Utilization Of Renewable Energy Technologies Research Articles

Dominant factors for solar energy choice by Manufacturing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs’) in Tanzania

Energy demand by manufacturing industries has increased significantly whereby fossil fuels consumption is dominant. Increased concern over resource depletion, and environmental impacts, suggests future dependence on renewable energies. Tanzania is blessed with abundant solar energy and its exploitation may contribute to increased energy access. Despite the paybacks of renewable energy, studies on the exploration of the dominant factors for energy choice by manufacturing MSME’s are scarce. This study explored the dominant factors for solar energy choice by manufacturing MSME’s. Questionnaires were used to collect data (n = 236) from employees in manufacturing MSMEs’ whereby descriptive and multinomial probit (MNP) model were employed to establish the dominant factors. The findings of MNP revealed that not expensive energy, and other factors (e.g., availability of solar appliances) have significant influence on solar PV use, while the adoption of hydro-electricity was significantly influenced by not expensive and advised to use energy. Easy access, and not expensive have significant influence on fossil fuels. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) results revealed that all factors (i.e., environmental, social, and economic) have significant influence on workers perception of sustainable manufacturing. These findings provide critical information for policy making instruments in Tanzania for informed decisions in the formulation of policies in the utilization of renewable energy technologies.

Optimal management of shared energy storage in remote microgrid: A user-satisfaction approach

This study investigates the utilization of renewable energy technologies, such as solar photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage, to reduce reliance on fossil-fuel microgrid generators in remote areas. However, renewable energy alone is not enough to address the existing challenges. Therefore, to optimize microgrid performance, it is crucial to incorporate shared energy storage and demand-response (DR) strategies from the demand side. Additionally, prosumers engaging in DR often encounter user-satisfaction issues. In this study, we propose a shared energy storage model that considers user satisfaction in remote areas. Additionally, we compared three energy storage models: individual, neighbor, and communal, to assess their effectiveness. To validate our findings, we juxtaposed two pricing scenarios: fixed and time-of-use (TOU) rates. The results of our study indicate that using shared energy storage leads to operational cost savings and increases user satisfaction compared to other scenarios. Finally, we employed the social index rate and performed a sensitivity analysis to determine the optimal operation that balances economic and environmental considerations.

Forecasting synergistic pathways between rare earth elements, renewable energy, and product and economic complexities in achieving a low-carbon future

Recent decades have witnessed an unprecedented transformation in the global energy landscape, driven by environmental concerns and the quest for sustainable economic growth. As the world grapples with the urgent need for decarbonization, the utilization of renewable energy technologies with the instrumental role of rare earth elements (REEs) has come to the forefront. However, empirical investigations into their synergistic pathways for product and economic complexities concerning achieving a low-carbon future remain scarce. Therefore, we forecast synergistic pathways between the REE supply, renewable energy, economic and product complexities, and GDP growth using a panel dataset of 11 REE-producing countries from 1990 to 2023. We used Common Correlated Effects and Temporal Causal Models as primary methods to estimate panel long-run elasticities and subsequently forecast mutual causal synergies between the variables. The results indicated that REE supply led to renewable energy and economic growth that further elevated the countries’ product and economic complexities rankings. GDP growth increased REE production, economic complexity, and renewable energy directly, and consequently, product complexity and REE production through them. This underscores the positive role of REE production coupled with renewable energy technologies in achieving a low-carbon future based on economic diversification, enhanced industrial capabilities, and technological sophistication.

Sustainability and Renewable Energy in the UAE: A Case Study of Sharjah

In 2023, the UAE adapted its National Energy Strategy to accommodate several new goals, including doubling renewable energy (RE) capacity to 14 GW by 2030. This development further highlights the significance of transitioning towards RE sources. This study focuses on examining and assessing the utilization of RE technologies in Sharjah, an emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It offers an overview of Sharjah’s current energy scenario and investigates the factors influencing the adoption of RE technologies in the area. Furthermore, it provides an evaluation of RE installations, energy production capacity, and future prospects for RE in Sharjah. These findings contribute to a deeper comprehension of the transition towards RE and its potential in Sharjah. The analysis uncovers a growing inclination towards adopting RE in Sharjah. Solar energy installations are experiencing an upswing, driven by advancements in technology, cost reductions, and supportive policies. However, wind energy installations remain limited due to lower wind potential in the region. The adoption of RE technologies in Sharjah yields several advantages, including a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, diversification of energy sources, and the potential for economic expansion. Nevertheless, challenges like intermittency, grid integration, and initial investment costs require attention to further expedite adoption. The outlook for RE in Sharjah appears promising. Sustained government backing and ongoing research and development efforts, in addition to collaborations between public and private sectors, can facilitate the wider implementation of RE technologies. Implementing policies that encourage the uptake of RE, such as feed-in tariffs and net metering, should be considered. Additionally, partnerships with international organizations and the exchange of best practices can enhance knowledge transfer and capacity building.

