Deployment Of Renewable Energy Sources Research Articles

Optimized Ca-looping thermochemical energy storage under dynamic operation for concentrated solar power

The massive deployment of renewable energy sources and carbon capture technologies are required to achieve net zero emissions target by 2050. Calcium Looping (CaL) is a promising Thermochemical Energy Storage (TCES) system which improves the dispatchability of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants. CaL TCES configurations found in literature focus on a steady-state analysis of thermal-to-electric efficiency of the CSP plants. In this work, the operation of the CaL TCES system for a CSP plant is economically optimized taking into account the seasonal and daily variations of solar resource and electricity prices. The defined methodology determines the operating performance of the CaL TCES which maximize the economic incomes of the CSP and the daily profiles of energy production and storage for representative days of the different seasons/periods of the year. Results show that it is possible to obtain good economic results and operate the CSP + storage for a daily maximization of incomes. Obtained results are also useful for the final design of the system and for the definition of the size required for the storage equipment.

Sustainable developments, renewable energy, and economic growth in Canada

AbstractThe object of this paper is to investigate the dynamic causal relationship between economic growth and renewable energy in Canada. The causal relationship is examined under the neoclassical production function framework. We employed a panel autoregressive distributed lag model controlling for different states of the economy by incorporating a dummy variable, which indicates the economic peak and trough. The data set consists of annual real GDP, capital formation, labor, and electricity generation by renewables for nine Canadian provinces covering from 1981 to 2015. The empirical results find that there is a unidirectional causality from renewable energy to economic growth in the long run. In the short run, a unidirectional causality going from renewable energy to economic growth only during the expansion period is observed. Our study suggests that renewable energy policies should be designed and implemented in a way that takes into account the nonlinear relationship between renewable energy and economic growth. This could involve promoting the development and deployment of renewable energy sources as part of their economic stimulus packages during economic upturns.

AEM-electrolyzer based hydrogen integrated renewable energy system optimisation model for distributed communities

The development of sustainable and renewable energy technologies has received significant attention to realize Net-Zero CO2 equivalent emission goals and meet the growing energy demand. Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier that can facilitate the large-scale deployment of renewable energy sources and assist in the replacement of fossil fuels and to reduce the impact of global warming. The objective of this research is to present an advanced hydrogen-integrated renewable energy system model to meet the energy demand of a distributed community and produce green hydrogen from excess/curtailed renewable energy. The study employs an anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEM) for producing hydrogen. An optimization model of the renewable energy system and a mathematical model of the electrolyzer are developed to achieve this objective. The model uses an energy maximisation approach and optimally combines wind system, biogas plant, and solar PV system to meet the residential and commercial load demands. To increase the system stability, the model is interconnected with the local grid station for energy exchange. Moreover, an uncertainty analysis is also performed to analyse the system response under random variation in load demand. The study results show that a significant amount of clean energy (15,025 MWh/year) is produced by the system at the lowest levelized cost of 0.084 €/kWh and a reduction of 6,078 tons of CO2 emission during the first year of operation is obtained. The electrolyzer produces 63 kg/hr of hydrogen, while the cell performance remains stable at 60 °C and the cell voltage reaches 2.019 V at 2.415 A/cm2 current density.

Energy Security of the European Union in the Context of Russian Aggression against Ukraine

