Electricity Generation Facilities Research Articles

Plant-wide modeling and techno-economic optimization of a low-pressure microwave-assisted ammonia synthesis process with adsorption separation

Ammonia production has traditionally been done by using the Haber-Bosch process, that operates at extremely high pressure (200–300 bar), has a large carbon footprint, and requires significant energy. For ammonia to be used as a hydrogen carrier, it is desired that it is produced by using modular technologies under benign conditions, yet the economics remain commercially viable. This paper investigates a novel technology for ammonia synthesis by using a microwave-assisted low-pressure reactor. Microwave reactors are compact and can be readily modularized and started/shutdown thus making them ideal to be integrated with the electric grid or with regional/local renewable-based electric generation facilities. For separation of unreacted reactants from the product ammonia, if the traditional condensation separation technology used in the high-pressure Haber-Bosch process is used, then the separation process needs to be operated under cryogenic condition thus adversely affecting the economics. A solid sorbent based separation technology is investigated in this paper. A kinetic model for the microwave-catalytic synthesis process is used. An isotherm model is developed for MgCl2–Si adsorbent and used for modeling the dynamic adsorption-desorption cycle. A plant-wide model with heat and mass integration is developed. An economic model is developed and used for economic optimization by using an equation-oriented approach. Since the adsorption-desorption process is dynamic, for techno-economic optimization, a reduced order model for the key performance measures of the adsorption-desorption process as a function of its input and decision variable is developed under cyclic steady-state conditions. For the optimized MW-assisted process, the levelized cost of ammonia is $772/mt as opposed to $808/mt for the conventional Haber-Bosch process for a hydrogen price of $2.07/kg. The MW-assisted process is found to be economically viable in the US market if the hydrogen price is below $4/kg.

Integrated approach for geothermal exploration: Case study from Salar area (Afyonkarahisar, Turkey)

The intense investment demand in the geothermal sector in Afyonkarahisar province in recent years has enabled the utilization of geothermal waters such as district heating and greenhouse heating, electricity generation, and spa facilities and accelerated the exploration of new geothermal areas in the region. In this study, the Salar (Afyonkarahisar) region's geothermal potential was investigated using the mineralogy and geochemistry of hydrothermal alteration, hydrogeochemistry, and resistivity models obtained from magnetotelluric data. The Salar region is located within the Afyon-Akşehir Graben (AAG) and 10 km south of Afyonkarahisar province. The most important manifestations of the geothermal system are the geothermal water at temperatures of 25 °C and 31 °C obtained from the boreholes and hydrothermal alteration in Salar. Afyon volcanoclastics are reservoir rocks. Smectite and illite are the most important clay minerals in the hydrothermal alteration zones. The transformation from volcanic glass and alkali feldspar to smectite and illite reflects neutral-alkaline alteration conditions in felsic rocks. The clay minerals' stable isotopes (δD and δ18O) indicate hypogene conditions. Discharge temperature, electrical conductivity and pH of Salar region geothermal waters vary from 25 to 31 °C, 320–357 µs/cm, and 6.8, respectively. The Salar geothermal waters are Ca-(Na)-HCO3 type chemically. The electric resistivity models reveal shallow low resistivity (10 < ρ < 80 Ωm) layer related to the alluvium, Gebeceler formation, and Afyon volcanoclastics and deeper high resistivity (80 <ρ < 200 Ωm and ρ > 200 Ωm) layer based on Deresinek and Değirmendere formation respectively. The difference in electrical resistivity arises from the geothermal waters and hydrothermal alteration zones, influenced by the AAG tectonics.The stable isotopes (δD and δ18O) and alpha cristobalite geothermometer calculations indicate that the condition of the temperature in the active and fossil geothermal systems in the Salar does not change, and the condition of the temperature is between 44 °C and 112 °C.

