Digitalization of solar PV systems in the GCC countries: A comprehensive review on AI and IoT-driven approaches

This review investigates the integration of digital technologies within solar energy systems, including artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms, and Internet of Things implementations. The review seeks to examine fundamental solar energy mechanisms, investigate system challenges, and evaluate AI-driven digital solutions. It provides a thorough examination of artificial intelligence applications in maximum power point tracking and power forecasting. The implementation of solar energy systems is relevant in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, which receives large amounts of solar irradiance. Currently, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are investing in the digitalization of solar energy systems, with case studies involving UAV-based inspection systems that that report fault-detection accuracies above 95% within their own datasets and class definitions; absolute accuracy figures should therefore be read inside each study's stated test conditions. Future work should focus on addressing these challenges while exploring more sophisticated methods for improving solar energy systems.