Energy Systems In Terms Research Articles

A dataset of low-carbon energy transition index for Chinese cities 2003–2019

Cities are at the heart of climate change mitigation as they account for over 70% of global carbon emissions. However, cities vary in their energy systems and socioeconomic capacities to transition to renewable energy. To address this heterogeneity, this study proposes an Energy Transition Index (ETI) specifically designed for cities, and applies it to track the progress of energy transition in Chinese cities. The city-level ETI framework is based on the national ETI developed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and comprises two sub-indexes: the Energy System Performance sub-index, which evaluates the current status of cities’ energy systems in terms of energy transition, and the Transition Readiness sub-index, which assesses their socioeconomic capacity for future energy transition. The initial version of the dataset includes ETI and its sub-indexes for 282 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2019, with annual updates planned. The spatiotemporal data provided by the dataset facilitates research into the energy transition roadmap for different cities, which can help China achieve its energy transition goals.

Optimizing Induction Wind Energy System with EDLC and PMSG for Efficient Power Control

This paper represents a comprehensive study on the optimization of an Induction Wind Energy System (IWEC) integrated with Electric Double Layer Capacitors (EDLCs) and a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) to enhance power control in the quest for sustainable and efficient energy conversion systems. As wind energy plays a pivotal role in the renewable energy landscape, maximizing its conversion efficiency is crucial for a sustainable future. Advanced control strategies and optimization techniques are applied to delve into the intricate details of the IWEC-EDLC-PMSG system, resulting in improved power quality, enhanced transient response, and superior grid integration capabilities. The research demonstrates that this integrated configuration outperforms conventional wind energy systems in terms of efficiency, grid compatibility, and dynamic response. Moreover, the study addresses key aspects like system stability, fault tolerance, and reliability, ensuring the robustness of this innovative solution. In addition to advancing wind energy technology, this research offers valuable insights into integrating energy storage systems and advanced control techniques for efficient power control in renewable energy applications, contributing to a sustainable energy future.

6E evaluation of an innovative polygeneration system consisting of gas turbine cycle with CO2 capture, ejector refrigeration cycle, steam Rankine cycle, solar tower and MEDAD unit

The development of the energy systems in terms of technical performance and their assessment from an economic and environmental perspective has been a trending subject, lately. Due to global warming, the effectiveness of these systems has decreased. The pre-cooling technology of the incoming air is known as an influential factor to compensate for this limitation. In this study, we aim to provide a fossil fuel-based power generation system along with the solar energy, and upgrade it to a poly-generation system with the motivation to create an integrated set to meet the needs of power, cooling, heating, freshwater and CO2. In this framework, an integrated system consisting of gas turbine cycle (GTC) with CO2 capture, steam Rankine cycle (SRC), ejector refrigeration cycle (ERC), solar tower cycle (STC), hybrid multi-effect distillation adsorption desalination (MEDAD) is proposed, which presents a new design of a poly-generation system. The proposed system is modeled as a code in MATLAB to analyze energy, exergy, exergo-economic, exergo-environmental, emergo-economic and emergo-environmental (6E), and the validity of its thermodynamic results is compared with results obtained from simulation in Thermoflex. In addition, a parametric sensitivity analysis is performed that considers increasing the number of MEDAD stages, heating the air output from the air compressor (AC), pre-cooling the air entering AC to achieve the optimal operating conditions of the considered system in order to increase freshwater production, reduce fuel consumption and increase power generation. The results showed that the amount of freshwater produced with the correct use of thermal energy sources increases by 95.25 %, fuel consumption decreases by 22 % and net power of GTC increases by 5 %. Finally, the overall energy efficiency of the system in single generation (power production only) and multiple generation is 34.27 % and 65.65 %, respectively.