Study of the relationship between the parameters of electromagnetic-acoustic transformation and the stress-strain state of the metal to solve the problem of remote monitoring of power equipment

The implementation of Russia’s energy strategy provides for the creation of an intelligent control system for active-adaptive electrical networks of the electric power complex, which contains a system for remote diagnostic monitoring of energy equipment, including metal load-bearing structures of electrical energy generation, transmission and consumption facilities. Promising in this regard is the use of a high-performance electromagnetic-acoustic method, which allows non-contact detection of metal defects and monitoring of their stress-strain state. But existing electromagnetic-acoustic diagnostic tools do not have sufficient sensitivity and information content to solve this problem. The article presents the results of experimental studies aimed at identifying and processing informative parameters of electromagnetic-acoustic transformation for the implementation of remote diagnostic monitoring of the stress-strain state and metal damage of power equipment. Based on the research results, it was proposed to use a frequency model formed as a result of spectral analysis of the electromagnetic-acoustic transducer signal as an integral parameter characterizing the state of the metal.

An Analysis of Electricity Generation, Supply, and Economic Growth in Selected SADC Countries

The study analysed electricity generation, supply, and economic growth in selected SADC countries. The study utilised panel data spanning from 1990 to 2020 collected from secondary sources such as the World Bank and International Energy Agency. The study conducted unit root tests, cointegration tests, optimal lags length criterion, panel ARDL, Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality and residual diagnostics tests. The results revealed that in the short run, electricity generation and supply are insignificant determinants of economic growth. However, in the long run, electricity generation and supply are significant determinants of economic growth in selected SADC countries. The study recommends restructuring and maintaining electricity generation facilities to boost economic growth in the region.

Model Predictive Control Based Energy Management System Literature Assessment for RES Integration

Over the past few decades, the electric power industry evolved in response to growing concerns about climate change and the rising price of fossil fuels. The usage of renewable energy sources (RES) rose as a remedy for these problems. The increased penetration of RES in the existing generation system increased the need for an intelligent energy management system (EMS) so that the system can operate in any possible circumstances. Many sectors of society, including the education sector, are working to realize the importance of this sustainable energy system. This paper reviews the process of selecting an efficient control technique for continuous power flow from different RES to meet the load demand requirement using an enhanced model predictive control (MPC)-based EMS framework. This EMS is a software platform to provide fundamental support services and applications to deliver the functionality needed for the effective operation of electrical generation and transmission facilities to ensure adequate security of energy supply at minimum cost. The centralized EMS with technical objectives focusing on power quality and seamless power flow can be achieved through dynamically enhanced MPC.

Suitability analysis for wind farm constructions in Yukon area

The development of science and technology has made people's quality of life better and better, and the mature use of electricity has made people's lives more convenient and faster. However, this has also led to a drastic increase in people's use of non-renewable energy such as coal and oil. In 2021, about 4,108 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) (or about 4.11 trillion kWh) of electricity were generated at utility-scale electricity generation facilities in the United States, about 546 million short tons (MMst) of coal were consumed. (EIA). In such situation, the exploitation and use of renewable energy becomes significantly urgent and necessary. From 2008 to 2018, global installed wind power capacity grew by an average of 17.2% per year (BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020). On IRENA's (2019) transformation roadmap, to stay on the pathway of 1.5 °C warming, wind energy is projected to generate 35% of the total electricity demand by 2050. My study area for my research is in Yukon, it is in south part of Canada and contains 4.7 percent of total area. The aim of my project is to determine the suitability of Wind Farm Expansion and its Electric Applications Radiation for Yukon area. The method for the project is using reclassify analysis tool in order to find the suitability site for constructing the wind farms. 1. How Much of Each Energy Source Does It Take to Power Your Home. (2017, September 29). McGinley Support Services. https://www.mcginley.co.uk/news/how-much-of-eachenergy-source-does-it-taketo-power-your-home/bp254/2. CER – Provincial and Territorial Energy Profiles – Yukon. (n.d.).https://www.cerrec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/provincial-territorialenergyprofiles/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles-yukon.html3. Just a moment. . . (n.d.). https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Flow-Diagram-of-aWindTurbine-System-Here-1-Wind-Turbine-Converts-wind-energy- into_fig3_307906589

