Energy Generation Capabilities Research Articles

Ion‐Impregnated Intermediate Layer for Enhancing Triboelectric Nanogenerator Performance

AbstractThe triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is gaining recognition as a highly promising, eco‐friendly self‐powered device for the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). To improve the performance of TENGs, diverse materials are employed as interlayers. However, challenges related to cost and stability persist. Herein, a strategy that incorporates ion‐containing electrolyte polymers as interlayers is presented. This approach effectively mitigates charge decay and maximizes TENG efficiency by leveraging the high charge capacitance of the ionic electric double layer (iEDL). The incorporation of iEDL into TENG results in an approximate tenfold increase in current density (10–92 mA m−2) and a 13‐fold increase in power density (2–26 W m−2). The robust energy generation capabilities of iEDL‐TENG enable the operation of 100 LED lights and the charging of a 470 µF capacitor. Furthermore, the demonstrated device exhibits significant stability across 10,000 operational cycles and effectively maintains its performance when subjected to external physical forces such as blade‐induced cuts, penetrating wounds, and severe crumpling.

Energy exchange optimization for a building-to-building grid: A non-cooperative game-theory method

The growing demand for green energy solutions has led to an increase in innovative distributed energy generation (DEG) architectures, such as buildings with photovoltaic (PV) generation and energy storage systems (ESS). In these distributed grids, buildings with renewable energy generation capabilities can exchange surplus energy to optimize overall system efficiency, increase their profit, and reduce reliance on the main grid. This paper proposes a game-theory method to optimize energy exchange within a building-to-building (B2B) grid. The proposed method formulates the energy exchange problem as a non-cooperative game, where each building owner aims to maximize their welfare by strategically determining their energy trading decisions, including pricing. The game-theory approach considers energy supply and demand, ESS capacity, and cost considerations, including ESS degradation cost. The proposed approach is demonstrated through simulations, showing significant improvements in cost savings compared to building-to-grid (B2Grid) alternatives. Three cases are compared: (1) B2B grid without considering ESS, (2) B2B grid with ESS without considering the ESS degradation cost (ideal case), and (3) B2B grid with ESS considering the ESS degradation cost. The results show the potential of the proposed game-theory in optimizing energy exchange within the B2B grid with daily and operational hours saving of 2.12−6.37 % and 4.57−165.93 %, respectively.

Comparative performance evaluation of ground-mounted and floating solar PV systems

The global shift towards sustainable energy sources, driven by the need to reduce carbon emissions and ensure energy sustainability, has shifted from traditional fuel-based energy generation to a surge in interest in Renewable Energy Technologies such as Solar Photovoltaic. Solar Photovoltaic energy has the potential to mitigate carbon emissions and achieve energy security that is in line with Sustainable Development Goals but challenges such as land requirements and system efficiency persist. This study compares the performance of ground-mounted and floating solar Photovoltaic systems at the Bui Generating Station in Ghana. The findings reveal that floating PV systems have several superiorities over ground-mounted systems, including lower temperatures, higher energy generation capabilities, and more efficient area cover use. However, floating PV systems are also prone to aluminium frame corrosion of the Photovoltaic modules and other metallic components within the mounting structures, which could be mitigated through design modifications. The superior performance of floating Photovoltaic systems suggests their viability as a strategic tool in achieving renewable energy targets. As floating Photovoltaic technology advances, it promises to create a greener and more resilient energy landscape.

Efficiency Comparison of Floating, Ground, and Rooftop Solar Systems: Environmental and Social Impacts of Floating Solar Grids