Over the past decades, Russia has used the supply, ownership and control of energy resources as an instrument of its foreign policy to strengthen its political influence not only in the post-Soviet space, but also in the EU member states. During the unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine, Moscow used energy policy as an energy weapon (demanding to pay for gas in rubles; stopping gas supplies to certain EU member states, including Poland, Bulgaria, and Finland; reducing the volume of supplies through the Nord Stream pipeline; ignoring the capacities of the Ukrainian GTS; provoking an increase in gas prices), which resulted in an acute energy crisis in the European Union. This prompted the EU and national governments of its member states to make significant adjustments to their energy policies in order to overcome the crisis and prevent gas blackmail by European states as a manipulation to circumvent anti-Russian sanctions and political pressure to withdraw support for Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to study the problems of ensuring the energy security of the European Union and its member states in the context of the energy crisis caused by Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The article is aimed at studying the impact of Russian aggression on the EU's energy security, assessing the state of the Energy Union in 2022, and analyzing short-term and long-term strategies in the development of relevant supranational and national energy policies, mainly from a European perspective. Modern European national and supranational energy and climate strategies envisage postponing the phase-out of coal, oil, gas and nuclear power, while accelerating the deployment of renewable energy, improving energy efficiency and a mandatory commitment to increase energy storage. The European Union and its member states are overcoming the consequences of the energy crisis by developing and implementing national strategies, the REPowerEU plan, as well as a number of other measures to reduce energy prices and ensure security of supply. The REPowerEU plan is fully in line with the European Green Deal and includes measures to save energy, diversify and ensure security of supply, accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources and a reasonable mix of investment and reform. The modernization of the EU's energy policy is aligned with the EU's long-term climate goals. The EU also supports new partnerships with neighboring countries, including Ukraine, to accelerate the global transition to green and fair energy.

How much wilderness is left? A roadless approach under the Global and the European Biodiversity Strategy focusing on Greece

Preserving ecosystems of high ecological integrity is a crucial target in Biodiversity Strategies, also serving the 10 % target of strict land protection in the European Union (EU). We recommend roadless mapping to delineate wilderness and monitor progress against loss in natural areas. We mapped Greece's roadless land and assessed its ecological attributes. It accounted for 6.1 % of Greece and comprised 451 roadless sites of size over 1 km2: 389 roadless areas and 62 fully roadless islands. Roadless sites occurred in mountains and islands, were undeveloped (no artificial land), undisturbed (no major pressures, <1 % agricultural activity, low Human Influence Index), and natural (>99 % of natural and seminatural vegetation cover, 68 % of their extent in the Natura 2000 network). They also lay in a wilderness continuum of low landscape fragmentation index. Most roadless sites (302) were larger than 10 km2. Larger roadless areas occurred more in higher mountains and steeper terrains, had a lower Human Influence Index and a better Natura 2000 coverage. Roadless sites demonstrated a buffering capacity against naturalness loss and fires (2.5 times lower percentage of burnt land than the national average) but were vulnerable to Renewable Energy Sources deployment, particularly wind farms (33 % of roadless areas might be affected). In support of a roadless policy we suggest using roadless sites to delimit the strictly protected zones in the EU (and Greece), to map primary-old-growth forests, and pinpoint new candidate protected areas. We strongly recommend revisiting the REPowerEU plan to define roadless sites as non-go-to areas for relevant infrastructure deployments.

Mathematical Modeling and Planning of Energy Production using a Neural Network

This paper examines the investigation and optimization of existing approaches for the efficient deployment of renewable energy-based power generation facilities and a genetic algorithm for predicting the operating mode with the help of efficient deployment of production facilities. The developed genetic algorithm model is based on the use of a radial basic neural network. As a result of these neural networks, it becomes possible to minimize the cost of data processing time and use them in solving technical and economic problems that require high-speed processing. The proposed approach allows for obtaining the most accurate and justified option for the deployment of renewable energy sources to solve the problem of active power reserves and allows for forecasting with an error of no more than 20%.