Needs for Portfolio Risk Assessment of Aging Dams in the United States

Dam failure can cause extraordinary flooding. Water and wastewater treatment plants, electricity generation facilities, bridges, highways, population centers, and other dams often lie downstream of a dam. If poorly maintained, aging dams can be overtopped by extreme rainfall events, and long-term loss of critical infrastructure services for many communities and regions may result. Such events are now more likely as the climate changes. How should we prioritize dams that need immediate attention and retrofit or remove them? Losses from a dam failure could exceed the infrastructure’s replacement costs, through cascading effects in multiple sectors such as electricity, transportation, water supply, and environmental services. The existing dam hazard classification frameworks in the US and many other countries do not formally characterize “hazard hotspots” considering these impacts. Given that there are over 90,000 dams at different stages of repair, maintenance, and budgetary constraints, a systematic approach is needed to rank their potential failure hazard and allocate resources for risk mitigation. In this paper, we synthesize an approach for preliminary ranking of the priority areas of concern. The approach is scalable over many regions for rapid assessment of magnitude and exposure of a dam failure. The estimation of the consequences of a dam failure, including its financial losses, as well as affected critical infrastructures and population, is explored using publicly available dam break and consequence tools as well as national infrastructure data sets.

Optimization models for the generation, distribution and transmission of electricity in a macroscopic system: Representation of operational regions as energy hubs

This work proposes two optimization models for the optimal management (generation, conversion and distribution) of electricity in a macroscopic system divided into geographical regions; the resulting model is applied to the national system for the distribution of electricity in Mexico. The formulations are based on the concept of an energy hub. The first model is a linear programming model which represents the operation of the system during one hour. It provides the optimal decisions to satisfy demands at minimum cost. Such a basic model is then extended into a mixed-integer linear multiperiod model (MILP) which is applied to a 24-hour scenario. Further, the MILP multiperiod model also considers the interactions among transmission regions existing in each of the geographical regions. In particular, this last model considers the regions of the National Transmission Network in Mexico as well as the available storage and the electricity generation facilities owned by the private sector. The MILP model consists of 21,773 constraints; its optimal results suggest that power plants operating with combined cycle contribute with 50 % of the power generation; hydroelectric power plants contribute with approximately 18 %. The current practical goal of 30 % of renewable energy generation can be achieved through the installed capacity.

Comparative analysis of bioenergy potential and suitability modeling in the USA and Turkey

Both estimation and evaluation of electric energy potential from biomass are quite important in terms of renewable energy aims and policies. Identification of suitable locations for biomass energy facilities carries significant benefits from the rich potential for bioenergy. In this context, the paper applies a novel methodology in two study areas, namely Boulder, Colorado, United States (USA) and Selcuklu, Konya, Turkey. First, the study calculates energy potential from animal manure (i.e., cattle and sheep) and agricultural residues (i.e., corn, wheat, and barley). Second, location suitability is obtained by means of a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based approach that exploits fuzzy logic and the Best Worst Method (BWM). The result for bioenergy potential shows that Selcuklu (for 2019) and Boulder (for 2017) have 10,834 kW and 1,406 kW installed capacity. Differences in the pattern of suitable locations are also apparent. Selcuklu shows a broad spatial distribution of good but relatively lower suitability scores, while Boulder’s scores are more localized and extremely high (approaching 0.99), due to differing patterns of steep terrain and to differing policies regulating green space. This information indicates that the electricity generation potential and facility location suitability for biomass energy clearly differ depending on differences in study area characteristics.