Potential Domestic Energy System Vulnerabilities from Major Exports of Green Hydrogen: A Case Study of Australia

Australia has clear aspirations to become a major global exporter of hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels and as part of the drive to reduce CO2 emissions, as set out in the National Hydrogen Strategy released in 2019 jointly by the federal and state governments. In 2021, the Australian Energy Market Operator specified a grid forecast scenario for the first time entitled “hydrogen superpower”. Not only does Australia hope to capitalise on the emerging demand for zero-carbon hydrogen in places like Japan and South Korea by establishing a new export industry, but it also needs to mitigate the built-in carbon risk of its export revenue from coal and LNG as major customers, such as Japan and South Korea, move to decarbonise their energy systems. This places hydrogen at the nexus of energy, climate change mitigation and economic growth, with implications for energy security. Much of the published literature on this topic concentrates on the details of what being a major hydrogen exporter will look like and what steps will need to be taken to achieve it. However, there appears to be a gap in the study of the implications for Australia’s domestic energy system in terms of energy security and export economic vulnerability. The objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for the implications of becoming a major hydrogen exporter on Australia’s energy system. Various green hydrogen export scenarios for Australia were compared, and the most recent and comprehensive was selected as the basis for further examination for domestic energy system impacts. In this scenario, 248.5 GW of new renewable electricity generation capacity was estimated to be required by 2050 to produce the additional 867 TWh required for an electrolyser output of 2088 PJ of green hydrogen for export, which will comprise 55.9% of Australia’s total electricity demand at that time. The characteristics of comparative export-oriented resources and their interactions with the domestic economy and energy system are then examined through the lens of the resource curse hypothesis, and the LNG and aluminium industries. These existing resource export frameworks are reviewed for applicability of specific factors to export-oriented green hydrogen production, with applicable factors then compiled into a novel conceptual framework for exporter domestic implications from large-scale exports of green hydrogen. The green hydrogen export superpower (2050) scenario is then quantitatively assessed using the established indicators for energy exporter vulnerability and domestic energy security, comparing it to Australia’s 2019 energy exports profile. This assessment finds that in almost all factors, exporter vulnerability is reduced, and domestic energy security is enhanced by the transition from fossil fuel exports to green hydrogen, with the exception of an increase in exposure of the domestic energy system to international market forces.

Sustainable solutions for healthcare facilities: examining the viability of solar energy systems

The healthcare sector is responsible for a significant portion of global carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for approximately 5% of the total. As energy demand in the sector continues to rise, sustainable solutions are urgently needed. Hospitals and healthcare facilities require a range of engineering services, including heat ventilation and air conditioning systems, hot and domestic water supply systems, and backup electricity systems. These energy-intensive services offer an excellent opportunity to integrate renewable energy sources and reduce the carbon footprint of healthcare facilities. This study presents a case study of a hospital located in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that utilizes a solar-collected water-heated system. The research aims to investigate the impact of adding multi-solar collector and photovoltaic systems to healthcare facilities, analyze the system’s thermodynamic efficiency in terms of energy and exergy, assess its technical and economic viability, and gauge the adoption rate of solar systems by healthcare technical departments. The results demonstrate that the solar thermal system provides around 12% of the total energy needed for the hot water system, while the solar PV system contributes approximately 29.6% of the total load for the HVAC system. This study explores the potential of using solar energy systems in healthcare facilities in the GCC region, analyzing their technical, thermodynamic, and economic viability. It promotes the adoption of solar systems in GCC and Middle East healthcare facilities and identifies research gaps related to solar systems implementation in healthcare facilities in the GCC. The study highlights the potential benefits of solar energy systems in terms of energy efficiency, cost savings, and environmental sustainability, with implications for healthcare facilities in the region and beyond. By utilizing renewable energy in healthcare facilities, the sector can reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future.