The global fossil fuel shortage and environmental concerns underscore the imperative for transitioning to renewables. Developing nations like Sri Lanka are prioritizing green technologies, notably solar energy, to bridge the gap between current usage and its substantial potential. This study compares technical efficiency among floating, ground, and rooftop solar in Sri Lanka. Analyse local perceptions of floating solar. Assess the environmental impact and sustainability of floating solar systems in Sri Lanka. This study compares the energy production efficiency of floating solar, ground solar, and rooftop solar systems in Sri Lanka. This study compares the technical efficiency of floating, ground-mounted, and rooftop solar systems. Kilinochchi, chosen for floating solar, a nearby ground solar site facilitates a direct comparison, and Mass Vidiyal in Kilinochchi represents rooftop solar. The study strategically gathers data from inverters to assess performance metrics. The goal is a representative analysis, minimizing solar irradiance variations for accurate comparisons. Conducting a literature review to analyse the environmental impact of floating solar systems, drawing insights from past published research papers, and A socio-economic survey was conducted among the local community to assess the socioeconomic viability of a proposed floating solar plant near Chandrika Lake. The survey considered factors such as job creation, local employment opportunities, skill development, and alignment with national energy policies. Floating solar systems were found to have the highest energy generation capability and efficiency, followed by rooftop solar systems, while ground-mounted solar systems had lower energy output. The advantages of floating solar systems over ground-mounted systems were significant (43.69% advantage) and outperformed rooftop solar systems (30.81% advantage). According to the survey, stakeholder engagement and mitigation measures were identified as crucial, considering concerns related to water quality, safety, fisheries, agriculture, and the aesthetic value of the lake This study highlights technical efficiency, socioeconomic viability, and environmental impact of solar systems in Sri Lanka, emphasizing responsible deployment. While floating solar exhibits energy efficiency, addressing altered water flow and aquatic habitat concerns through mitigation measures is crucial for sustainable implementation.
 
 Keywords: Solar energy, Floating solar, Environmental impact, Social impact, Renewable energy

Thermodynamic and exergoeconomic optimization of a new combined cooling and power system based on supercritical CO2 recompression Brayton cycle

Combined cooling and power (CCP) systems have received global attention for their fuel-saving benefits, energy efficiency, and energy generation capabilities. Our research introduces a new and unique CCP system, which utilizes nuclear power. This is achieved through integrating a supercritical carbon dioxide recompression Brayton cycle (SCRBC) with a bottoming cycle, consisting of an absorption power cycle (APC) and a booster-assisted ejector refrigeration cycle (BERC), to simultaneously produce cooling and power. Our research analyses the thermodynamic, exergoeconomic, and comparative aspects of the stand-alone SCRBC and the proposed SCRBC/APC-BERC system. We then conduct a comprehensive parametric analysis to investigate the effects of nine decision variables on the energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, and total cost rate of the proposed system. The proposed SCRBC/APC-BERC system and stand-alone SCRBC system are also optimized based on multiple criteria, including energy utilization factor (EUF), exergy efficiency, and total product unit cost, using Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software. Our results demonstrate that the exergy and energy efficiency of the SCRBC are enhanced using the APC-BERC, and there is also a significant improvement in exergoeconomic performance. In addition, the reactor and sCO2 turbine are identified as the primary and secondary crucial components, respectively, in terms of exergoeconomics. Our analysis shows that the proposed system demonstrates a 12.56% increase in exergetic efficiency while reducing the total product unit cost by 6.32% compared to the stand-alone SCRBC system, which is significantly higher than similar studies in the literature, highlighting the potential of our proposed system.

3D-printed conducting polymer hydrogel-based DC generator for self-powered electromechanical sensing

Self-powered electromechanical sensing has gained considerable attention for its potential to transform diverse applications, such as wearable electronics, robotics, artificial intelligence, and environmental monitoring. One promising technology emerging in this field is additive manufacturing of conductive hydrogels as elementary component for energy harvesting/storage, enabling robust, flexible, and biocompatible sensor devices. In this study, we demonstrate a continuous 3D printed conductive hydrogel-based energy harvesting device with triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) architecture. Leveraging the feature of direct-current (DC) energy generation upon mechanical stimulation, the device is capable of self-powered sensing operations. The DC energy generation mechanisms are discussed with the consideration of multiple physiochemical factors. Notably, the printed 3D architected conductive hydrogel (3D-ACH) exhibits robust mechanical properties, providing high flexibility with over 50% compressive strain. Additionally, we explore its performance as a pressure/strain sensor to achieve self-powered sensing capabilities. The combination of 3D-printed conductive hydrogels and energy generation capabilities represents a promising approach towards achieving self-powered sensing capabilities.

