

Outside of Europe, Africa and Asia have also seen solar as a means to electrify remote rural villages. This has lead to the development of microgrids and new technologies that are less deployed in Europe, which are being rolled out for rural communities in the rest of the world. This has been particularly successful in creating smart rural communities as often digital communications have already reached these communities and thus power and telecoms are combining to provide clean and controlled power for millions in Africa. This chapter will also assess the growth of smart energy communities in non-traditional energy markets and determine what lessons we can learn from their experiences.

This chapter will examine other sources of renewable energy and the role that biogas, biomass, and others are playing in the creation of smart villages in Europe and beyond. Biomass has been the traditional tool for many rural communities to generate power and heat and thus an examination of how it now plays a role in smart villages is vital to understanding the energy transition we are experiencing in rural communities.

The environmental impact of energy supply is growing which has a significant impact on regional and global environmental issues. As a solution for this, both developed and developing nations paying attention to convert their energy productivity by using renewable energy like wind and solar energy. Sri Lankan government also aims to obtain the full amount of electricity required from local renewable sources by the year 2050 under the project called “sooryabala sangramaya” (the battle for solar energy). Currently, Sri Lanka’s power generation sector is heavily dependent on imported fuels, such as petroleum and coal, resulting in growing detrimental impacts on the country’s sustainable socioeconomic development. With the growing market of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, Sri Lanka is turning its attention towards generating the total amount of electricity required from solar power by promoting the installation of arrays of PV panels on the rooftops of households, religious places, hotels, commercial establishments and industries. It also aims to deploy solar PV for sustainable rural development, mainly focused on uplifting people living in remote areas in the country. This chapter discusses how Sri Lanka has initiated a rooftop solar PV adoption program to lessen imported fuels’ socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Moreover, this case demonstrates that the adoption of rooftop solar PV brings many socioeconomic benefits to its consumers.

This chapter seeks to place the Paris agreement on anthropogenic greenhouse gases (COP21) in a wider picture on how the global solar photovoltaic (PV) market has been created and shaped over decades. The chapter discusses the role of solar PV actors, as well as other actors in the market-shaping process. The aim is to show how the COP21 can be interpreted in a wider historical perspective.

The chapter builds on expert interviews conducted after the COP21, as well as secondary data on historical studies on evolution of solar energy markets in various countries.

Although scientists and entrepreneurs have been important in creating and shaping the global solar PV market, it is noted that other actors have also had an influence on the market development. Particularly, politicians are seen as playing a crucial role through legislation and funding. Unfortunately for the solar PV market, support has fluctuated over time. The COP21 provides a clear pathway for positive support, and it is expected to bind governments for pro-solar politics even during low prices of fossil fuels and economic downturn.

The chapter provides an overview of what has happened in the history of global solar PV market. It gives reasoning as to why the COP21 is important in securing support for the solar PV market. Thus, it can provide reasoning as to why the COP21 can make a difference.

This is the first academic study that portrays the COP21 against historical evolution of the global solar PV market.

This chapter provides an overview of the current status of renewable energy projects and identifies the key success factors of well-performing public–private partnerships (PPPs). To this end, this study analyses around 1,700 renewable projects on the World Bank’s Private Participation in Renewable Energy (PPRE) database. We then follow an inductive approach for a case review and examine a 5-MW rooftop solar PPP in Gujarat, India, that had been implemented in 2012. In spite of the rapid growth of renewable PPPs, regional disparity is distinct and most PPPs have been undertaken in Latin America and the Caribbean or a few selective countries such as China or South Africa. The case study informs that the successful PPPs may be attributed to such factors as policy coordination in multi-governance systems to attract project investments, the handling of land constraints in a project planning stage, and Green Incentive given to project participants. It offers a valuable insight into the significance of well-designed PPPs for enhanced energy access in developing countries, while accelerating the global transition to renewable-based energy supply to promote sustainable development.

