Announcing the 2022 Best Paper Prize-winners

Clean Energy, with the support of the China Energy Group, is pleased to announce the Clean Energy Best Paper Prizes for 2022. The three prize-winners highlight important and forward-looking research to support a clean and low-carbon energy future.

First prize

Experimental performance analysis of an installed microgrid-based PV/battery/EV grid-connected system

Aziz Haffaf, Fatiha Lakdja1 and Djaffar Ould Abdeslam

Clean Energy, Volume 6, Issue 4, Pages 599–618, doi: 10.1093/ce/zkac035

Recent trend towards the use of distributed generation, such as solar photovoltaic (PV), solar-thermal energy, biomass and wind turbines, has led to the increasing use of hybrid poly-generation and microgrid systems to meet electricity needs, which is important from both sustainability and energy security perspectives. The performance of a grid-connected PV/battery/electric vehicle (EV) microgrid is analysed using experimental data with and without EV connection in terms of energy production, associated emissions, PV output power, energy yield, feed-in power and self-consumed energy.

Second prize

A model to determine soiling, shading and thermal losses from PV yield data

S. Ghosh, J.N. Roy and C. Chakraborty

Clean Energy, Volume 6, Issue 2, Pages 372–391, doi: 10.1093/ce/zkac014

Installed solar PV systems do not always produce the design power output. Why not? This study shows how to estimate real-time power losses. Soiling, shading and thermal losses are calculated for a 30-kWp PV plant using measured performance data combined with measured transmittance loss of glass coupons installed near the plant. Using time-series data, the energy losses corresponding to soiling, shading and temperature effects are calculated by using a numerical-integration technique. The monetary loss due to these energy losses thus obtained provides criteria for deciding when to mitigate the sources of these losses.

Third prize

Performance comparison of mono and polycrystalline silicon solar photovoltaic modules under tropical wet and dry climatic conditions in east-central India

Niranjan Singh Baghel and Nikhil Chander

Clean Energy, Volume 6, Issue 1, Pages 165–177, doi: 10.1093/ce/zkac001

What is the best type of PV module for a specific climate? In climates with large seasonal changes, long-term testing is needed. The performance of polycrystalline-Si and monocrystalline-Si PV panels is compared over a 6-month period in the tropical wet and dry climatic conditions of Raipur, India. The monocrystalline-Si PV panel displayed more efficiency, a higher performance ratio and a higher specific yield than the polycrystalline-Si PV panel.

The 2022 Clean Energy Best Paper Prizes were awarded to the most outstanding research article submitted to Clean Energy between 1 June 2021 and 30 September 2022. Eligible papers were judged by the Clean Energy Editorial Team. (Papers authored by employees of, or other persons connected to, China Energy Group or Oxford University Press were not eligible.)

Energy is crucial for prosperity and development as well as playing a key role in driving innovation. The transition of the world energy mix from fossil fuels towards renewable energy will take time. Clean Energy’s mission is to highlight the importance of the clean utilization of fossil energy, renewable energy and increased energy efficiency as key elements to achieve an economically and ecologically sustainable future.

Many other important papers on clean energy continue to be published in Clean Energy. We invite you to visit the journal to read all the contributions for 2022 and beyond.

Previous winners

Emergence of blockchain-technology application in peer-to-peer electrical-energy trading: a review

Manish Kumar Thukral

Clean Energy, Volume 5, Issue 1, Pages 104–123, doi: 10.1093/ce/zkaa033

Design and simulation of a 1-GWp solar photovoltaic power station in Sudan

Sohaib Nasr Mohamed Abdalla and Hakan Özcan

Clean Energy, Volume 5, Issue 1, Pages 57–78, doi: 10.1093/ce/zkaa030

Performance analysis of a floating photovoltaic covering system in an Indian reservoir

Nagananthini Ravichandran, Nagavinothini Ravichandran and Balamurugan Panneerselvam

Clean Energy, Volume 5, Issue 2, Pages 208–228, doi: 10.1093/ce/zkab006

Hourly modelling of thermal hydrogen electricity markets

Jared Moore and Noah Meeks

Clean Energy, Volume 4, Issue 3, Pages 270–287, doi: 10.1093/ce/zkaa014

Reversible solid-oxide cells for clean and sustainable energy

M.B. Mogensen, M. Chen and H.L. Frandsen, et al.

Clean Energy, Volume 3, Issue 3, Pages 175–201, doi: 10.1093/ce/zkz023