Techno-economic and environmental feasibility analysis of solar industrial process heating systems in textile industries of Bangladesh

Taking into account the energy crisis and concerns about the effect of burning fossil fuels on the environment, the utilization of renewable energy technologies is being promoted extensively. Despite having significant potential, the feasibility of utilizing solar thermal energy as industrial process heat in Bangladesh is yet to be assessed and this paper aims to fill this research gap. In current work, the viability of utilizing solar thermal energy in Bangladesh for industrial process heating is investigated by parametric analysis considering thermal, economic, and environmental factors. Effect of mass flow rate and inlet temperature on overall heat loss coefficient is studied. The heat gain with respect to the available area for different mass flow rates is presented which can be used as a guideline to determine the capacity of an installed system. A case study is presented for an operational textile factory in Mymensingh to realize the potential of solar industrial process heat using flat plate solar collectors. Energy savings might reach up to 14.7% in summer and around 9% in winter which also leads to reduction of CO2 emission to the same percentage. The payback period has been found to be 13.58 years.

Toward environmental sustainability: Nexus between tourism, economic growth, energy use and carbon emissions in Singapore

Singapore is a renowned tourist destination; however, the country's rapid economic growth has led to rising energy consumption and carbon emissions. This study aims to examine the factors that contribute to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Singapore, including tourism, economic growth, and energy use. The dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) approach was used to analyze time series data from 1990 to 2020. The results of the empirical study revealed that the tourist coefficient is positive and significant. A 0.50% increase in CO2 emissions relates to a 1% increase in tourism activities over time, according to the findings. In addition, the result indicates that the economy's long-run growth coefficient is significantly negative. This shows that a 1% economic growth will reduce CO2 emissions by 0.03% in the long run. Furthermore, a positive and statistically significant correlation for energy consumption suggests that a long-term increase of 1% in energy consumption is associated with an increase of 0.88% in CO2 emissions. To promote the emergence of sustainable development and a low-carbon economy, this article proposed policy recommendations addressing the reduction of emissions and the promotion of ecologically responsible and sustainable tourism while boosting the utilization of renewable energy technologies.

Potential of Utilization of Renewable Energy Technologies in Gulf Countries

This critical review report highlights the enormous potentiality and availability of renewable energy sources in the Gulf region. The earth suffers from extreme air pollution, climate changes, and extreme problems due to the enormous usage of underground carbon resources applications materialized in industrial, transport, and domestic sectors. The countries under Gulf Cooperation Council, i.e., Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, mainly explore those underground carbon resources for crude oil extraction and natural gas production. As a nonrenewable resource, these are bound to be exhausted in the near future. Hence, this review discusses the importance and feasibility of renewable sources in the Gulf region to persuade the scientific community to launch and explore renewable sources to obtain the maximum benefit in electric power generation. In most parts of the Gulf region, solar and wind energy sources are abundantly available. However, attempts to harness those resources are very limited. Furthermore, in this review report, innovative areas of advanced research (such as bioenergy, biomass) were proposed for the Gulf region to extract those resources at a higher magnitude to generate surplus power generation. Overall, this report clearly depicts the current scenario, current power demand, currently installed capacities, and the future strategies of power production from renewable power sources (viz., solar, wind, tidal, biomass, and bioenergy) in each and every part of the Gulf region.

