Giant batteries and cheap solar power are shoving fossil fuels off the grid

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Service
Keyword(s):  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huang Huanhai

The potential crisis of energy and the deterioration of ecological environment make the world's cumbersomedevelopment of renewable energy including new energy, including solar energy. Traditional energy in the coal, oil andnatural gas are evolved from ancient fossils, it is collectively referred to as fossil fuels. As the world's energy needscontinue to increase, fossil fuels will also be depleted, it is necessary to fi nd a new energy to replace the traditionalenergy. Solar energy is a clean renewable energy with mineral energy incomparable superiority. Modern society shouldbe a conservation-oriented society, and social life should also be a life-saving energy. At the same time, Premier WenJiabao also proposed on June 30, 2005 and stressed the need to speed up the construction of a conservation-orientedsociety. And solar energy as an inexhaustible new environmentally friendly energy has become the world's energyresearch work in the world an important issue. Is the world in the economic situation to take a simpler, economical,environmentally friendly and reliable building heating and heating energy-saving measures. This paper summarizes thecurrent global energy status, indicating the importance of solar power and prospects. Details of the various solar powergeneration methods and their advantages, and made a comparison of this power generation parameters. At the sametime pointed out that the diffi culties faced by solar power and solutions, as well as China's solar power of the favorableconditions and diffi culties. The future of China's solar energy made a prospect.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roghayeh Ghasempour ◽  
Mohammad Alhuyi Nazari ◽  
Morteza Ebrahimi ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi ◽  
H. Hadiyanto

Renewable energies have many advantages and their importance is rising owing to gravely mounting concerns for environmental issues and lack of fossil fuels in the future. Solar energy, well acknowledged as an inexhaustible source of energy, is developing dramatically for different purposes such as desalination and electricity generation. Appropriate solar power plant is very important factor for power generation due to its cost and other constraints. The applied technology is as important as the solar power plants location.  In this paper, a wide variety multi criteria decision making (MCDM) methods, investigated by various researchers, are presented to obtain effective criteria in selecting solar plants sites and solar plants technologies. There is not any comprehensive research providing all required criteria for decision making for site and technology selection. Based on the reviewed researches, weight of each criterion depends on many factors such as region, economy, accessibility, power network, maintenance costs, operating costs, etc. The important criteria for site selection are represented and investigated thoroughly in this review paper.© 2019. CBIORE-IJRED. All rights reservedArticle History: Received June 17th 2017; Received in revised form March 7th 2018; Accepted June 16th 2018; Available onlineHow to Cite This Article: Ghasempour, R., Nazari, M.A., Ebrahimi, M., Ahmadi, M.H. and Hadiyanto, H. (2019) Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM ) Approach for Selecting Solar Plants Site and Technology: A Review. Int Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 8(1), 15-25.https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.8.1.15-25


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanghyun Lee

Photovoltaics (PV-also called solar photovoltaic devices) are used to harness the power of the sun via the electronic process that occurs within semiconductor cells. The solar energy is absorbed by the cells, which causes the electrons to break away from their atoms, allowing them to flow within the material to produce electricity. This electricity will become the renewable energy for Kentucky, as the generation of coal will but come to a stop within the near future. Like Denmark who is running on 100% renewable generation we must stride to become fully operational on solar. In the present work, we systematically studied about renewable energy resources, in particular, solar energy for the application of photovoltaic panels in Eastern Kentucky. By analyzing data from our PV cells at Morehead State University designed to follow the direction of the sun for optimized output and by incorporating MPPT charge controllers, we have constructed a maximum power algorithm that performs best for the location. Utilizing these, measurements of daily electricity production in comparison to the average power needed for household use has validated our research. With the advancements in solar cell technology what was once impossible is now reality, as solar power can easily power this region based on our data. Knowing this, being a prime location we can now push to enable the advancement of renewable energy production and become less dependent on fossil fuels, thus creating an infrastructure that will run off solar power.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Noel Hagumimana ◽  
Jishi Zheng ◽  
Godwin Norense Osarumwense Asemota ◽  
Jean De Dieu Niyonteze ◽  
Walter Nsengiyumva ◽  
...  

The energy sector of today’s Rwanda has made a remarkable growth to some extent in recent years. Although Rwanda has natural energy resources (e.g., hydro, solar, and methane gas, etc.), the country currently has an installed electricity generation capacity of only 226.7 MW from its 45 power plants for a population of about 13 million in 2021. The current national rate of electrification in Rwanda is estimated to 54.5% (i.e.; 39.7% grid-connected and 14.8% off-grid connected systems). This clearly demonstrates that having access to electricity is still a challenge to numerous people not to mention some blackout-related problems. With the ambition of having electricity for all, concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic (PV) systems are regarded as solutions to the lack of electricity. The production of CSP has still not been seriously considered in Rwanda, even though the technology has attracted significant global attention. Heavy usage of conventional power has led to the depletion of fossil fuels. At the same time, it has highlighted its unfriendly relationship with the environment because of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission, which is a major cause of global warming. Solar power is another source of electricity that has the potential to generate electricity in Rwanda. Firstly, this paper summarizes the present status of CSP and PV systems in Rwanda. Secondly, we conducted a technoeconomic analysis for CSP and PV systems by considering their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). The input data of the SWOT analysis were obtained from relevant shareholders from the government, power producers, minigrid, off-grid, and private companies in Rwanda. Lastly, the technical and economical feasibilities of CSP and PV microgrid systems in off-grid areas of Rwanda were conducted using the system advisor model (SAM). The simulation results indicate that the off-grid PV microgrid system for the rural community is the most cost-effective because of its low net present cost (NPC). According to the past literature, the outcomes of this paper through the SWOT analyses and the results obtained from the SAM model, both the CSP and PV systems could undoubtedly play a vital role in Rwanda’s rural electrification. In fact, PV systems are strongly recommended in Rwanda because they are rapid and cost-effective ways to provide utility-scale electricity for off-grid modern energy services to the millions of people who lack electricity access.


