Possible Hurdles Foreseen by a Large-scale Introduction of Renewable Energies

Abstract The world of energy is transitioning from one based on fossil-fuels to one based on renewable energies and hydrogen as an energy carrier. At present, only 11% of the world's final energy consumption and less than 1% of industrial hydrogen come from renewable energies. Our analysis shows that this energy transition will take several decades because of two factors. First, renewable energies give more CO2 savings in replacing fossil fuels in the power sector than producing hydrogen for heat generation in the industry sector. Therefore, significant quantities of green hydrogen will not be available until renewable energies have replaced fossil fuels in power generation. This will take at least two decades for advanced economies and twice as long for developing economies. Second, even if blue hydrogen produced by fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage (CCS) is available in large quantities, it is still more expensive than blue fossil fuels which is also decarbonized by CCS. Consequently, fossil fuels and CCS will continue to play a key role in this energy transition. To accelerate this energy transition, governments should introduce a significant carbon tax or carbon credit to incentivize companies to implement large-scale CCS projects. Nations whose governments adopt such policies will go through this energy transition faster and benefit from the associated job creation and economic opportunities.

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Optimization of Power and Levelized Cost for Shrouded Small Wind Turbine

Inventions ◽

10.3390/inventions5040059 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 59

Author(s):

Hasanali Khojasteh ◽

Younes Noorollahi ◽

Mojtaba Tahani ◽

Mehran Masdari

Keyword(s):

Wind Energy ◽

Objective Function ◽

Wind Power ◽

Wind Turbines ◽

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Renewable Energies ◽

Levelized Cost ◽

Small Wind Turbines ◽

Input Parameters

Nowadays, by increasing energy demand and considering the importance of environmental issues in recent decades, the use of renewable energies is expanding. Among renewable energies, wind power and its technology are growing and evolving more rapidly. Resource assessment in Iran has revealed the significant potential of wind energy around the country. To further develop wind energy in the country and create large-scale wind power plants, the consideration of distributed power generation using small wind turbines for applications in agricultural and residential use is needed. Conventional small wind turbines and small wind lens turbines have been developed in recent years. In this research project, a small wind lens turbine is designed. The advantages of this turbine are an increased production capacity and reduced cut-in speed and noise pollution. In this study, a lens (or shroud) is added to a small turbine, and the maximized annual energy production (AEP) and minimization of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) are modeled. We applied the NSGA-II algorithm for optimization to find the best answer. The input parameters in the objective function of the AEP are cut-in, cut-out, rated speeds, scale factor, and shape factor. Additionally, the input parameters in the objective function of the LCOE are the power production, initial capital cost, annual operating expenses, and balance of energy. The results indicate that installing a wind lens turbine in Kish Island led to an LCOE decrease of 56% on average, and we can see an 83% increase in the AEP. In the Firoozkooh area, an average reduction of 59% in the LCOE and 74% increase in the AEP for a wind lens turbine is observed.

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Hybrid Renewable Hydrogen Energy Solution for Application in Remote Mines

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13236365 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (23) ◽

pp. 6365

Author(s):

Hosein Kalantari ◽

Seyed Ali Ghoreishi-Madiseh ◽

Agus P. Sasmito

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Wind Speed ◽

Large Scale ◽

Market Price ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Renewable Energies ◽

Hydrogen Energy ◽

Mining Operations ◽

Average Wind Speed ◽

Carbon Footprints

Mining operations in remote locations rely heavily on diesel fuel for the electricity, haulage and heating demands. Such significant diesel dependency imposes large carbon footprints to these mines. Consequently, mining companies are looking for better energy strategies to lower their carbon footprints. Renewable energies can relieve this over-reliance on fossil fuels. Yet, in spite of their many advantages, renewable systems deployment on a large scale has been very limited, mainly due to the high battery storage system. Using hydrogen for energy storage purposes due to its relatively cheaper technology can facilitate the application of renewable energies in the mining industry. Such cost-prohibitive issues prevent achieving 100% penetration rate of renewables in mining applications. This paper offers a novel integrated renewable–multi-storage (wind turbine/battery/fuel cell/thermal storage) solution with six different configurations to secure 100% off-grid mining power supply as a stand-alone system. A detailed comparison between the proposed configurations is presented with recommendations for implementation. A parametric study is also performed, identifying the effect of different parameters (i.e., wind speed, battery market price, and fuel cell market price) on economics of the system. The result of the present study reveals that standalone renewable energy deployment in mine settings is technically and economically feasible with the current market prices, depending on the average wind speed at the mine location.