A Survey on the Understanding and Viewpoints of Renewable Energy among South African School Students

Renewable energy has become an essential component for the survival of human beings. This is because conventional energy supply is limited, nearing its limits, and or destroying our environment. The complete transition to renewable energy is a major approach to achieving sustainable and clean energy distribution progress in this ever-changing and demanding world. This research work investigates the knowledge of renewable energy among the youth and their understanding of sustainable energy prosperity towards meeting the future generation's energy needs. To achieve this, a set of questionnaires was developed to identify their knowledge of various renewable energy resources, energy aspects, applications, and the extent to which the current syllabus provides a well-developed background. They were administered to high school students in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. The main findings of this investigation reveal that the students were most familiar with solar energy, which could be due to the increasing availability of solar panels across the nation. However, a lack of awareness and little understanding of geothermal energy was noted among the high school students. This indicates a poor future for its development. Furthermore, 86% of the students agreed that conventional energy sources would likely still be relied upon by a significant portion of the global population to meet daily energy needs. Therefore, the government must take swift action to address these issues, by promoting the deployment of renewable energy sources in schools.

Assessing cyber attacks on local electricity markets using simulation analysis: Impacts and possible mitigations

Improved management of the distribution level of the electric grid could allow faster and more reliable deployment of renewable energy sources, and greater grid resilience. One approach to achieving these benefits is to develop local electricity markets (LEMs). However, implementing these markets would entail changes in information flows creating new vulnerabilities to cyber attacks. Previous research has examined cyber risks to the existing electric grid while other research provides conceptual models of LEMs, but there are few studies of cyber risks specific to LEMs. Our is the first study we are aware of that utilizes simulation techniques to assess the severity of these risks. Our results show that denial-of-service attacks causing random data loss can cause significant market distortions, even at low levels of loss, and can create serious risks to the market and to the grid. We offer recommendations to mitigate risks identified in the simulation.

Integrating black start capabilities into offshore wind farms by grid‐forming batteries

AbstractPower systems are currently experiencing a transition towards decarbonisation through the large‐scale deployment of renewable energy sources. These are gradually replacing conventional thermal power plants which today are the main providers of black start services. Consequently, in case of a total/partial blackout, conventional black‐start resources may not be ready for operation. Offshore wind farms (OWFs), with their large capacity and fast controllers, have potential as innovative black‐start units, thus, the need for a new design for OWFs. Here, challenges and possible solutions in integrating black start services into offshore wind farms will be presented. The first challenge is represented by the self‐start capability. The self‐start unit should be capable of forming the wind farm power island and withstanding transient phenomena due to the equipment energisation. The investigated solution comprises grid‐forming (GFM) converters in the wind farm design, which could be battery energy storage systems (BESSs) to also increase the service availability. The challenges are analysed using simulations on a wind farm, and the proposed solutions are discussed. It can be concluded that a hybrid system comprised of a BESS and an OWF, with GFM control, applying soft‐charging, etc., represents a good proposal to provide black start services by OWFs.

ІНВЕСТИЦІЇ У ВІДНОВЛЮВАЛЬНУ ЕНЕРГЕТИКУ ЄС: ОЦІНКА ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ СТИМУЛІВ

This study uses panel data regression analysis to examine the relationship between incentive policies and the deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) in the European Union (EU). Data for 25 EU countries were collected from 2000 to 2021, with Malta and Cyprus excluded due to insufficient data. A fixed effects model was utilised to consider individual country characteristics and unobservable factors that differ over time. Additionally, a dynamic panel data model was estimated to assess the influence of prior RES capacity on current capacity, offering more efficient parameter estimates than traditional static fixed-effect estimation. Our findings reveal the multidirectional impact of various RES incentive instruments and policies on different types of RES in the EU. Fiscal and financial instruments, such as taxes, grants, and R&amp;D policies, proved more effective in promoting RES development than other incentive types in the energy sector. Market-based incentives, including certificates and support policy frameworks, also positively impacted the capacity of RES power plants. However, net metering, direct investment, and loans did not significantly increase RES, while regulation and direct investment appeared to constrain RES potential. The dynamic panel data estimates demonstrate that previous RES capacity positively and significantly influences current capacity. Furthermore, our estimation results emphasise that fossil energy consumption, nuclear energy, and GDP are critical determinants of RES development. Interestingly, net imports (energy security) and CO2 emissions were not significant factors driving RES growth. The results also indicate that the fossil fuel lobby could be more highly effective, and concerns about nuclear power are quite strong in the analysed countries. This study highlights the importance of RES incentive instruments that reduce investment costs for the success of RES mechanisms, stressing the need for supportive policies to enhance the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies. It emphasises that although some incentive policies have effectively promoted RES development, others, such as net metering, direct investment, and loans, have not achieved the desired results. In conclusion, understanding the effectiveness of various incentive instruments and policies is crucial for driving further RES development and improving the overall sustainability of the energy sector in the EU.