Biochar production from crop residues, its characterization and utilization for electricity generation in India

Post COP-15, the push is to reduce coal dependence for electricity generation and GHG emissions from the national electrical grid. Phasing out coal-based thermal power plants (TPPs) does not favour India's economic and social interests. Therefore, it becomes imperative to make coal-based power plants clean. Biochar derived from crop residues has been considered a clean fuel and an economical substitute for coal. The present study investigated the biochar potential of crop residues from rice, wheat, maize and sugarcane cultivation, accounting for 89% of total agro production, for coal replacement in TPPs using primary & secondary data and ArcGIS for mapping agro-residue collection point and TPP. Results show that biochar produced from the identified agro resources in the temperature range of 400 °C–500 °C are suitable for cofiring with coal. 121 MT surplus residues of the selected crops could produce 40 MT biochar having 90 TWh electricity generation potential. Biochar produced from surplus residues is equivalent to 69 MT of coal, about 11% of coal consumed annually in Indian TPPs. Also, biochar cofiring could reduce 165 MT annual CO2 emissions from coal-burning in TPPs, about 14% of CO2 emissions by the energy sector and 7% of overall CO2 emissions by India. Techno-economic analysis showed that the infrastructure development & operation cost for the biochar conversion facility is in the range of 2–3 USD/MWh, which is significantly lower than that of the new biomass to electricity generation facility (43–53 USD/MWh). The results would provide baseline data for policy decisions to avoid net GHG emissions from TPPs, and site identification for additional infrastructure to develop alternative clean fuels for India's coal-based TPPs.

Pension Funds as an Infrastructure Financing Avenue: An Exploratory Study

Development of infrastructure is a sine qua non of economic development. Development of agriculture depends, to a considerable extent, on the adequate expansion and development of irrigation facilities. Industrial progress depends on the development of power and electricity generation, transport, and communication facilities. Of course, if proper attention is not paid to the development of infrastructure, it is likely to act as a severe constraint on the economic development process of the countiy. As evidenced, India has reemerged as one of the fastest growing economies of the world. India could unleash its full potential, provided it improves its infrastructural facilities, which are at present not sufficient to meet the growing demand of the economy. A major concern in perpetual infrastructure development is funding. Taking into consideration the current recessionary trends in world economy, slow industrialization and volatile FDI scenario, financing infrastructure development seem to be a major obstacle. Innovation in finance in the recent past has provided large number of avenues such as BOT, BOLT etc. To extend this innovation further, this paper aims to explore the use of pension funds as an option to finance infrastructure projects. The paper shall discuss the Cost-Benefit Analysis of use of Pension Funds in infrastructure financing with specific reference to India. The paper also aims to discuss the learning from similar experiments carried out in other parts of the world.

Trash to Hryvnias: The economics of electricity generation from landfill gas in Ukraine

Utilization of landfill gas for electricity generation should be an attractive option for Ukraine in light of the country’s rapidly growing municipal solid waste problem, the influx of intermittent renewable electricity into the national grid, and renewable energy adoption commitments. However, the deployment of landfill gas power plants has been slow vis-à-vis other alternative energy technologies despite the existing government incentives. This article aims to help understanding this trend by investigating the economic feasibility of landfill gas power plants. The research focuses on determining the Levelized Cost of Electricity of these electricity generation facilities and comparing it to the feed-in tariff available to landfill gas electricity producers. The results show making an investment into a landfill gas-fired power plant is an appealing strategy due to a potential high and quick return on investment at 5.1 years. This leads to the ultimate conclusion that economic feasibility is not a cause for the slow adoption of landfill gas as a source of renewable electricity generation in Ukraine. In addition, the article identifies several potential barriers to landfill gas electricity generation deployment to be investigated in future research.

Clean Electricity, Dirty Electricity: The Effect on Local House Prices

Renewable energy production is one of the most important policy instruments to fight climate change. However, despite global benefits, renewable energy production entails some local challenges, such as requiring more space per unit production capacity. In this paper, we study the external effects of large-scale conventional and renewable electric power generation facilities on local house prices. We combine information of all coal, gas, and biomass plants, as well as all wind turbines in the Netherlands, with 1.5 million housing transactions over a period of 30 years. Using a difference-in-difference as well as a repeated sales model, we study the effects of facility openings and closings. Our results show negative external price effects for gas plants and wind turbines, but positive effects for biomass plants, conditionally upon ex-ante lower priced locations. The external effects of power generating facilities on local housing markets are important to consider, especially with the current focus of public policies on the expansion of renewable energy generation. Our paper is one of the first to present a large-scale study, using detailed information, and comparing several different energy sources in one framework.