4E analyses and multi-objective optimization for an innovative solar-ocean thermal energy conversion/air conditioning system

This paper proposes a solar-ocean thermal energy conversion system (S-OTEC/AC) with integrated air conditioning cycles to provide power, cooling capacity, and fresh water in the South China Sea. Solar energy and surface seawater are used as heat sources in S-OTEC/AC system, the deep-sea water is used to absorb heat. The organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is selected as the main cycle of OTEC, with R134a as the working medium. In order to improve the sustainability of the system, energy, exergy, economic, and environmental (4E) analysis models were proposed for the system. Parametric studies are performed to investigate the effects of R134a temperature at the evaporator outlet, turbine inlet, and outlet pressures, and water flow rate of solar heater on the system performance indicators. Furthermore, multi-optimization is conducted with the Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE) and the product of energy-exergy efficiencies (ηen,sys*ηex,sys) as objective functions. The linear programming technique of multi-dimensional preference analysis (LINMAP) is introduced to make decisions on the Pareto front. Under basic conditions, the S-OTEC/AC system performs superior to the S-OTEC system in terms of energy, economy, and environmental friendliness. The additional profits of the AC cycle are represented by the annual water fee saving of 3.6x104 $/year and the cooling capacity of 85.8 kW, respectively. Sensitivity results show that water flow rate of solar heaters has the most obvious influence on system performance among the four key parameters. The results of optimizing the non-dominant scheme suggested by Pareto point show that optimized LCOE is 1.18 $/kWh, and ηen,sys*ηex,sys is 7.81%. Under this condition, the system's network output, energy efficiency, and exergy efficiency are 89.32 kW,14.09%, and 52.83%, respectively.

Reliability index based optimal sizing and statistical performance analysis of stand-alone hybrid renewable energy system using metaheuristic algorithms

Integration of renewable energy systems can provide reliable, environmentally sustainable, and cost-effective alternatives for meeting the demand for electricity in remote locations. In this study, recently developed meta-heuristic techniques are explored to find the optimal design for two combinations of off-grid hybrid renewable energy systems. To evaluate the performance, the Tasmanian devil Optimization (TDO) was compared to three meta-heuristic algorithms, called the COOT bird optimization algorithm (COOT), the Grey wolf algorithm (GWO), and the Beluga whale optimization (BWO), and determined the optimal design of the proposed off-grid energy system in terms of best and worst-case solutions. The system consisting of a solar-battery is more cost-effective, with the lowest total annual cost (TAC) of 36,859 $ and the lowest levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of 0.0930 $/kWh for 0% LPSPmax level as compared to the wind turbine-battery-diesel generator with the highest TAC (102580 $) and LCOE (0.2589 $/kWh). Hence, a solar-battery hybrid system is more viable for producing clean energy with effective storage and better power system reliability enhancement. Also, the obtained simulation results reveal the supremacy of the TDO compared to the other three meta-heuristic algorithms, where it achieved the optimal solution with a quick convergence time and fewer oscillations.

Waste heat recovery and exergy-based comparison of a conventional and a novel fuel cell integrated gas turbine hybrid configuration

In conventional gas-turbine cycles, a significant amount of heat is generated and gets unutilized, which results in lower thermal efficiency and higher exergy destruction. In this study, the available waste heat from the gas-turbine has been examined, considering the promising ways to utilize this waste heat. By integrating a waste heat recovery system, these losses can be overcome, and its exergy destruction can be minimized, and results in higher thermal efficiency. For this, a novel comparison has been made between simple gas-turbine without waste heat recovery, recuperated gas-turbine with single-stage recovery, and a solid oxide fuel cell recuperated gas-turbine with double-stage waste heat recovery hybrid system in terms of energy, exergy efficiency and exergy destruction. Using MATLAB, a detailed thermodynamic modelling has been done. The finding shows that a two-stage waste heat recovery system helps in reducing the temperature gradient at the inlet of fuel-cell, which makes the system more stable. At a pressure ratio of 10 and turbine inlet temperature 1250 K, maximum energy and exergy efficiency have been achieved for the proposed hybrid system, i.e., 65.33% and 61.639%, respectively. The waste heat recovery for recuperated gas-turbine is 119.462 kW, and for solid oxide fuel cell gas-turbine, is 1153.885 kW.