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Preparing the Ecuador’s Power Sector to Enable a Large-Scale Electric Land Transport

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14185728 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (18) ◽

pp. 5728

Author(s):

Janeth Carolina Godoy ◽

Daniel Villamar ◽

Rafael Soria ◽

César Vaca ◽

Thomas Hamacher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Demand ◽

Large Scale ◽

Renewable Energies ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Transport Sector ◽

Hydroelectric Power ◽

Power Sector ◽

Hydro Power ◽

Electricity Mix ◽

Development Levels

The Ecuador’s expansion plans for the power sector promote the exploitation of hydro power potential, natural gas and a small share of alternative renewable energies. In 2019, electricity generation reached 76.3% from hydroelectric power, 21.9% from thermal plants and 1.8% from other renewable resources. Although the power energy mix is mainly based on renewable technologies, the total energy demand is still dependent on fossil fuels, which is the case of the transport sector that alone accounted for 50% of the total primary energy consumed in the country. This paper analyzes the pathway to develop a clean and diversified electricity mix, covering the demand of three specific development levels of electric transportation. The linear optimization model (urbs) and the Ecuador Land Use and Energy Netwrok Analysis (ELENA) are used to optimize the expansion of the power system in the period from 2020 to 2050. Results show that reaching an electricity mix 100% based on renewable energies is possible and still cover a highly electrified transport that includes 47.8% of land passenger, and 5.9% of land freight transport. Therefore, the electrification of this sector is a viable alternative for the country to rely on its own energy resources, while reinforcing its future climate change mitigation commitments.

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Legal and Policy Framework for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Development in Vietnam

Vietnamese Journal of Legal Sciences ◽

10.2478/vjls-2020-0002 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 33-47

Author(s):

Tran Viet Dung

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Large Scale ◽

Negative Impact ◽

High Energy ◽

Renewable Energies ◽

Policy Framework ◽

Renewable Energy Resources ◽

Economic Sectors

AbstractVietnam has experienced an economic growth accompanied by increasing energy demand and inadequate supplies. Like most developing countries, the increased inefficient use of energy in Vietnam leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions and high energy costs for consumers. Also, the traditional sources of energy are not sufficient to satisfy the demand of the economic sectors.With the negative impact of climate change on water resources and the depletion of coal, oil and gas reserves, Vietnam must diversify and integrate other forms of renewable energies into its energy mix. The efficient use of renewable energy resources can boost economic development. Thus, the policies for endorsing renewable energies and energy efficiency are playing a vital role in ensuring the sustainable development for Vietnam’s future. This paper examines the legal and policy framework influencing the deployment of renewable energies and energy efficiency in Vietnam. The paper also attempts to identify major barriers to a large scale deployment of renewable energies and energy efficiency technologies and offers some possible solutions.

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New Approach for Offshore Pile Decommissioning With Hydraulic Presses and Floating Panels

Volume 10: Offshore Geotechnics ◽

10.1115/omae2020-18784 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Patrick Lehn ◽

Nils Hinzmann ◽

Jörg Gattermann

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Competent Authority ◽

Wind Farms ◽

Renewable Energies ◽

Offshore Wind ◽

Offshore Wind Farms ◽

Pullout Resistance ◽

Offshore Wind Turbines ◽

Technical Solutions ◽

Large Scale Tests

Abstract Renewable Energies become more and more important in industries and society all over the world. In Germany, offshore wind farms generated 49 % of the renewable energies in 2018. Monopiles are the preferred system for the foundation of offshore wind turbines in water depths up to 40 m. They are authorized by the competent authority for 25 years. When reaching the end of lifetime, the structure inclusive the foundation must be decommissioned. The decommissioning of monopiles will be challenging in the future and can lead to unexpected costs and risks for the owners. Removing the monopiles in it’s entirely ensures the opportunity to reuse the space for new offshore wind farms. The Institute of Geomechanics and Geotechnics of the Technische Universität Braunschweig (IGG-TUBS) obtained the funding for the research program on technical solutions with large-scale tests for decommissioning of offshore monopiles named DeCoMP. Several decommissioning methods such as vibratory extraction, internal dredging, external jet drilling, decommissioning with overpressure and the use of buoyancy force are investigated. The proposed paper will present technical opportunities and issues for extracting the pile with hydraulic presses in combination with a steel framework. Hydraulic presses brace the steel framework with the monopile. Further hydraulic presses, positioned at a certain distance to the pile on the framework, use the seabed as abutments to push out the monopile. In addition, results of a feasibility study to remove monopiles with floatation panels are presented in this paper. This method is based on floating panels, which are attached to the monopile above the mud line. These panels are inflated with air pressure to reach the required amount of buoyancy to overcome the pullout resistance. The decommissioning solutions are compared to point out possible combinations.