Support for multicriteria group decision with voting procedures: Selection of electricity generation technologies

Energy has great importance for the development of society with the achievement of primary goals, contributing to the quality of life and economic development of a country. Its offer is carried out from different sources, and plans related to selecting these sources for electricity generation began to characterize increasingly complex multicriteria decision scenarios. Multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) models have been used in sustainable energy management, providing solutions to problems involving conflicting and multiple goals. Generally, different decision-makers are involved in the process, so it is essential to use a solid, logical, and systematic process to reach the group's decisions. In this study, a real application is analyzed with a group decision scenario that brought together seven decision-makers from different significant areas of activity to reach a single global decision on the best energy source for a new electricity generation facility. A framework was used for the decision-making process to select the most suitable voting procedure, in this case, the Copeland procedure. The aggregation of the individual results obtained for each area was performed. The biomass source with residue burning was achieved as a result. • A group of decision makers used MCDM techniques to select an energy source. • Compensatory and non-compensatory methods were used to choose the voting procedure. • Voting procedures can identify a social preference in group decision problems. • Copeland's voting system found an appropriate solution to solve the framework.

Pricing climate-related risks of energy investments

This paper presents a framework for pricing the climate resilience of an energy infrastructure project through assessing the value of its required debt and equity investments. Integrating climate scenarios into an asset valuation model provides useful and specific insights for risk management, but there is a lack of academic and market tools that effectively address this need. The critical barrier is that climate-related risks (physical and transition) are typically indirect variables in the cash flow calculation, and they should be computed based on the direct variables such as revenue, capital expenditures, operating expenses, and financing costs. The implementation of this framework shows how to delineate climate-related risks that are asset-specific and transforms them into financial risks. Using cash flow simulation and scenario analysis, it estimates an energy infrastructure asset's probability of default due to climate-related risks and the size and timing of the losses for any given default. To demonstrate the framework's application, we simulate the price climate-related risks of a utility-scale electricity generation facility powered by natural gas.

Optimal scheduling of self-healing distribution systems considering distributed energy resource capacity withholding strategies

This paper presents a multi-stage day-ahead and real-time optimization algorithm for scheduling of system’s energy resources in the normal and external shock operational conditions. The main contribution of this paper is that the model considers the non-utility electricity generation facilities capacity withholding opportunities in the optimal scheduling of system resources. The real-time simulation of external shock impacts is another contribution of this paper that the algorithm simulates the sectionalizing of the system into multi-microgrids to increase the resiliency of the system. The optimization process is categorized into two stages that compromise normal and contingent operational conditions. Further, the normal operational scheduling problem is decomposed into three steps. At the first step, the optimal day-ahead scheduling of system resources and the switching of normally opened switches are determined. At the second step, the optimal real-time market scheduling is performed and the switching of normally closed switches is optimized. At the third step, different extreme shock scenarios are simulated in the real-time horizon and the effectiveness of sectionalizing the system into multi-micro grids are assessed. Finally, at the contingent operational conditions, the optimal topology of the system and scheduling of energy resources are determined. The proposed method was successfully assessed for the 33-bus and 123-bus test systems. The algorithm were reduced the expected cost of the worst-case contingencies for the 33-bus and 123-bus systems by about 97.89% and 88.11%, respectively. Further, the average and maximum values of the 123-bus system capacity-withholding index for real-time conditions reduced by about 67.40% and 71.05%, respectively.