Multi-timescale operations of nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems for reserve and thermal product provision

In this paper, an optimal operation strategy of a nuclear-renewable hybrid energy system (N-R HES), in conjunction with a district heating network, is developed within a comprehensive multi-timescale electricity market framework. The grid-connected N-R HES is simulated to explore the capabilities and benefits of N-R HES of providing energy products, different reserve products, and thermal products. An N-R HES optimization and control strategy is formulated to exploit the benefits from the hybrid energy system in terms of both energy and ancillary services. A case study is performed on the customized NREL-118 bus test system with high renewable penetrations, based on a multi-timescale (i.e., three-cycle) production cost model. Both day-ahead and real-time market clearing prices are determined from the market model simulation. The results show that the N-R HES can contribute to the reserve requirements and also meet the thermal load, thereby increasing the economic efficiency of N-R HES (with increased revenue ranging from 1.55% to 35.25% at certain cases) compared to the baseline case where reserve and thermal power exports are not optimized.

Evaluating the Technical and Economic Feasibility of a Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Off-grid

<p class="15">This study describes the best hybrid energy system in terms of emissions, cost, and other factors. All the computations performed by HOMER Pro. A standalone hybrid power system model is suggested in this study. The suggested concept combines diesel generation with PV and Wind energy sources. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) provided the data for simulation in HOMER to determine system performance. To reduce dependency on either conventional energy or renewable energy sources, a hybrid renewable energy system may be employed. Studies have shown that the suggested approach and the optimization technique for sizing standalone hybrid power systems both settle really well. The study aim is to optimize the size and expense of a renewable energy system at the chosen location in order to satisfy the electrical demand. The evaluation of the hybrid systems is based on the net present cost (NPC), levelized cost of energy (COE), initial cost, operating cost, and renewable fraction. The results support the use of RES at the chosen location, with the PV-Wind-Diesel generator system emerging as the most cost-effective RES with a COE of 0.2424 $/kWh. The outcomes are in favor of using a hybrid renewable system.</p>

Numerical performance investigation of decentralized ventilation compared to centralized ventilation system at a residential building: A case study in Norway

A main goal of the study is to investigate whether decentralized ventilation (DV) systems can outperform typically centralized ventilation (CV) system in terms of energy while keeping indoor air quality at acceptable levels. And additional research questions regarded heat recovery function and placement of DV units within the apartment space. The question about modeling the DV units themselves within a Software, IDA-ICE was investigated. The placement of DV unit has been proposed. The advantages and drawbacks of using such systems were outlined and compared to centralized ventilation. The question of modeling DV units in building simulation software was raised and discussed. Results show that, given the chosen set of boundary conditions and model of DV, it offers the best performance energy-wise in the mild season. The differences are most visible during colder months when the heat demand is highest. A DV came out with slightly worse energy performance with low heat recovery unit (HRU) performance. The differences weren’t substantial and none of the analyzed systems met the TEK17 requirement for net delivered energy for residential buildings. No significant difference was shown regarding indoor climate indicators across systems. Seasonal energy analysis shows marginal differences between systems. HRU function showed significant energy-saving potential in cold seasons.

