Spectral Characteristics of Solar Radiation: Applications in Photovoltaic Conversion

Viorel Badescu is Professor of Engineering Thermodynamics and affiliated with Candida Oancea Institute at Polytechnic University of Bucharest, in Romani. He has contributed over 300 papers and 40 books related to various fields in science and engineering. His research interests include terrestrial and space solar energy applications, including photo-thermal energy conversion by flat plate collectors and solar power plants, the physics of radiation, photovoltaic conversion of solar energy and solar radiation properties, and solar radiation distribution and forecasting. Prof. Badescu has been associate editor or editorial member of several international journals, including Space Power, Energy, Renewable Energy, and the Journal of Energy Engineering, and acts as a reviewer for more than 50 international journals. He is a member of the Romanian Academy and various other scientific societies, and has received 4 scientific awards, including the Romanian Academy Prize for Physics in 1979.

Marius Paulescu is Professor at the Faculty of Physics, West University of Timisoara, in Romania. He completed his habilitation in 2016 with a thesis on the estimation and forecasting of output power of PV systems. His research interests include physics of radiative transfer in the atmosphere, solar radiation modeling and forecasting and photovoltaic conversion of solar energy. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 1 book, and 7 book chapters, all in the fields of solar radiation and photovoltaics. Prof. Paulescu has recently directed three research projects dealing with solar energy modeling and forecasting, and was part of the Management Committee of the large-scale COST Action Performance and Reliability of Photovoltaic Systems. In 2015, he received the Romanian Academy “Anghel Saligny Prize for the book ‘Weather Modeling and Forecasting of PV System Operation’. He is a member of the Renewable Energy Committee of the Romanian Academy and the International Solar Energy Society.