scholarly journals Optimising the Concentrating Solar Power Potential in South Africa through an Improved GIS Analysis

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 3258
Author(s):  
Dries. Frank Duvenhage ◽  
Alan C. Brent ◽  
William H.L. Stafford ◽  
Dean Van Den Heever
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
Generating Capacity ◽  
The Impact

Renewable Energy Technologies are rapidly gaining uptake in South Africa, already having more than 3900 MW operational wind, solar PV, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and biogas capacity. CSP has the potential to become a leading Renewable Energy Technology, as it is the only one inherently equipped with the facility for large-scale thermal energy storage for increased dispatchability. There are many studies that aim to determine the potential for CSP development in certain regions or countries. South Africa has a high solar irradiation resource by global standards, but few studies have been carried out to determine the potential for CSP. One such study was conducted in 2009, prior to any CSP plants having been built in South Africa. As part of a broader study to determine the impact of CSP on South Africa’s water resources, a geospatial approach was used to optimise this potential based on technological changes and improved spatial data. A tiered approach, using a comprehensive set of criteria to exclude unsuitable areas, was used to allow for the identification of suitable areas, as well as the modelling of electricity generation potential. It was found that there is more than 104 billion m2 of suitable area, with a total theoretical potential of more than 11,000 TWh electricity generating capacity.

scholarly journals Impact study of NOOR 1 project on the Moroccan territorial economic development

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Amale Laaroussi ◽  
Abdelghrani Bouayad ◽  
Zakaria Lissaneddine ◽  
Lalla Amina Alaoui
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power ◽  
Professional Literature ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Impact

Morocco is one of the countries investing more and more in Renewable Energy (RE) technologies to meet the growing demand for energy and ensure the security of supply in this sector. The number of solar projects planned and implemented, as well as solar thermal projects in the form of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) installations is steadily increasing. Many of these installations are designed as large utility systems. In order to provide strong evidence on local, regional and even national impacts, this article examines the impacts of large-scale renewable energy projects on territorial development, based on a case study of the NOOR 1 (Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)) project in Ouarzazate, Morocco. The data collected during this study, conducted through semi-structured interviews with experts, stakeholders, local community representatives and combined with an analysis of documents provided by the NOOR 1 project managers, investors and consulting firms specialized in the field of Renewable Energy, provide detailed evidence on the type and magnitude of impacts on the economic development of the Moroccan southern region where the NOOR 1 plant is located. The data collected is analyzed using NVIVO software. The study results in a consolidated list of many impacts with varying levels of significance for different stakeholder groups, including farmers, youth, women, community representatives and small and medium firms owners. It should be noted that the importance of analyzing the economic impact of large infrastructure projects is widely recognized, but so far, there is little published in the academic and professional literature on the potential impacts of these projects at the local level. Even less information is available on the local impacts of large-scale project implementation in Morocco. While many macroeconomic studies have fed the recent surge in investment in RE projects with the promise of multiple social, economic, environmental, and even geopolitical benefits at the macro level, public debates and discussions have raised considerable doubts. The question of whether these promises would also leave their marks at the local level has also arisen. Despite these uncertainties, very few academics and practitioners have conducted research to empirically develop a good understanding of the impact of RE projects at the local level. To fill this research gap, the economic impact analysis of NOOR 1 provides a detailed empirical overview, which allows a better understanding of the effects that the infrastructure developments of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants can have on the economic environment in which they are located.

scholarly journals Local content requirements and the impact on the South African renewable energy sector: A survey-based analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Ettmayr ◽  
Hendrik Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
South African ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Peer Group ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Local Content ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Method Approach ◽  
Procurement Programme

Background: Economies aim to grow over time, which usually implies the need for increased energy availability. Governments can use their procurement of energy to increase benefits in their economies via certain policy tools. One such tool is local content requirements (LCRs), where the purchase of goods prescribes that a certain value has to be sourced locally. The argument for this tool is that spending is localised and manufacturing, as well as job creation, can be stimulated because industry will need to establish in the host economy. However, this practice is distortionary in effect and does not create a fair playing ground for global trade. Furthermore, if the local content definition is weak, or open to manipulation, the goals of such a policy may not be achieved at all.Aim: The objective of this study was to determine how LCRs would ultimately impact on the overall procurement programme.Setting: This study took place as South Africa commenced with large scale development of the renewable energy sector. This was largely achieved via the State run Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).Method: This study utilised opinion-based surveys to look into the LCRs of South Africa’s REIPPPP and measure the impact of this policy on the renewable energy sector in general. The mixed method approach was utilised to analyse qualitative and quantitative data and this was then triangulated with an international peer group to arrive at certain conclusions. The Delphi Technique was then employed to achieve population consensus on the findings.Results and conclusion: It was found that, in order to implement a policy such as local content without any negative welfare effects, the host economy had to show certain pre-existing conditions. Because South Africa does not hold all supportive pre-conditions, the impact and effect of LCRs have not been optimal, and it has not been found to be a sustainable mechanism to continue using indefinitely. The pricing of renewable energy was also found to be higher due to local content and such pricing is passed on to the energy consumer. The welfare created for South Africa, which should be in a trade-off for the creation of jobs and manufacturing, is therefore diminished and coupled with unsustainability and potential manipulation of the system, the country does not seem to be benefitting as it should be from this specific application of a local content policy.