Effect of twisted fins on the melting performance of PCM in a latent heat thermal energy storage system in vertical and horizontal orientations: Energy and exergy analysis

• Performance of a LHTES unit in the presence of twisted fins is studied. • Different number of fins in vertical and horizontal orientations were considered. • Paraffin wax was used as PCM. • Triple fin and double fin outperformed other cases in vertical and horizontal cases. • The best case is a trade-off between the fin number and length of fins. Solar energy and other renewable energy resources are of great importance to solve the energy crisis in the 21th century. In this regard, the energy storage systems play a vital role as a means of harnessing solar energy. In this study, performance enhancement of a shell and tube latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system in terms of energy and exergy has been assessed by implementing twisted fins in a PCM enclosure with both vertical and horizontal orientations by using Finite Volume Method and the Enthalpy-Porosity method has been used for simulating the melting process. The fins have constant heat transfer surface with different configurations including single, double, triple and quadruple fins along with a case study about effect of penetrating the fin inside the tube. Paraffin wax was used as PCM. The results have been presented in terms of melt fraction, temperature and velocity magnitude contours, melt fraction and temperature curves, average Nusselt number and total melting time for both horizontal and vertical orientations. In order to better evaluate the optimizations made, exergy analysis has also been performed and the exergetic efficiency has also been presented. It was revealed that the triple fin in vertical orientation and double fin in horizontal orientation have the best effect on melting enhancement of PCM with 11.2% and 10.7% of enhancement in melting time in comparison with the worst finned case, and 37.4% and 30.5% enhancement in comparison with the base case. It was also shown demonstrated that the triple fin in vertical orientation and double fin in horizontal orientation have the best exergy efficiency.

Thermodynamic and Exergo-economic Analyses of Waste Heat Recovery of a Two-shaft Turbofan Engine Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle

In this study, first-law, second-law, and exergo-economic investigations are accomplished to recover the waste heat of a two-shaft turbofan engine applying a supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle. The efficacy of different operating parameters including the inlet temperature of the turbine, the pressure ratio of the compressor, and Mach number on the performance of the proposed system in terms of energy and exergy performance, exergy destruction rate, and annual levelized cost of investment have been examined. The results indicate that the energy performance of the cycle is specified as 42.94%, the second-law performance of the cycle is calculated as 85.88% and the whole power generation amount of the system is achieved to be 9806 kW. Also, the results display that among the various components of the proposed system, the maximum amount of exergy destruction occurred in the low-pressure compressor, the fan, and the mixer. It is found that by increasing the inlet temperature of the high-pressure turbine, the first-law efficiency and the second-law efficiency of the proposed cycle decrease while the total cost rate and exergy destruction rate increase. Moreover, it is inferred that the thermodynamic efficiency of the system rises when the pressure ratio of the compressor and Mach number increase. The outcomes also demonstrate that concerning the capital costs and exergy destruction costs of components, the highest amount is obtained for high-pressure turbine and recuperator, which are 326.3 $/h and 358.4 $/h, respectively.

Nanomaterials in facades A Tool Towards Environmental Sustainability in Egypt

The world is witnessing a comprehensive change for all lifestyles as a result of nanotechnology, which caused revolution in the field of finishing materials it has become one of the important tools for the architect in his buildings to achieve his ideas and strive to improve the efficiency of the energy system. To reach an integrated system for a sustainable Nano-building, Nanotechnology has provided many applications that helped the development of architecture by providing solutions for many materials, Non-structural (insulation materials - coatings - glass…) and others. The quest to improve the efficiency of the energy system in terms of rationalizing the energy consumed to cool interior spaces, in addition to improving and removing environmental pollution.Nano-thermal insulation is helping to improve the lives of millions of people in developing countries by providing them with materials with distinctive properties that help in thermal insulation of the building.Nano materials can be used in the cladding of buildings to contribute to achieve thermal comfort for users as one of the principles for sustainability “achieving economic specially in countries suffering from.The research paper sheds light on the applications of nanotechnology in the field of energy efficiency of through an analytical study for different projects cases.