This chapter examines the potential of solar energy for the development of sustainable tourism in Croatia. Tourism is an important economic activity in the Croatian economy due to the mild climate and many sunny days. Solar energy photovoltaic and thermal systems can help to support sustainable tourism, as well as increase employment and cooperation between local and national governments. This study compares best practices in solar energy for the Mediterranean countries of Italy, Spain, Cyprus, and Greece. The Mediterranean Basin is a strategic development area for the European Union, and solar energy will help to maintain its stability and high-quality standards of living.

The use of fossil fuels in developing countries places increasing economic, health, and environmental costs on the population. In decentralized and rural communities without existing grid systems, direct solar technologies provide the basis for electricity production, for water pumping and hot water, and for heating of houses. Examples and case studies for each of these direct solar technologies are presented which may be directly applicable or potentially modified for rural development in countries such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which have ample direct solar resources. Related design involving both daylighting and passive cooling are described as part of the incorporation of passive solar heating techniques.

This study has covered many types of solar-powered air-conditioning systems that may be used as an alternative to traditional electrically powered air-conditioning systems in order to reduce energy usage. Solar adsorption air cooling is a great alternative to traditional vapor compression air-conditioning. Solar adsorption has several advantages over traditional vapor-compression systems, including being a green cooling technology which uses solar energy to drive the cycle, using pure water as an eco-friendly HFC-free refrigerant, and being mechanically simple with only the magnetic valves as moving parts. Several advancements and breakthroughs have been developed in the area of solar adsorption air-conditioners during the previous decade. However, further study is required before this technology can be put into practise. As a result, this book chapter highlights current research that adds to the understanding of solar adsorption air-conditioning technologies, with a focus on practical research. These systems have the potential to become the next iteration of air-conditioning systems, with the benefit of lowering energy usage while using plentiful solar energy supplies to supply the cooling demand.

This chapter provides two case studies of online graduate student engagement where a community of learning is fostered using Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 2001) ecological systems theory. The first case study explores an online graduate Sustainability Science course where students were provided with a space in VoiceThread to create video blogs (vlogs) and to extend course content with dialogue based on their values, relationships, and perspectives on issues like environmental degradation, social justice, and quality of life. The second case study surveys an online graduate course in Solar Energy, Technology, and Policy. These students completed a scholar-practitioner interview assignment of a solar energy expert, professional, entrepreneur, or policymaker. Both vlogging and scholar-practitioner interviews engaged graduate students in all of Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 2001) ecological systems. For the vlogging assignment, the microsystem, mesosystem, and macrosystem were the most engaged; whereas for the scholar-practitioner interview assignment, the microsystem and exosystem were the most engaged. With respect to community building, both assignments fostered student-to-student interactions. The scholar-practitioner interview also fostered student-to-scholar-practitioner interactions, and, in some cases, student-to-alumni interactions. Innovative course assignments that engage professional, part-time graduate students with course content and other students, allow them to apply new knowledge, and broaden their professional connections are ideal.

Uzbekistan easily gets 300 days of sunshine a year, and is a natural choice for development of solar technologies and their implementation. Central Asia is working together to solve critical water problems including contamination and dry wells. This chapter addresses the need to find solutions for rural populations living in the shadow of the Aral Sea disaster, with poor quality drinking water and limited infrastructure. With assistance from generous government funding, the Institute for Solar Energy is developing new point-based solar desalinization and pumping technologies. Preliminary designs are promising and government support for raw materials mining and wafer production are growing. Domestic R&D and production ensures cost-effective dissemination options. The Institute houses both research and project management for all solar technologies and expects to field test prototypes within 2–3 years. Solar energy is a growing sector in the economy of Uzbekistan.

Research to find new energy source is still an intensive work by researchers in this field. One of the energy sources with no negative impact to environment is solar energy. Solar cell is used to convert solar energy to electrical energy. The electrically powered solar cell in direct current (DC) power is not suitable for our daily office equipment since they need the alternating current (AC) power. This research has succeeded in realizing a solar cell automation tool based on Arduino Uno with input from solar energy, from which output AC voltage can be used for the needs of household appliances and office equipments. Output power of this tool is approximately 700 W, which can turn on the lights, charge the hand phones, laptops, and so forth.