Pre- and Post-Adoption Beliefs about the Diffusion and Continuation of Biogas-Based Cooking Fuel Technology in Pakistan

A high level of acceptance and adoption is necessary to facilitate the widespread utilization of renewable energy technologies for cooking, as such utilization is essential for displacing the population’s massive dependence on fossil fuels and solid biomass. Economic and demographic aspects have been the focus of recent literature in exploring the adoption phenomenon of biogas technology. However, literature to date has given little attention to the behavioral factors and the perceptions of the end-users. Our study does not only include behavioral factors, but it employs a hybrid model to explore the continued attentions of users based on their post-adoption beliefs and performance expectations. Using a survey conducted in Pakistan in 2017, the study conducts a multivariate analysis through structural equation modeling to measure the effect of pre- and post-adoption beliefs and expectation on adoption and the continuing intention of households towards biogas technology. Results show that the acceptance of the households towards biogas technology is highly influenced by their perceptions on the benefits, as well as their trust in the technology. The perceived cost and risk attached to the technology are found to be negatively correlated with the acceptance. Households’ intentions to continue the use of biogas technology is highly influenced by the satisfaction level of the users of biogas technology. With the integrated model of adoption and continuation, the study illustrates the dynamic process in obtaining a deeper understanding of a user’s behavior to better formulate the policies for increasing the rate of technology adoption.

(Invited) Molten Salt Synthesis of Lithium Conducting Garnets for More Scalable Solid-State Batteries

Solid-state lithium-ion batteries (SSLIBs) can simultaneously improve both energy density and safety over current state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). These critical advantages are expected to enable next generation battery-based energy storage for both commercial applications such as consumer devices and transportation and greater utilization of renewable energy technologies. The key component to SSLIBs is the solid-electrolyte, ideally allowing fast ion conduction, possessing electrochemical stability with metallic lithium to enable higher energy density, and exhibiting chemical stability under ambient conditions. Lithium conducting garnets, in particular doped lithium lanthanum zirconate (LLZO) possess all of these advantageous characteristics. While lithium garnets have demonstrated exceptional properties under laboratory conditions, only a few groups have demonstrated a robust, scalable process to integrate them into SSLIBs. Some of the main challenges to incorporating garnets such as LLZO are the relatively high processing temperatures required and brittle nature of devices based on these sintered polycrystalline ceramics. Processing schemes amenable to roll-to-roll type processing such as tape-casting have been demonstrated, but generally require very fine powders to produce thin electrolyte membranes and subsequently low cell resistance. However, lithium garnets are most commonly synthesized via solid-state reactions (SSR), generally requiring high temperatures (> 900 °C), long reaction times (often in excess of 8 h), and concomitant high energy cost. Further, the resultant particle sizes of LLZO synthesized via SSR are relatively large, and fine powders are only obtained after further processing via high energy milling. Molten salt synthesis (MSS) has recently been demonstrated as an alternative strategy to obtain phase-pure crystalline LLZO, with the added benefit of generally shorter reaction times (4 h or less), lower temperatures, and in some cases inherently submicron particle sizes, while maintaining expected high ionic conductivity. Design principles for formation of doped and co-doped LLZO are discussed, wherein salt and reagent composition have direct effects on the formation temperature, particle size, particle size distribution, and electrochemical performance of the as-synthesized material. By engineering inherently fine LLZO powders, a more direct route to practical processing methods such as tape-casting becomes accessible. As such, MSS may prove to be a crucial method to allow LLZO and SSLIBs based on it to transition to a scalable solution for safer, more efficient battery-based energy storage.

Social Acceptance of Renewable Ener9y in Developin9 Countries:Challenges and Opportunities

Utilization of renewable energy technologies has short-term,middle-term and long term interests. Since the portion of renewableenergies have to increase 10% till 2025, legislating relevant policies forincreasing the portion of these energies is essential. This article reportsstudies about the social acceptance level of renewable energies in aselected developing country by using social acceptance pyramid. First,the identified indicators are weighted based on the circumstances ofrenewable energies. After that, the selected renewable sources, wind,solar, and geothermal, are ranked based on the indicators and analyticalhierarchy process. The research results indicate that wind energy hasthe better social acceptance position than solar and geothermal energies.Finally, some polices are suggested for increasing the acceptance level ofall renewable energies in developing countries.

Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy in Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities

Utilization of renewable energy technologies has short-term, middle-term and long term interests. Since the portion of renewable energies have to increase 10% till 2025, legislating relevant policies for increasing the portion of these energies is essential. This article reports studies about the social acceptance level of renewable energies in a selected developing country by using social acceptance pyramid. First, the identified indicators are weighted based on the circumstances of renewable energies. After that, the selected renewable sources, wind, solar, and geothermal, are ranked based on the indicators and analytical hierarchy process. The research results indicate that wind energy has the better social acceptance position than solar and geothermal energies. Finally, some polices are suggested for increasing the acceptance level of all renewable energies in developing countries.

Analysis of Generations of Wind Power Technologies Based on Technology Life Cycle Approach

Utilization of renewable energy technologies is one of the strate-gies of the governments in order to increase the level of energy security. One of the main renewable energy resources with fast utilization growth is wind power. However, development of wind power is highly de-pended on its related technologºies. Therefore, wind power technology forecasting is an indispensable requirement to understand how each of the wind energy domains will improve in the future. This research is to focus on the analysis of wind power technologies based on the technol-ogy life cycle approach. The contributions can help researchers, technol-ogy futurists, and policy makers to focus better on the related R&D and utilization policies.

Is the Use of Renewable Energy Sources an Answer to the Problems of Global Warming and Pollution?

It has always been a widely prevalent belief that renewable energy sources are clean and green in contrast to nonrenewable fossil fuels. The oil price shocks of 1973 and 1979, alongside increasing global awareness towards environmental pollution had stimulated great interest in the development of renewable energy sources during the early 1980s. But as the oil prices came down and few breakthroughs were achieved in that period for making the cost of renewable energy comparable or lesser to fossil fuel energy, the enthusiasm of the early 1980s began to wane. In more recent years the spectres of global warming and ocean acidification, which have been primarily attributed to fossil fuel burning, has caused a resurgence of interest in renewable energy sources. As illustrated in this article, scientists from all over the world are strongly advocating large-scale substitution of conventional energy sources with renewable alternatives on the premise that such a move would substantially reduce environmental degradation and global warming. These sentiments are being echoed by policy makers as well as environmental activists. The authors examine the scenarios when different renewable energy technologies may be pressed into service to either produce power in large-scale centralized systems or be used widely in small-scale and dispersed fashion (instead of the rarely large-scale and mostly sporadic manner of their use at present). They discuss that there are likely to be impacts as strongly adverse as global warming and others experienced with fossil fuel use. The purpose of this exercise is not to make a case against renewable resources, but rather to report on a much more realistic and elaborate assessment of the direct and indirect impacts of extensive utilization of renewable energy technologies than has been done hitherto, which will help the cause of renewable resources in the long run. It would help us in preventing most of the likely problems from taking root. In addition, it will spare the world from the type of disillusionment it faces vis a vis large hydel power projects, which were—before their widespread use—perceived as the epitome of virtue.

The prospects of renewable energy technologies for rural electrification: A review from Nepal

Utilization of renewable energy technologies remains one of the major energy policies throughout the world. These technologies are proven to be successful for electrifying rural communities, especially in developing countries. Realizing the benefits of renewable energy sources, the Government of Nepal has initiated the production and distribution of renewable energy technologies in recent years, mainly to electrify rural communities. Although these technologies are suitable for providing electricity in isolated and remote rural areas, their implementation programs have not been successful as expected. This review provides broad-spectrum view about the energy situation in Nepal and highlights the current policies and subsidies for the optimal utilization of renewable energy resources in isolated and poor rural communities. In addition, major promotional barriers for their implementation in Nepal have been discussed.

Managing the Growing Energy Demand: The Case of Egypt

The electric energy consumption rate in Egypt has an average increase of 7% per year through the last three decades. In order to satisfy the ever increasing energy demand, several actions were, and have to be taken. These actions have to be carried out in parallel. The one having the greatest effect is the measures carried out for energy conservation and loss reduction. Diversifying the energy source such as utilization of Renewable Energy technologies can contribute to satisfying the demand and extending the hydro-carbon reserves life. Regional integration of electrical networks will save expenditures used to build additional power plants.