Comparative assessment of energy analysis, drying kinetics, and biochemical composition of tomato waste under different drying conditions

Food industry generates devastating amount of waste, and it is not easy to handle such huge quantities. Tomato industry also generates tons of waste materials and drying is commonly used for waste tomatoes. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of drying methods on drying kinetics, energy aspects, rehydration, shrinkage, and chromatic parameters of waste tomato samples. The β-caroten, lycopene, antioxidant, antiradical activity, total phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, fatty acid, and mineral contents of dried samples were also evaluated. Jena&Das model best estimated the drying process of tomato. The greatest color change values were obtained from air-convective (28.40) drying and the lowest from hybrid (16.03) drying. The highest rehydration capacity was determined in greenhouse (4.06) drying. Microwave drying was identified as the most efficient system in terms of energy (8.67%) and thermal efficiency (7.49%). Effective moisture diffusivity values ranged from 5.54×10–11 to 1.30×10–8 m2s–1. The highest total phenolics and ascorbic acid values were obtained from greenhouse drying. The greatest β-carotene and fatty acid contents were recorded in air convective drying. Microwave drying had the highest FRAP and flavonoid content.

Deep learning optimization and techno-environmental analysis of a solar-driven multigeneration system for producing sustainable hydrogen and electricity: A case study of SanFrancisco

In general, solar-driven systems have substantial heat loss; so that brought designers to consider organic Rankine cycle for heat recovery. However, it still wastes amount of energy in the organic Rankine cycle's condensers. In this context, the present study proposes a novel multigeneration system with the aim of hydrogen and cooling load production, as well as power generation using heat recovery units by considering environmental impacts. The present solar-driven system comprises two power cycles, thermoelectric generator, hydrogen production unit, and absorption chiller subsystem. Performance assessment of the system in terms of energy, exergy, economic, and environmental was executed using a developed programming code, based on a mathematical model. The model's functions were parametrically investigated by considering the most effective parameters. The time-consuming optimization process caused a machine learning optimization procedure to be employed. After optimization, the exergy efficiency, total cost rate, and hydrogen production rate of 13.05%, 101.4 $/h, and 5.15 kg/h were obtained, respectively. For optimized case, the environmental analysis showed that the amount of CO2 emission reduction rate was resulted in 203.2 kg/h, which is 70 kg/h more than the result of base case. San Francisco, as a case study, was investigated to be considered for the potential of implementing the proposed system. As a result, the hydrogen production rate of 5.94 kg/h and net power generation of 1001 kW were acquired at peak.

Performance analysis of a stand-alone integrated solar hydrogen energy system for zero energy buildings

This study analyzes the optimal sizing design of a stand-alone solar hydrogen hybrid energy system for a house in Afyon, Turkey. The house is not connected to the grid, and the proposed hybrid system meets all its energy demands; therefore, it is considered a zero-energy building. The designed system guarantees uninterrupted and reliable power throughout the year. Since the reliability of the power supply is crucial for the house, optimal sizing of the components, photovoltaic (PV) panels, electrolyzer, storage tank, and fuel cell stack is critical. Determining the sufficient number of PV panels, suitable electrolyzer model and size, number of fuel cell stacks, and the minimum storage tank volume to use in the proposed system can guarantee an uninterrupted energy supply to the house. In this study, a stand-alone hybrid energy system is proposed. The system consists of PV panels, a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, a storage tank, and a PEM fuel cell stack. It can meet the continuous energy demand of the house is sized by using 10 min of averaged solar irradiation and temperature data of the site and consumption data of the house. Present results show that the size of each component in a solar hydrogen hybrid energy system in terms of power depends on the size of each other components to meet the efficiency requirement of the whole system. Choosing the nominal electrolyzer power is critical in such energy systems.

