Fossil Fuels Environmental Challenges and the Role of Solar Photovoltaic Technology Advances in Fast Tracking Hybrid Renewable Energy System

The rise in global urbanization comes with sustainable development challenges, especially in lower-middle-income countries. In response to these urbanization and energy challenges, this study focuses on the roles of energy materials (EMs) advances on community-scale hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES). The study proposes the integration of energy material (EM) R&D into HRES (EMR&D-HRES). The study examines the economic benefits and the environmental and health consequences that trail the deployment of fossil fuels. Special attention was given to SSA, a region that—accommodates the highest population without modern energy; emits the least CO₂ to the global CO₂ emissions and yet endangered by climate change challenges and air pollution diseases. The study includes global responses to energy challenges, such as increase alternative energies share, with special attention to solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation technologies; policy framework; HRES and effects of PV materials advances on HRES. This study is of the view that a further breakthrough in the production of low-cost flexible thin film PV modules will facilitate energy trilemma accomplishment. The exploitation of the attributes of atomic layer deposition in manufacturing of thin film is seen as a potential future production technique, suitable for efficient flexible thin-film PV module production.