Case Study of Power Plants in the Slovak Republic and Construction of Microgrid and Smart Grid

To reduce emissions worldwide, decarbonization has also affected for power engineering and its conventional methods of power generation, distribution, and transmission. This fact affects not only the production of power and supply itself, but also other parts related to it, namely systems for the protection of electricity generation facilities and the location of faults in distribution networks and transmission systems. Is this new technology of renewable energy sources (RES) mastered enough to be able to replace traditional methods of energy generation reliably and safely? If we can answer the previous question, we could proceed to the next phase of putting these technologies into practice, considering the actual state of distribution networks and transmission systems. The aim of the article will be to evaluate the current state of systems and production sources of electricity in the Slovak Republic and to provide a better insight and suggestions for rebuilding current networks on a smart grid. The proposals will also include models of some RES in the Matlab/Simulink software.

Statistical Analysis of Electric Power Distribution Grid Outages

Power systems in general supply consumers with electrical energy as economically and reliably as possible. Reliable electric power systems serve customer loads without interruptions in supply voltage. Electric power generation facilities must produce enough power to meet customer demand. Electrical energy produced and delivered to customers through generation, transmission and distribution systems, constitutes one of the largest consumers markets the world over. The benefits of electric power systems are integrated into the much faster modern life in such extent that it is impossible to imagine the society without the electrical energy. The rapid growth of electric power distribution grids over the past few decades has resulted in a large increment in the number of grid lines in operation and their total length. These grid lines are exposed to faults as a result of lightning, short circuits, faulty equipment, mis-operation, human errors, overload, and aging among others. A fault implies any abnormal condition which causes a reduction in the basic insulation strength between phase conductors or phase conductors and earth, or any earthed screens surrounding the conductors. In this paper, different types of faults that affected the electric power distribution grid of selected operational districts of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Western region of Ghana was analyzed and the results presented. Outages due to bad weather and load shedding contributed significantly to the unplanned outages that occurred in the medium voltage (MV) distribution grid. Blown fuse and loose contact faults were the major contributor to unplanned outages in the low voltage (LV) electric power distribution grid.

Statistical Analysis of Electric Power Distribution Grid Outages

Power systems in general supply consumers with electrical energy as economically and reliably as possible. Reliable electric power systems serve customer loads without interruptions in supply voltage. Electric power generation facilities must produce enough power to meet customer demand. Electrical energy produced and delivered to customers through generation, transmission and distribution systems, constitutes one of the largest consumers markets the world over. The benefits of electric power systems are integrated into the much faster modern life in such extent that it is impossible to imagine the society without the electrical energy. The rapid growth of electric power distribution grids over the past few decades has resulted in a large increment in the number of grid lines in operation and their total length. These grid lines are exposed to faults as a result of lightning, short circuits, faulty equipment, mis-operation, human errors, overload, and aging among others. A fault implies any abnormal condition which causes a reduction in the basic insulation strength between phase conductors or phase conductors and earth, or any earthed screens surrounding the conductors. In this paper, different types of faults that affected the electric power distribution grid of selected operational districts of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Western region of Ghana was analyzed and the results presented. Outages due to bad weather and load shedding contributed significantly to the unplanned outages that occurred in the medium voltage (MV) distribution grid. Blown fuse and loose contact faults were the major contributor to unplanned outages in the low voltage (LV) electric power distribution grid.

Total Systems Cost: A Better Metric for Valuing Electricity in Supply Network Planning and Decision-Making

Comparing the cost and value of electricity generation technologies is becoming more complex as electricity grids become more diverse. The changing generation mix, along with the need to maintain a competent grid, is resulting in previously acceptable cost comparison metrics being used outside of their limited range of applicability. In particular Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE), if used to evaluate options for a future, low carbon grid, could result in erroneous and misleading conclusions. Electricity generation facilities do not only provide energy, they also provide an array of additional services which are fundamental to maintaining a permanent and reliable electricity supply across the system, including reserve capacity, and voltage and frequency control. Indeed, some technology options pro- vide these services without generating any energy. These services, corresponding costs and operational implications need to be included in the evaluation of technologies in order to ensure the grids emerge transformed, resilient and genuinely sustainable. Total system cost and its derivative metrics are the most appropriate economic metrics for analysis and decision making in a future for low carbon grid.