Scrutinizing the Intermittency of Renewable Energy in a Long-Term Planning Model via Combining Direct Integration and Soft-Linking Methods for Colombia’s Power System

The large-scale integration of variable renewable energy sources into the energy system presents techno–economic challenges. Long–term energy system optimization models fail to adequately capture these challenges because of the low temporal resolution of these tools. This limitation has often been addressed either by direct improvements within the long–term models or by coupling them to higher resolution power system models. In this study, a combined approach is proposed to capitalize on the advantages and overcome the disadvantages of both methods. First, the temporal resolution of an energy model was enhanced by approximating the joint probability of the electricity load and the supply of intermittent sources. Second, the projected electricity mix was simulated by a power model at an hourly resolution. This framework was used to analyze mid–century deep decarbonization trajectories for Colombia, subject to future uncertainties of hydroclimatic variability and the development of the bioeconomy. The direct integration method is found to consistently reduce the overestimation of the feasible penetration of VRES. However, its impact is marginal because of its inability to assess the short–term operation of the power system in detail. When combined with the soft–linking method, the reliable operation of the power system is shown to incur an additional overhead of 12–17% investment in flexible generation capacity, 2–5% of the annual energy system cost, and a 15–27% shortfall in achieving the aspired GHG mitigation target. The results obtained by combining both methods are found to be closer to the global optimum solution than using either of these methods individually.

Carbon emission and cost of blockchain mining in a case of peer-to-peer energy trading

Blockchain is an emerging technology that has demonstrated great uptake potential in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) energy trading. The revolution of blockchain brings substantial benefits and innovation to sustainability energy transitions through P2P trading. Blockchain enables energy commodities to be traded. However, perceptions of this technology’s impact on the environment and its associated costs have garnered recent adverse publicity. This paper aims to look at the linkages between blockchain technology and energy systems in terms of blockchain power consumption against blockchain advantage over renewable energy transitions via peer-to-peer energy trading. The amount of energy used and carbon released during the blockchain validation process is estimated, and the cost of blockchain is computed to assess its economic benefit in a peer-to-peer energy trading scenario. Real data from running peer-to-peer energy trading systems are used, and numerous insights on the transformation of peer-to-peer energy trading utilising various blockchain scaling methods are provided. Based on the analysis, this paper concludes that the cost of processing trading transactions is lower using blockchain than current coordination costs. Also, blockchain-based energy can be traded more frequently than current regulations allow in order to reap the full benefits of renewable energy. A secure blockchain-enabled P2P trading environment would lead to fair rates for energy providers and prosumers resulting in stimulating the renewable energy market.

The optimized integration of temperature-controlled transports into distributed sector-integrated energy systems

A model for the electric integration of temperature-controlled transports into decentralized, sector-integrated energy systems of logistics facilities is presented herein. A method for modeling an energy systems interaction with the energy components of a refrigerated trailer (reefer) is also introduced. Furthermore, the optimized integration of all sectors was demonstrated using the open energy modeling framework (oemof). For this purpose, the electricity, heat and transport sectors of a typical logistics company’s premises are considered in the context of a case study, spanning the period of one year. Energy costs, CO2 emissions, load peaks, and PV own-consumption are used to evaluate the gradual conversion of reefer preconditioning (pre-cooling and -heating) from diesel fuel into electrical grid supply. A linear solver optimizes the energy system in terms of costs and facilitates the optimized integration of reefers and the sector-integrated energy system, incorporating load peaks and CO2 emissions. The results of the study demonstrate the great potential of reducing costs and emissions through the electrical integration of different numbers of refrigerated trailers and furthermore show the challenges and implications of this for other sectors. Based on the results of the optimization, normalized preconditioning operations were created and divided by setpoint, such as for transferability and comparability. Substituting diesel with electricity for the preconditioning of refrigerated trailers reduces costs and CO2 emissions: 0.89 € and 1.56 kgCO2 can be saved per normalized electric preconditioning process compared to diesel preconditioning, depending on the setpoint it can be more or less. This positive effect can be enhanced by making optimal use of decentralized PV. The use of battery storage increases self-consumption and reduces load peaks at the grid connection point, thus enabling the optimized integration of preconditioned temperature-controlled transports into sector-integrated energy systems. With optimized use of the battery storage and PV self-consumption, the savings compared to diesel can be increased to 1.12 € and 2.11 kgCO2 per normalized preconditioning process.