Data-base Hydrodynamic Coefficients Interpolator for Control Co-Design of Wave Energy Converters

Ocean waves store an enormous amount of energy that is still untapped. Several wave energy converter (WEC) prototypes have already been suggested by different developers, but none of these prototypes has demonstrated economical viability, meaning that none of them is ready to compete in the energy market against other energy sources.
 In order to improve the economical viability of WECs, two main actions have been identified: (i) the energy absorption capability of the devices must be enhanced, for which the design of advanced energy maximising control strategies is crucial; and (ii) cost reduction is a key action, meaning that more reliable prototypes must be designed with an economic perspective. In the traditional design process, the most critical aspects of WECs, the floater, the power take-off system, and mooring lines, are optimised based on the energy absorption capabilities and the loading on critical elements under a simplified control strategy: commonly, an unconstrained passive resistive control. Once the design is determined, an advanced control strategy is developed for that design to maximise energy absorption and generation capabilities.
 However, the implementation of more advanced control actions significantly alters the behaviour of the device, substantially enhancing its motion. As a consequence, the pre-defined system may not suit the behaviour of the WEC under such control strategies. As a solution to this design imbalance, the control strategy is adapted so that it can extract the maximum energy allowed by the design, which is far from optimal. However, it is likely that the characteristics of the design include unnecessary overdesigns.
 To avoid such problems, an alternative design approach has been suggested, which articulates the information about advanced control actions from the early stages of the design: Control co-design (CCD). The design of the WEC can be decided considering the behaviour of the device under the final control actions. However, analysing and redesigning geometry variations within a CCD loop requires a recomputation of hydrodynamic coefficients, which implies running a boundary element method (BEM) software at each iteration, which can render the computational demand of the CCD optimisation loop prohibitive. In that case, the only solution may be reducing the resolution of the BEM simulation in order to make the CCD optimisation numerically feasible. Another potential solution is computing an extensive pre-defined hydrodynamic coefficient database covering all the potential geometry variations in advance or having a reduced database combined with an interpolator. 
 The present paper suggests an efficient solution for the computation of hydrodynamic coefficient in CCD loops, which avoids the need for using BEM methods in CCD schemes. Based on an advanced data-based interpolation model for identifying the hydrodynamic coefficients for any variation of a base case geometry. To that end, the interpolation model is provided with hydrodynamic data for an extended base case, including the coefficients for the base case geometry and a limited range of expected variations. Based on this extended space, the data-based interpolator provides accurate information on any variations beyond the original base case, significantly reducing the computational cost of the CCD approach.

Hybrid biomass, solar and wind electricity generation in rural areas of Fez-Meknes region in Morocco considering water consumption of animals and anaerobic digester

High dependence of Morocco's energy sector on imported fossil fuels and subsequent associated expensive import bills, as well as global agreements with greenhouse gas emission reduction, has motivated Morocco to utilize renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind, and solar for energy generation. However, in recent years, the use of wind and solar energies in Morocco has accelerated more than hydropower usage because of the reduction in water levels as a result of rainfall drop, global warming, and natural droughts. Morocco has a great potential for electricity generation from solar and wind energies because of many sunny days, vast desert areas, long coastlines, and appropriate wind blow. However, accommodations of wind and solar generating units in electric power systems are difficult because of wind speed variations, solar irradiation uncertainty, and costly energy storage systems. Regarding the huge amounts of biowaste in Morocco, power generation from biomass can resolve this problem and compensate for the decrease in wind and solar energy generation during cloudy, rainy, and/or non-windy moments. Therefore, in the present paper, the capability of hybrid electric energy generation, using biomass, wind, and solar in a Moroccan village of Tazouta and the rural area of Fez city is evaluated. The proposed mixed-integer linear programming model was implemented in A Mathematical Programming Language (AMPL) using a linear solver of CPLEX. The biomass, solar, and wind power plants are biogas units fed by cow manure, 1-kW photovoltaic (PV) modules, and 5.1-kW wind turbines, respectively. The evaluation of the results indicates that hybrid utilization of wind, PV, and biomass energy resources is a more appropriate way for electricity generation in Tazouta and Fez rural areas compared to the individual operation of wind turbines and other combinations of mentioned renewable energy sources.