Hybrid hydropower-connected floating solar PV plants: impact of the downstream water release constraint

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanislas Merlet ◽  
Magnus Korpås ◽  
Bjørn Thorud
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Power Systems ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Hydropower Plant ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Reservoir Operations ◽  
Water Release ◽  
Renewable Power ◽  
Scale Integration

<p>Solar and wind power continue to dominate the renewable energy expansion, jointly accounting for more than 90% of the new capacity installed in 2019. Hydropower, however, still accounts for 47% of the 2,537 GW of global renewable power in operation. Solar power continued to lead the yearly expansion, for the fourth year in a row, with an annual increase of +20% while hydropower capacity increased by +1%. However, the inherent intermittency and stochastic nature of solar PV is a well-known obstacle to the further large-scale integration of the technology in existing power systems. Large-scale reservoir hydropower offers a cost-competitive, mature and dispatchable alternative that can provide both production flexibility and storage. Nonetheless, the costs of large hydropower are highly site-specific and new capacity development has been more and more constrained by substantial environmental and social impacts in many places worldwide. Solar power and hydropower resources have been identified to be quite complementary and hybrid plants could have many flexibility benefits in addition to the increase of renewable energy production. In this context, floating solar PV (FPV) on hydropower reservoirs is emerging as a relevant solution to accommodate both energy sources at the same location.</p><p>Adding FPV to an existing hydropower plant, aiming at hybridizing the output, might impact its reservoir operations and water-related constraints need to be carefully considered. Solar PV can contribute to saving water on mid- to long-term scheduling considering that solar energy generation corresponds in some extent to non-turbined water, i.e. saved energy. Besides, on the short-term time scale, one of the main benefits is that hydropower could, in some extent, compensate for the variability of PV generation by its rapidly adjustable output. In practice, a utility-scale solar PV plant could lose several MW of generation in seconds, if a large cloud passes, for example. To avoid consequences on the power grid, this energy loss would need to be translated almost immediately (according to available capacity and ramp rates capabilities) to hydropower generation, meaning substantial (and potentially more frequent) surges in released water downstream.</p><p>The presentation investigates these opportunities and challenges linked to reservoir operations of hybrid hydropower-connected floating solar PV plants and provide inputs on optimal solutions.</p>

scholarly journals Hybrid Forecasting Methodology for Wind Power-Photovoltaic-Concentrating Solar Power Generation Clustered Renewable Energy Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6681
Author(s):  
Simian Pang ◽  
Zixuan Zheng ◽  
Fan Luo ◽  
Xianyong Xiao ◽  
Lanlan Xu
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Prediction Method ◽  
Random Fluctuation ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Hybrid Forecasting ◽  
Energy Cluster

Forecasting of large-scale renewable energy clusters composed of wind power generation, photovoltaic and concentrating solar power (CSP) generation encounters complex uncertainties due to spatial scale dispersion and time scale random fluctuation. In response to this, a short-term forecasting method is proposed to improve the hybrid forecasting accuracy of multiple generation types in the same region. It is formed through training the long short-term memory (LSTM) network using spatial panel data. Historical power data and meteorological data for CSP plant, wind farm and photovoltaic (PV) plant are included in the dataset. Based on the data set, the correlation between these three types of power generation is proved by Pearson coefficient, and the feasibility of improving the forecasting ability through the hybrid renewable energy clusters is analyzed. Moreover, cases study indicates that the uncertainty of renewable energy cluster power tends to weaken due to partial controllability of CSP generation. Compared with the traditional prediction method, the hybrid prediction method has better prediction accuracy in the real case of renewable energy cluster in Northwest China.

scholarly journals Impacts of Electric Road Systems on the German and Swedish Electricity Systems—An Energy System Model Comparison

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Olovsson ◽  
Maria Taljegard ◽  
Michael Von Bonin ◽  
Norman Gerhardt ◽  
Filip Johnsson
Keyword(s):  
Wind Power ◽  
Peak Power ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Electricity System ◽  
Road Systems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Electricity Systems

This study analyses the impacts of electrification of the transport sector, involving both static charging and electric road systems (ERS), on the Swedish and German electricity systems. The impact on the electricity system of large-scale ERS is investigated by comparing the results from two model packages: 1) a modeling package that consists of an electricity system investment model (ELIN) and electricity system dispatch model (EPOD); and 2) an energy system investment and dispatch model (SCOPE). The same set of scenarios are run for both model packages and the results for ERS are compared. The modeling results show that the additional electricity load arising from large-scale implementation of ERS is mainly, depending on model and scenario, met by investments in wind power in Sweden (40–100%) and in both wind (20–75%) and solar power (40–100%) in Germany. This study also concludes that ERS increase the peak power demand (i.e., the net load) in the electricity system. Therefore, when using ERS, there is a need for additional investments in peak power units and storage technologies to meet this new load. A smart integration of other electricity loads than ERS, such as optimization of static charging at the home location of passenger cars, can facilitate efficient use of renewable electricity also with an electricity system including ERS. A comparison between the results from the different models shows that assumptions and methodological choices dictate which types of investments are made (e.g., wind, solar and thermal power plants) to cover the additional demand for electricity arising from the use of ERS. Nonetheless, both modeling packages yield increases in investments in solar power (Germany) and in wind power (Sweden) in all the scenarios, to cover the new electricity demand for ERS.

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