Energy Option for Small Scale Cashew Nut Processing in India

Problem statement: Cashew (Anacardium Occidentale L.) is one of the important tropical crops. India processed about 11,80,000 metric tons of raw cashew nut seeds through 3650 cashew processing industries scattered in many states of country. The cashew nut processing industries are typically located in the rural and backward areas. The most significant difficulty in processing cashew nuts is that the hard outer shell, which contains the edible kernel, contains a caustic oil which can burn the skin and produce noxious fumes when heated. More recently, smaller scale factories use the steaming and cutting method. Approach: At present cashew industries facing problem of interrupted power supply which affect the economical growth of the sector. The cashew industries in India employed different unit operations/methodology for processing depend on variety of raw material, location, technological mechanization, availability of secured energy supply. Results: Large disparities in energy intensity for similar process in the cashew processing reveal the scope for energy conservation to be in the order of 30-48%. There is good scope for effective utilization of solar energy and biomass gasification technology for energy generation in the sector. Conclusion: This study deled with the elucidation of the processing operations in the small-scale cashew processing of Maharashtra with identification of energy consumption for unit operations. The energy conservation opportunities in the cashew nut processing sector were discussed in the study. The scope for utilization of renewable energy technologies like solar dryers for drying of cashew nut seed and cashew kernel were elaborated. The characterization of cashew shell waste available in the processing industry revealed the scope for thermal gasification of shell for heat generation.

The potential of renewable energy technologies for rural development in Lesotho

The potential and utilization of renewable energy technologies (RETs), and energy analysis in Lesotho with emphasis on the contribution of solar energy technologies (SETs) is presented. The heavy reliance of the country on imported fossil fuel coupled with the growing demand for electricity and declining wood fuel supplies call for alternative sources of energy. Taking the average global solar radiation that ranges from 15 to 20 MJ/m 2 and cognizant of the short falls of other renewable energy sources in Lesotho, this paper focuses on the application of solar energy and associated developmental issues. The paper provides a statistical analysis of the energy demand and identifies areas of further growth for SETs. Various application areas of solar energy and their contribution to development in Lesotho together with future prospects for use of solar energy are also discussed. An analysis of the relative merits of using photovoltaic (PV) devices over other renewable energy sources in Lesotho is presented. It is argued that with proper economic support and utilization of efficient RETs, developing countries like Lesotho can meet their basic energy demands and alleviate the problems of energy shortages.

Assessing the potential of renewable energy sources in Turkey

To meet Turkey’s growing energy demand, the installed electric power capacity of 27.8 GW in 2001 has to be doubled by 2010 and increased fourfold by 2020. The difference between Turkey’s total primary energy supply (TPES) of from its own sources and total final consumption (TFC) is projected grow from 1 quad (1.06–2.06) in 1999 to 5.71 quads (2.79–8.5) in 2020 (1 quad=293.071 TWh). Turkey’s limited amount of fossil fuels has a present average ratio of proved reserves of 97.38 quads to production rate of 3.2 quads yr −1 of about 30 years. Turkey’s reliance on fossil fuel-based energy systems to meet the growing demand is most likely to exacerbate the issues of energy insecurity, national environmental degradation, and global climate change in increasing proportions. Economically-feasible renewable energy potential in Turkey is estimated at a total of ca. 1.69 quads yr −1 (495.4 TWh yr −1) with the potential for 0.67 quads yr −1 (196.7 TWh yr −1) of biomass energy, 0.42 quads yr −1 (124 TWh yr −1) of hydropower, 0.35 quads yr −1 (102.3 TWh yr −1) of solar energy, 0.17 quads yr −1 (50 TWh yr −1) of wind energy, and 0.08 quads yr −1 (22.4 TWh yr −1) of geothermal energy. Pursuit and implementation of sustainability-based energy policy could provide about 90 and 35% of Turkey’s total energy supply and consumption projected in 2010, respectively. Utilization of renewable energy technologies for electricity generation would necessitate about 23.2 Mha (29.8%) of Turkey’s land resources.

The requirement and utilization of renewable energy technologies in Chinese rural areas

The tendency of using commercial fossil energy, especially high-quality energy, will increase rapidly along with the rural economic development in China. However, energy consumption for household use in most rural areas still relies on firewood or straw, except the urban suburb. The application and development of renewable energy has been and should play an important role in China. In order to integrate and adapt renewable energy technologies, we need to carefully study the specific economic and social conditions of the rural economic development.