High penetration of electric autorickshaw on national power system and barriers against the adoption of solar energy: A case study in Bangladesh

Peak hours' electricity demand is linearly related to carbon emission in fossil fuel-dominated power generation systems like in Bangladesh. Electric autorickshaws are becoming a burden for the national power system as their charging time coincides with the national peak hours. Solar electrification of the light-duty transportation sector is the focus of this work. This study identifies the uncontrolled growth of electric autorickshaws and their power consumption time as an alarming load for the national power system. To analyze the utilization of solar potential to reduce peak hours’ demand and identify the barriers underpinning the implication of solar potential in the autorickshaw sector are also the aim of this study. The results show that approximately 4660 MWh of electricity is consumed by autorickshaws in Bangladesh per day instead of the potentialities of approximately 23,000 MWh of solar energy generation capabilities per month in this sector. Cabalistic and plausible reasons behind not implication of solar potential in the autorickshaw sector are also analyzed. This study might be helpful for the related authorities in reducing peak demand and also solving the barriers responsible for not utilizing the solar potential.

Brief Study on Installation of Floating Solar Power Plant for Sustainable Energy Generation at Ladakh

The need for sustainable power generation is well understood by human kind, which has encouraged several initiatives across government, private, community and individual level to move towards a clean-renewable energy based sustainable environment. As compared to urban and semi urban region, rural and remote areas exhibit high levels of pollution from individual power generation systems like diesel generators for agriculture and other day to day activities. Particularly, electricity supply to some remote locations have always remained a challenge owing to various factors such as connectivity, transmission losses and weather conditions. Installation of local power generation systems has several advantages in providing electricity supply to these locations. Renewable energy harnessing systems using solar, wind, and geothermal energy sources may have higher chance of ease of installation and efficient operation at remote locations compared to conventional steam or thermal power plants. Leh, Ladakh is one such remote region, highly dependent on small hydro power stations and diesel generators for its energy demand. The low temperature climatic conditions, increasing tourism and recreational activities in this region demands high energy, exerting pressure on the common electricity supply chain. This article aims to conduct a preliminary study on the potential sites available for installing floating solar power plants and estimation of energy generation capability at Ladakh region.

Vector Control-Based Energy Management System for Switched Reluctance Starter/Generators

This paper presents a novel active power control scheme for SRMs that are used as S/G units at MEAs; the proposed method uses a vector-controlled SAF, facilitating the acceleration of the SRM during starter mode and the efficient power control of the SRG at various operational points during generator mode. Moreover, an energy storage unit is incorporated in the SAF, aiming at enhancing the SRM's starting torque production and taking full advantage of the SRG's energy generation capability, through the appropriate phases’ magnetization regulation that is imposed by the developed adaptive SAF vector control. In addition, the proposed scheme provides enhanced FRTC during both modes of operation. The mathematical analysis is verified through MATLAB/Simulink simulations, while the performance of the S/G concept under study is evaluated via real-time CHIL tests, with the use of the dSPACE 1202 (MicroLabBox) platform and the 16-bit dsPIC30F4011 microcontroller.

Energy matrices evaluation of a conventional and modified partially covered photovoltaic thermal collector

Partially covered photovoltaic thermal collector (PVT-C) unit has the capability of generating high thermal energy/exergy and a meaningful electrical energy. This study is aimed to modify the traditional unit of PVT-C to improve energy, exergy, and electrical energy generation capability by replacing a flat absorber plate with a wavy absorber plate. A wavy absorber plate is integrated with the partially covered PVT-C unit (PVT-WPC unit) and compared with the partially covered PVT-C unit having a flat absorber plate (PVT-FPC unit). These two units are compared with the yearly values of overall energy and exergy generation capability at an airflow rate of 0.03 kg/s. This work aims to reveal the viability of the modified unit in terms of energy matrices. The findings reveal that the partially covered PVT-WPC units generate 1%, 10.9%, and 14.9% higher yearly net electrical energy, overall energy, and overall exergy than the partially covered PVT-FPC unit. In terms of yearly overall energy and overall exergy, the partially covered PVT-WPC units have achieved 8.7% and 12.5% lower energy payback time (EPBT) and 10.9% and 14.9% higher CO2 mitigation as compared to the partially covered PVT-FPC unit.