Guest Editorial: Emerging Topics of DC–DC Converters for Solar PV

Recent advancements in renewable energy technologies including dramatic improvement in cost-effectiveness and reliability have driven wide deployment of renewable energy sources in the modern electric grid across the globe. Among the renewable energy sources, solar photovoltaic (PV) is the most widely used. For the solar PV system, the dc input of a PV cell, module, string, or array, ranging from sub-1 V to 1500 V, in general, needs to be converted to an intermediate dc voltage by a dc–dc converter(s), for conditioning reliable dc power for grid interface. Thus, the dc–dc conversion greatly affects the entire PV system performance, such as efficiency and reliability among other crucial aspects. To address the critical aspects, many research and development efforts have conducted studies on the dc–dc converters for PV system such as converters with high conversion ratios and high power density and multiport converters to incorporate multiple sources including storage.

Home Energy Management Systems: A Review of the Concept, Architecture, and Scheduling Strategies

Growing electricity demand, the deployment of renewable energy sources and the widespread use of smart home appliances provide new opportunities for home energy management systems (HEMSs), which can be defined as systems that improve the overall energy production and consumption of residential buildings by controlling and scheduling the use of household equipment. By saving energy, reducing residential electricity costs, optimizing the utilization rate and reliability of utility companies’ power systems, and reducing air pollution for society, HEMSs lead to an enhancement in the socioeconomic development of low-carbon economies. This review aims to systematically analyze and summarize the development trends and challenges of HEMSs in recent years. This paper reviews the development history of the HEMS architecture and discusses the characteristics of several major communication technologies in the current HEMS infrastructure. In addition, the common objectives and constraints related to scheduling optimization are classified, and several optimization methods in the literature, including various intelligent algorithms, have been introduced, compared, and critically analyzed. Furthermore, experimental studies and challenges in the real world are also summarized and recommendations are given. This paper reveals the trend from simple to complex in the architecture and functionality of HEMSs, discusses the challenges for future improvements in modeling and scheduling, and shows the development of various modeling and scheduling methods. Based on this review, researchers can gain a comprehensive understanding of current research trends in HEMSs and open up ideas for developing new modeling and scheduling approaches by gaining insight into the trade-offs between optimum solutions and computational complexity.

Deployment of Renewable Energy Sources: Empirical Evidence in Identifying Clusters with Dynamic Time Warping

Deployment of renewable energy sources has caused a seismic shift in the world energy arena. Individual and coordinated efforts across countries and regions are shaping the world for the future, including business models which are supported globally to achieve net zero goals by 2050. This has resulted in changing cost structures, prices, and investment in energy uses, and approaching towards most sustainable environments for most of the regions. Our aim in this paper is to identify clusters of countries, where within a particular cluster, the levels of deployment of renewable energy sources are similar while across clusters, they are different. We propose a time series clustering method capturing the time-varying features of the renewable energy time series of 130 countries to enable the assessment of how similar or how different the usage is in relation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) status of countries, their regional location and their income grouping. We use Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) which is a method that calculates an optimal match between two given time series with certain restrictions. Using DTW, we the adopt the Partitioning Around Medoids technique in a fuzzy framework to obtain cluster solutions. Our analysis shows that both 4-cluster and 5-cluster solutions best capture country separation based on OECD status, regional location and income grouping.