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Hydrogen Fuel Cell Road Vehicles and Their Infrastructure: An Option towards an Environmentally Friendly Energy Transition

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13226132 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (22) ◽

pp. 6132

Author(s):

Olivier Bethoux

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Large Scale ◽

Environmentally Friendly ◽

Road Transport ◽

Cell System ◽

Renewable Energies ◽

Fuel Cell Vehicle ◽

Hydrogen Fuel Cell ◽

Long Distance ◽

Heavy Load

The latest pre-production vehicles on the market show that the major technical challenges posed by integrating a fuel cell system (FCS) within a vehicle—compactness, safety, autonomy, reliability, cold starting—have been met. Regarding the ongoing maturity of fuel cell systems dedicated to road transport, the present article examines the advances still needed to move from a functional but niche product to a mainstream consumer product. It seeks to address difficulties not covered by more traditional innovation approaches. At least in long-distance heavy-duty vehicles, fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are going to play a key role in the path to zero-emissions in one or two decades. Hence the present study also addresses the structuring elements of the complete chain: the latter includes the production, storage and distribution of hydrogen. Green hydrogen appears to be one of the potential uses of renewable energies. The greener the electricity is, the greater the advantage for hydrogen since it permits to economically store large energy quantities on seasonal rhythms. Moreover, natural hydrogen might also become an economic reality pushing the fuel cell vehicle to be a competitive and environmentally friendly alternative to the battery electric vehicle. Based on its own functional benefits for on board systems, hydrogen in combination with the fuel cell will achieve a large-scale use of hydrogen in road transport, as soon as renewable energies become more widespread. Its market will expand from large driving range and heavy load vehicles.

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The Color of Energy: The Competition to be the Energy of the Future

10.2523/iptc-21348-ms ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hon Chung Lau

Keyword(s):

Financial Incentives ◽

Large Scale ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

Carbon Capture And Storage ◽

Green Energy ◽

Renewable Energies ◽

Carbon Intensity ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Energy Carriers ◽

Co2 Intensity

Abstract Energies may be described as brown, blue or green. Brown energies are CO2-emitting fossil fuels. Blue energies employ carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to remove the emitted CO2 from brown energies. Green energies are zero or low CO2-emitting renewable energies. Likewise, energy carriers such as electricity and hydrogen may be described as brown, blue or green if they are produced from brown, blue or green energy, respectively. The transition from a high carbon intensity to a low carbon intensity economy will require the decarbonization of three major sectors: power, transport and industry. By analyzing the CO2 intensity and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of energy and energy carriers of different colors, we show that renewable energies are best used in replacing fossil fuels in the power sector where it has the most impact in reducing CO2 emission. This will consume the majority of new additions to renewable energies in the near to medium future. Consequently, the decarbonation of the transport and industry sectors must begin with the use of blue electricity, blue fossil fuels and blue hydrogen. To achieve this, implementation of large-scale CCS projects will be necessary, especially outside of USA and northern Europe. However, this will not happen until significant financial incentives in the form of carbon tax or carbon credit becomes available from national governments. Furthermore, private-public partnership and intergovernmental cooperation will be needed to implement these CCS projects.

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German Energiewende and its Implications for China

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.962-965.1741 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 962-965 ◽

pp. 1741-1745

Author(s):

Qian Kun Wang

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Energy Resource ◽

Renewable Energies ◽

Rapid Expansion ◽

Policy Framework ◽

Core Element ◽

Distributed Generators ◽

Capacity Market ◽

Generating Capacity ◽

Incentive Policies

Germany’s strategic choice of Energiewende is closely related to its specific political, historical, economic and energy resource backgrounds. Renewable Energy has long been the core element of German Energiewende. Boosted by favorable incentive policies, renewable energies such as wind power and PV installations has experienced a rapid growth in the last decades. But the rapid expansion of renewable energies also leads to skyrocketing cost for electricity consumers, grid incapability of integrating large scale distributed generators and insufficiency of generating capacity. To cope with these problems, the federal government is considering a thorough revision of its policy framework for renewable energies. The key idea is that, the development goal should be set more rationally, more attention should be attached to economic affordability, and capacity market should be considered in the medium term to ensure reliable operation of power system.

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