Low cost climate station for smart agriculture applications with photovoltaic energy and wireless communication

Measuring climatic conditions is a fundamental task for a wide array of scientific and practical fields. Weather variables change depending on position and time, especially in tropical zones without seasons. Additionally, the increasing development of precision or smart agriculture makes it necessary to improve the measurement systems while widely distributing them at the location of crops. For these reasons, in this work, the design, construction and fabrication of an adaptable autonomous solar-powered climatic station with wireless 3G or WiFi communication is presented. The station measures relative humidity, temperature, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, wind speed, and light radiation. In addition, the system monitors the charge state of the main battery and the energy generated by the photovoltaic module to act as a reference cell for solar energy generation capability and agrivoltaic potential in the installation area. The station can be remotely controlled and reconfigured. The collected data from all sensors can be uploaded to the cloud in real-time. This initiative aims at enhancing the development of free and open source hardware that can be used by the agricultural sector and that allows professionals in the area to improve harvest yield and production conditions.

Solar tracker transcript—A review

Review transcript presents copious solar tracking methods to investigate their output potential and also outline tracker type, construction, cost, and design parameter. The solar follower systems encompassed five classifications based on the tracking methods are active, passive, semi-passive, manual, and chronological tracking are also reviewed with their application and feasibility. These all method-based research paper are compared on the basis of complexity of circuit, cost, tracking based on (radiation or astronomical equation), degree of freedom, control strategy, accuracy, energy intact, power or energy gain, tracing error, and panel efficiency. Basically, one axis and two axis sun following system review revels compare study against stable system which addressed their suitability and capability of maximum energy generation and MPPT technologies.

A Reinforcement Learning Approach for User Preference-Aware Energy Sharing Systems

Energy Sharing Systems (ESS) are envisioned to be the future of power systems. In these systems, consumers equipped with renewable energy generation capabilities are able to participate in an energy market to sell their energy. This paper proposes an ESS that, differently from previous works, takes into account the consumers' preference, engagement, and bounded rationality. The problem of maximizing the energy exchange while considering such user modeling is formulated and shown to be NP-Hard. To learn the user behavior, two heuristics are proposed: 1) a Reinforcement Learning-based algorithm, which provides a bounded regret and 2) a more computationally efficient heuristic, named BPT- K, with guaranteed termination and correctness. A comprehensive experimental analysis is conducted against state-of-the-art solutions using realistic datasets. Results show that including user modeling and learning provides significant performance improvements compared to state-of-the-art approaches. Specifically, the proposed algorithms result in 25% higher efficiency and 27% more transferred energy. Furthermore, the learning algorithms converge to a value less than 5% of the optimal solution in less than 3 months of learning.

Tumor-Targeting Multifunctional Nanoprobe for Enhanced Photothermal/Photodynamic Therapy of Liver Cancer.

Numerous researchers have committed to the development of combined therapy strategies for tumors, since their use in the treatment of tumors has more ideal therapeutic outcomes. In the study, we designed and prepared gold nanostars with CD147 modified on the surface and then efficiently loaded a photosensitive drug IR820 to construct a multifunctional nanoprobe. Due to the protection effect of gold, the nanoprobe has oxygen/heat energy generation capability and can also efficiently deliver the loaded drugs inside the tumor cells. Moreover, the nanoprobe has excellent photothermal/photodynamic therapeutic outcomes. The observation by photoacoustic real-time imaging validated the outstanding tumor-targeting characteristics of our nanoprobe. Finally, in the in vivo treatment experiment, the nanoprobe achieved ideal tumor-suppressive effects after the photothermal/photodynamic therapy. In summary, the findings of this experiment are useful in the development of new combined tumor therapy strategies based on nanomaterials.

Design and characterization of an amplitude-limiting rotational piezoelectric energy harvester excited by a radially dragged magnetic force

In order to avoid the damage of piezoelectric vibrator due to excessive deformation during resonance, an amplitude-limiting rotational piezoelectric energy harvester excited by a radially dragged magnetic force was presented in this paper. The amplitude-limiting device consisted of two springs and a wedge cam to limit deformation of the piezoelectric vibrator. Simulation analysis and tests were carried out to obtain the influence of system parameters on the response characteristics of the piezoelectric vibrator. The results showed that the amplitude-limiting device could effectively limit the maximal deformation and output voltage of the piezoelectric vibrator. The maximum generated voltage increases with the increases of the wedge cam lift, but the optimum speed range decreases. The effective speed range increased with the decreasing number ratio of exciting magnets and the rising spring stiffness. Moreover, a combination of a high-stiffness return spring and a low-stiffness buffer spring is helpful to enhance the effective speed range and to decrease the fluctuation of output voltage. Therefore, the energy generation capability and bandwidth of the energy harvester could be effectively improved through reasonable parameter matching. Under the load resistance of 40 kΩ, the maximal output power of 2.3424 mW is achieved at the rotating speed of 183.7 rpm.