Utilization of Fungal Bioprocess for Biodiesel Production as a Green Energy Source

The trend toward new research studies focused on searching for sustainable sources of clean energy has increased to ensure the sustainability of energy worldwide due to reasons such as the scarcity of fossil-based fuels and the environmental impact of conventional sources. Biofuel is a good candidate to become a world leader in the development and deployment of renewable energy sources among other green energy sources. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel produced from renewable biological resources and can be produced using microbial resources such as algae, bacteria, and fungi. Biodiesel produced from microbial lipids is an important and effective green energy source. Fungi exhibit a high capacity for biodiesel production by accumulating more than 70 percent of intracellular lipids in their biomass during metabolic stress periods. This study aims to examine the studies focused on the use of fungal lipids as a source of biodiesel in recent years. In addition, the conditions in which the highest biodiesel production efficiency was obtained, including preliminary information that will guide further studies on large-scale production of biodiesel from fungi were reviewed.

Optimal selection of energy storage system sharing schemes in industrial parks considering battery degradation

With the continuous deployment of renewable energy sources, many users in industrial parks have begun to experience a power supply–demand imbalance. Although configuring an energy storage system (ESS) for users is a viable solution to this problem, the currently commonly used single-user, single-ESS mode suffers from low ESS utilization efficiency and unsatisfactory investment costs. ESS sharing refers to the joint investment and operation of a set of ESSs by multiple users, which can effectively improve ESS utilization and economic benefits. In the industrial park environment, ESS sharing has multiple schemes that involve different ESS installation structures and energy-sharing methods. Therefore, this study determines the optimal ESS-sharing scheme in an industrial park through the construction of load optimization model and comparative analysis. Several typical ESS-sharing schemes were first established based on different ESS installation structures and energy-sharing methods for comparative analysis. Then, based on each scheme characteristic, a corresponding load optimization model that minimizes the total electricity cost in the industrial park was constructed, after which a simulation experiment was conducted using real historical data. The results indicated that the centralized ESS scheme resulted in lower electricity costs and greater utilization compared to other ESS-sharing schemes, as its cost savings and utilization could reach approximately 18.10 % and 60.75 %, respectively. Despite the resulting increase in energy losses, increasing the proportion of centralized ESS is the most effective method of improving ESS performance.

Inertia Estimation of Synchronous Devices: Review of Available Techniques and Comparative Assessment of Conventional Measurement-Based Approaches

The increasing deployment of renewable energy sources (RESs) reduces the inertia levels of modern power systems, raising frequency stability issues. Therefore, it becomes crucial, for power-system operators, to monitor system inertia, in order to activate proper preventive remedial actions in a timely way, ensuring, this way, the reliable and secure operation of the power system. This paper presents a brief review of available techniques for inertia estimation of synchronous devices. Additionally, a comparative assessment of conventional measurement-based inertia-estimation techniques is performed. In particular, five conventional inertia-estimation techniques are considered and examined. The distinct features of each method are presented and discussed. The effect of several parameters on the accuracy of the examined methods is evaluated via Monte Carlo analysis. The performance of the examined methods is evaluated using dynamic responses, obtained via RMS simulations, conducted on the IEEE 9 bus test system. Based on the conducted analysis, recommendations to enhance the accuracy of the examined techniques are proposed.

Community Energy Markets with Battery Energy Storage Systems: A General Modeling with Applications

Traditional models of power systems are undergoing a restructuring process, stimulated by the growing deployment of renewable energy sources, making them more decentralized and progressively increasing the focus on the consumer. New arrangements are being explored, allowing consumers to play a more active role in energy systems, highlighting the concept of consumer-centric markets. This work presents an optimization model that considers the insertion of the battery energy storage system (BESS) in the concept of community energy markets. This model aims to increase the community income and includes the degradation of BESS, also evaluating different arrangements of BESS in the community markets. In the investigated scenarios, discussions about the feasibility of inserting BESS through the analysis of social welfare (SW) and fairness indicators were carried out. With the results, it was possible to observe that there are structures that are more advantageous from the perspective of the communities and others from the perspective of the members of the communities, bringing some insights into the different impacts of a BESS in an energy community.