2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (40) ◽  
pp. 27877-27884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúl Mera-Adasme ◽  
Wen-Hua Xu ◽  
Dage Sundholm ◽  
Fernando Mendizabal

Solar power is a strong alternative to the currently used fossil fuels in order to satisfy the world's energy needs.


Author(s):  
Giovanni Cerri ◽  
Claudio Corgnale ◽  
Coriolano Salvini

Many significant features lead to consider hydrogen as an interesting energy carrier. Hydrogen can be burned with pure oxygen thus the production of CO2 and NOx is avoided. Since molecular hydrogen does not exist on the earth it has to be produced from fossil fuels or from renewable energy sources. Energy from fossil fuels can be transferred into hydrogen and released elsewhere. So relevant reduction of emission of pollutant can be achieved in critical zones at the centres of large cities. Nevertheless the losses occurring during production, distribution and storage of hydrogen lead to an increased consumption of the primary energy source (fossil fuels) and to increased emission levels (CO2 and others). Hydrogen can be obtained from renewable sources such as the solar energy and used in situ for power generation. In this case hydrogen can act as an energy carrier which allows a local energy storage. In such a way the time dependent availability of the solar energy and the production level of the power plant can be decoupled. In a distributed generation context a small size solar power plant equipped with a hydrogen storage system has been studied. Different storage options have been investigated and compared. Finally a liquid hydrogen storage system is proposed. The peculiarities of the selected system allow a reduction of losses, size of machinery and energy requirements. The paper presents an analysis of the more relevant issues related to the different hydrogen storage options suitable for the present application. After the characterization of the solar field in terms of energy availability and the specifications of both the hydrogen production system and the power generation unit, the design of a liquid hydrogen storage system is presented and widely discussed. This method is particularly useful in the plants management (for example nuclear or coal plants), where it’s impossible or very difficult to modify power level, as well. So, such a static system would be useful in order to allow power modulation by H2 plant. In order to do this, a research for individuating high volumic (and mass) specific capacity systems should be driven.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Safari ◽  
Fariborz Safari

According to the Fifth Five Year Development Plan, in Iran, renewable resources, under the green horizon scenarios, must provide 5,000 MW of electricity. Among different types of renewable source of energy, there is no shortage of information in Iran, which is located near to zero line (earth’s equator), with about 300 clear sunny days in a year, about setting policies promoting solar energy. Taking into account the availability and benefits of solar energy for Iran, this paper has focused on solar energy.Recent statistics show that, if the current development plans proceed, the capacity of the installed renewable energy systems would reach 2.8GW by 2030. This requires more than 2800 million US dollar investment in 20 years, i.e., 2010 to 2030. Despite the advantages of using solar energy, such as reducing greenhouse gases, it is important to note that solar power is 2.5 to 5 times as expensive as electricity from existing conventional power sources, such as coal and other sources. In order to encourage people to use solar power, there is a need to change our laws and establish an integrated energy regulation, involving tax policy mechanisms to support the deployment of solar energy in Iran. As Iran is dependent upon its fossil fuels, the transition from fossil fuels to renewable, which is a worldwide goal to reduce GHG or CO2 emissions, requires the adoption of a comprehensive policy and integrated regulation nationwide, taking a multidisciplinary approach. This paper exemplifies and considers the 2005 Energy Policy Act and Investment Tax Credit (ICT) for residential energy property, illustrating how solar-energy-regulation could contribute to the sustained development of solar energy. The main purpose is to help the development of sustainable solar energy regulation in Iran.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Kawira Millien

Fabrication of a prototype direct drive steam turbine using locally available materials provides a means to supply power and process heat for off-grid areas, which are not accessible due to rugged terrain. The use of solar power technologies to provide clean power and heat will mitigate environmental pollution and global warming that are caused by combustion of fossil fuels and other carbon-based power sources. The energy density of fossil fuels is higher than that of nonconcentrated solar power, which makes them a better option compared to nonconcentrated solar power sources. The high cost of steam thermal turbines and the limited technical skills on utilization of local materials for steam turbine construction have hampered the realization of potential of producing both small- and large-scale power in Africa. The design of the single-stage blade wheel system solar thermal turbine was done using AutoCAD 2010. The blades were made from encapsulated rice husk particle boards, and the steam casing was made from 0.0015 galvanized black iron sheet. Compensation for more stages was done by sending the fluid exiting from the turbine into the solar collector for reheating. It was coupled to a single-phase generator and gearbox. The rotor was made of galvanized iron tube. The turbine’s average efficiency was obtained as 61.6% and average isentropic efficiency was 55.3%. The combined gearbox and generator approximate efficiency was 54.7%. Locally available heat transfer fluids were used for solar thermal collection. The prototype turbine was designed to produce 500 W of power. It had a heat rate ratio of 0.08. The turbine inlet conditions were as follows: average temperature of 112.8°C, average pressure of 2.7 × 105 Nm−2, average enthalpy of 3156 kJ/kg, and average steam flow rate of 243.3 kg/hr. Outlet conditions were as follows: outlet average temperature of 97.3°C, average steam flow rate of 102.0 kg/hr, average pressure of 1.20 × 105 Nm−2, and enthalpy of 2103 kJ/kg. With use of 6 M sodium chloride solution, the turbine inlet conditions were as follows: enthalpy of 3789.1 kJ/kg at a pressure of 3.0 × 105 Nm−2 and its enthalpy at exit was 2346.3 kJ/kg at a pressure of 1.05 × 105 m−2 which can provide process heat and power for off-grid areas.


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