# A Review on Solar Energy Utilization and Projects: Development in and around the UAE
## 1 Introduction
Figure 2 shows several materials that have been worked out to increase efficiency in PV devices over the past 5 decades, which reaches 46% in four-junction concentrated solar cells [30; 31]. Efficiency is not constant since it is impacted by various external conditions, most notably the intensity of sunshine [32; 33; 34]. Figure 1: Population status by year in UAE. Reprinted from Ref. [18] with permission from Elsevier (Copyright 2018). PV panels are often inefficient at absorbing all available energy from sunlight due to design, geographic position, and varying solar intensity throughout the day. In terms of the geographic position of the installation location, the UAE is situated between 22\({}^{\circ}\)30\({}^{\prime\prime}\) and 26\({}^{\circ}\)10\({}^{\prime\prime}\) north latitude and 51\({}^{\circ}\) to 56\({}^{\circ}\)25\({}^{\prime\prime}\) east longitude, suggesting that it receives a significant amount of solar energy [36]. Solar tracking system (ST) technologies have been established in recent years to improve the quantity of solar energy captured from the sun. ST is currently classified into two basic varieties based on their movements: single-axis trackers (those that rotate around one-axis) and double-axis trackers (those that spin around two-axes). These devices have lately demonstrated a significant improvement in efficiency on both clear and overcast days, as well as being more environmentally friendly and economically feasible [36]. When compared to fixed traditional PV systems, a single-axis tracker's energy return commonly approaches 25%, while a double-axis tracker's energy return often exceeds 40%. Furthermore, while many people still question the efficacy of single-axis trackers, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [37] have shown that they may achieve substantial energy gains, gathering up to 56% more if particular design and control approaches are implemented. When compared to optimally tilted panels, double-axis trackers yielded an energy gain of 20.4% annually [38], whereas incomparable research [39] yielded a yearly energy gain of 43.9%. Meanwhile, while evaluating the performance and economic advantages vs. environmental circumstances of a double axis ST, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [40] reported a 13.25% improvement in energy gain over an equal size-fixed PV system. Several other researchers have investigated the performance of single and double-axis trackers, showing a 35% energy increase for double-axis trackers over single-axis trackers [35; 41; 42]. In the past, several other reviews have been published, including [PERSON] et al. [3] who deals with energy production, consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions in the UAE. The nuclear and solar energy sources in the UAE were studied by [PERSON] et al. [43], in which integrated hydrogen production and thermodynamic analysis were details analyzed based on these sources, and [PERSON] and [PERSON] [44] investigated future power production options for the UAE, focusing on concentrated solar power (CSP) with thermal energy storage and solar photovoltaic (PV). An overview of greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector in the UAE was studied by [PERSON] et al. [45]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [46] investigated the possibilities of rooftop solar PV in the growth of the UAE's energy grid. [PERSON] et al. [18] investigated predictions of the UAE's renewable energy mix in 2030. Figure 2: Efficiency of solar cell materials. Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [35] (CC BY-SA 3.0). To the best of our knowledge, no detailed evaluations of solar energy resources have been published throughout the United Arab Emirates' seven emirates. The goal of this article is to provide an in-depth examination of current solar energy research and operations in the UAE.