Energy system transformation for attainability of net zero emissions in Thailand

This study analyzed energy and technological implications in the energy sector to attain net zero emissions in Thailand by 2050. The study used AIM/Enduse, a bottom-up type energy system model, as an analytical tool. A business-as-usual and a net zero emission scenario are analyzed. Net zero emission scenarios are assessed in terms of net zero greenhouse gas emissions (NZE-GHG). Results show that the GHG emissions from the energy sector in the BAU would reach 635 MtCO2e in 2050. Decarbonization of the energy sector and transition towards net zero emission by 2050 in Thailand would require rapid deployment of renewable energy sources like solar, wind and biomass. In net zero scenario, installed capacity of solar PV and wind for power generation in 2050 would reach 64 GW and 40 GW, respectively. In addition, this study assesses the role of green hydrogen in achieving net zero target. The 200 GW solar capacity would be required to produce green hydrogen for decarbonizing the transport, industrial as well as power sector. The high carbon sequestration from LULUCF sector in Thailand will make it possible to reach net zero emission with carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology in the energy sector. Additional bioenergy or CCS technologies will need to be deployed in the power sector if the renewables cannot be deployed to the desirable extent.

Enhancement of stability delay margins by virtual inertia control for microgrids with time delay

Large-scale deployment of renewable energy sources (RESs) contributes to fluctuations in the system frequency due to their inherent reduced inertia feature. Time delays have emerged as a major source of concern in microgrids (MGs) as a result of the broad adoption of open communication networks since significant delays inevitably reduce the controller?s performance and even cause instabilities. In this article, a frequency-domain direct method is used to evaluate the impact of the virtual inertia (VI) control on the stability delay margins of MG with communication delays. By avoiding approximation, the approach first removes transcendental terms from characteristic equations and turns the transcendental characteristic equations into regular polynomials. With this method, roots of the original characteristic equation on the imaginary axis correspond to exactly the positive real roots of the new regular polynomial not including any exponential term. This new polynomial can be used to find out whether the system stability is delay-dependent or not and enables us to compute stability delay margin for the delay-dependent stability case. The proposed analytical method is utilized for evaluating stability delay margins with regard to system parameters for various values of proportional-integral (PI) gains where the MG is marginally stable. Moreover, quantitative effect of virtual inertia and damping gains is comprehensively investigated. Based on the results, it is concluded that incorporating VI control enhances stability delay margins and enhances the MG's stability performance. Theoretical delay margin results are verified using time-domain simulations and quasipolynomial mapping-based root finder (QPmR) algorithm

Recent Advancements in Chalcogenides for Electrochemical Energy Storage Applications

Energy storage has become increasingly important as a study area in recent decades. A growing number of academics are focusing their attention on developing and researching innovative materials for use in energy storage systems to promote sustainable development goals. This is due to the finite supply of traditional energy sources, such as oil, coal, and natural gas, and escalating regional tensions. Because of these issues, sustainable renewable energy sources have been touted as an alternative to nonrenewable fuels. Deployment of renewable energy sources requires efficient and reliable energy storage devices due to their intermittent nature. High-performance electrochemical energy storage technologies with high power and energy densities are heralded to be the next-generation storage devices. Transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) have sparked interest among electrode materials because of their intriguing electrochemical properties. Researchers have revealed a variety of modifications to improve their electrochemical performance in energy storage. However, a stronger link between the type of change and the resulting electrochemical performance is still desired. This review examines the synthesis of chalcogenides for electrochemical energy storage devices, their limitations, and the importance of the modification method, followed by a detailed discussion of several modification procedures and how they have helped to improve their electrochemical performance. We also discussed chalcogenides and their composites in batteries and supercapacitors applications. Furthermore, this review discusses the subject’s current challenges as well as potential future opportunities.