Investigating extraterrestrial bodies as a source of critical minerals for renewable energy technology

The Paris Agreement set a goal of limiting the Earth’s average temperature increase in order to reduce the threat of climate change. Fundamental to achieving this goal will be a large global increase in renewable energy generation and storage capabilities, particularly photovoltaic cells, wind turbines, batteries, and fuel cells. However, an often overlooked aspect of a large scale shift to renewable technologies is the increasing demand this creates for the mineral resources used in their manufacture. Some of these minerals have high-risk supply chains that threaten their production, resulting from various economic, social, geopolitical and geological factors. These important and high risk minerals are known as critical minerals. Many of these critical minerals are abundant in extraterrestrial bodies, and the possibility of extracting resources in space is now closer to reality than ever. With the potential to avoid many of the risks associated with their supply on Earth, combined with the current push towards renewable energy; an evaluation of extraterrestrial bodies as a resource to meet the demand for critical minerals is timely.A set of eight critical minerals/mineral groups used in the manufacture of renewable energy technologies were identified in this study through an extensive literature review: lithium, gallium, selenium, silver, indium, tellurium, rare earth elements, and platinum. The potential of extraterrestrial bodies, namely the Moon and near-Earth asteroids, as a source of these critical minerals is investigated. We find that asteroids are likely to provide an important source of platinum, selenium, and gallium, and to a lesser extent, of silver, indium and tellurium. The case for extracting lithium and the rare earth elements from extraterrestrial bodies is less compelling. It is clear from this study that a reduction in the environmental and social impacts of producing these critical minerals is necessary. A strategy to extract minerals from extraterrestrial bodies would be a valuable step in achieving this.

Modeling the energy-dynamic modes of a wind farm with a battery energy storage system (BESS)

The article presents the resultsof mathematical modeling of the energy-dynamic processes of a wind farm which includes a battery energy storage system (BESS). The dependence between load capacity and energy generation capabilities of the active set of a wind power plant taking into account the energy capacity of BESS has been determined. A mathematical model of the BESS has been developed. The elaborated model is compared with two other models: a black box module and a model based on equivalent circuit model. The application of the developed model provides an opportunity to optimize the energy capacity of BESS for the specified parameters and modes of operation of the wind power plant. Using the obtained results expands the possibilities of the adequate management of energy-dynamic modes of energy systems with renewable energy sources, provides mitigation of transition processes in conditions of insufficient or excessive wind speeds and consumer loads.

Optimization of the Active Composition of the Wind Farm Using Genetic Algorithms

The article presents the results of research on the possibilities of using genetic algorithms for solving the multicriteria optimization problem of determining the active components of a wind farm. Optimization is carried out on two parameters: efficiency factor of wind farm use (integrated parameter calculated on the basis of 6 parameters of each of the wind farm), average power deviation level (average difference between the load power and energy generation capabilities of the active wind farm). That was done an analysis of publications on the use of genetic algorithms to solve multicriteria optimization problems. Computer simulations were performed, which allowed us to analyze the obtained statistical data and determine the main optimization indicators. That was carried out a comparative analysis of the obtained results with other methods, such as the dynamic programming method; the dynamic programming method with the general increase of the set loading; the modified dynamic programming method, neural networks. It is established that the average power deviation for the genetic algorithm and for the modified dynamic programming method is located at the same level, 33.7 and 28.8 kW, respectively. The average value of the efficiency coefficient of wind turbine used for the genetic algorithm is 2.4% less than for the modified dynamic programming method. However, the time of finding the solution by the genetic algorithm is 3.6 times less than for the modified dynamic programming method. The obtained results provide an opportunity to implement an effective decision support system in energy flow management.