An Insight of Digital Technology's Role in the Solar Energy Sector and Its Implications for Sustainable Energy Generation

Energy is a fundamental and indispensable aspect of human existence. Renewable energy supplies are environmentally sustainable and naturally abundant. The rise of the energy crisis in the 21st century is triggering a gradual inclination towards renewable energy resources as non-renewable energy resources are depleting and are no longer sufficient to meet the energy demand. Energy consumption is multiplying year by year due to modernisation, the fast growth of the populations, the expansion of industrialisation, and so on. Solar energy has been recognised as a leading renewable energy resource and is playing a significant part in this transformation because of the multiple advantages it presents over other renewable energy sources. Renewable energy resources are still in the development stage, and they still present several limitations that can be mitigated by incorporating digital technology into the existing systems. Achieving high efficiency and effective management, control, and monitoring of the solar systems is the main focus in the solar energy sector. Digitalisation, with all the technological packages that it incorporates, is leading the transition of the solar energy sector towards a better future and overcoming some of the limitations to meet the expectations of renewable energy resources. This research work presents some of the roles and applications of digital technologies in solar systems and the multiple business opportunities that they offer for better understanding and to help develop a digital mindset among solar power stakeholder groups. Also, the exploration of some limitations of digitalisation in the "solar energy" sector and possible solutions are discussed. All of these will be elaborated on through multiple case studies for better understanding.