Wind and solar energy utilization for seawater desalination and hydrogen production in the coastal areas of southern Iran

Purpose Acute shortage of potable water and energy supplies is expected to raise in developing countries in the near future. One solid way to address these issues is to exploit renewable energy resources efficiently. Hence, this study aims to investigate wind and solar energy use in the coastal areas of southern Iran for renewable-powered seawater desalination and hydrogen production systems. Design/methodology/approach To accomplish the aforementioned purpose, five areas most prone to the problems in Iran, namely, Mahshahr, Jask and Chabahar ports and Kish and Hormoz islands were scrutinized. To ascertain the amount of wind and solar energy available in the areas, Weibull distribution function, Angstrom–Prescott equation and HOMER software were used. Findings The findings indicated that wind energy density in Kish was 2,014.86 (kWh/m2.yr) and solar energy density in Jask equaled to 2,255.7 (kWh/m2.yr) which possessed the best conditions among the areas under study. Moreover, three commercial wind turbines and three photovoltaic systems were examined for supplying energy needed by the water desalination and hydrogen production systems. The results showed that application of wind turbines with rated power of 660, 750 and 900 kWh in Kish could result in desalting 934,145, 1,263,339 and 2,000,450 (m3/yr) of seawater or producing 14,719, 20,896 and 31,521 (kg/yr) of hydrogen, respectively. Additionally, use of photovoltaic systems with efficiency of %14.4, %17.01 and %21.16 in Jask could desalinate 287, 444 and 464 (m3/yr) of seawater or generate 4.5, 7 and 7.3 (kg/yr) of hydrogen, respectively. Originality/value Compared to the huge extent of water shortage and environmental pollution, there has not been conducted enough studies to obtain broader view regarding use of renewable energies to solve these issues in Iran. Therefore, this study tries to close this gap and to give other developing nations the idea of water desalination and hydrogen production via renewable energies.

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Electric Conditioning and Efficiency of Hydrogen Production Systems and Their Integration with Renewable Energies

Renewable Hydrogen Technologies ◽

10.1016/b978-0-444-56352-1.00014-3 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 333-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Alfredo Ursúa ◽

Pablo Sanchis ◽

Luis Marroyo

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Production ◽

Production Systems ◽

Renewable Energies

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Decision-making method for evaluating solar desalination options: the case of Saudi Arabia

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management ◽

10.1108/jstpm-03-2019-0032 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 343-356

Author(s):

Sa'd Shannak ◽

Malak Alnory

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Solar Energy ◽

Water Desalination ◽

Economies Of Scope ◽

Base Case ◽

Analysis Model ◽

Content Type ◽

Desalination Plants ◽

The Impact ◽

Solar Generation

Purpose Solar as an energy source has a massive potential to reduce dependence on fossil fuels in Gulf Countries (GC). One attractive application of solar energy is solar-powered desalination, which is a viable method to produce fresh water. The most significant factor determining the potential deployment of this application is economics. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the classical economic analysis model has been modified to assess the penetration of solar technology to power desalination plants at different periods during the project lifetime. Furthermore, the environmental and financial values were combined to assess the incentive of powering desalination plants with solar energy in Saudi Arabia. Three systems of solar technologies accompanied with water desalination based on technical applicability were modeled and economically analyzed to understand the impact of various design and operation parameters. Findings This study shows that PV-RO is currently more competitive at both market and administrated prices in Saudi Arabia, followed by the MED-CSP system and finally CSP-RO system. CSP-RO system starts to generate positive surplus after 11 years, while the base case shows no positive surplus at all during the entire lifetime. Moreover, the same trend continues to hold with MED-CSP and PV-RO systems. The MED-CSP generates positive surplus after six years and PV-RO after five years only. On average, it takes eight years for a project running based on solar (CAPEX and OPEX) and desalination OPEX to generate positive cash surplus. Originality/value This paper discusses the debate about incentives for renewable energy in GC and the impact of coupling water production and solar generation. Given that there is no analytical framework built earlier, this paper provides an alternative methodology for policy analysis to understand the role of economies of scope to incentivize solar generation. In other words, the authors are investigating options to reduce the total cost of solar production as a result of increasing the number of different goods produced.

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Analysis of the requrements for installing photovoltaic systems in order to achieve improved performances: Case study of the City of Nis

Facta universitatis - series Architecture and Civil Engineering ◽

10.2298/fuace160328010s ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 145-152

Author(s):

Marija Stamenkovic ◽

Snezana Antolovic ◽

Dragan Kostic ◽

Mihailo Mitkovic

Keyword(s):

Solar Energy ◽

Energy Use ◽

Pilot Project ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Renewable Energies ◽

Small Scale ◽

Photovoltaic Systems ◽

Solar Plant ◽

Sustainable Electricity ◽

The City

The use of renewable energies is imperative nowadays. One of the ways to use clean technologies is installation of photovoltaic systems which convert solar energy into electricity, through solar plants. The country?s potential for usage of solar energy is determined by the analysis of climatic conditions. The research is conducted on the example of a small-scale solar plant - a pilot project installed in the city of Nis, concerning the analysis of the mounted system and giving the recommendations for their design with the aim of improving efficient energy use. Limitations in the installation of solar plants can occur in the case of an unfavorable position of the building where the installation is planned, and more often, the limitations are related to the investment costs and length of the repayment period of these kinds of technologies. This paper represents a promotion of sustainable electricity supply for our country and it is in correlation with the legal directives of using renewable energies.

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Motivational drivers for the adoption of green energy

Management Research Review ◽

10.1108/mrr-02-2018-0070 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 (5) ◽

pp. 542-567 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Pilar Arroyo ◽

Lorena Carrete

Keyword(s):

Solar Energy ◽

Framing Theory ◽

Green Energy ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Photovoltaic Systems ◽

Socioeconomic Level ◽

Major Barrier ◽

Content Type ◽

Goal Framing ◽

The Cost

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically test a model where different motivational drivers are used to stimulate the intention of individuals to purchase green energy. Design/methodology/approach The goal-framing theory was used as the theoretical basis to design motivational statements that activate different self-goals driving the intention to adopt green energy. A field experiment was performed to investigate the influence of three different goal triggers on the intention of purchase green energy, specifically solar systems, among households living in a major city located in the central part of Mexico. The effect of demographics, environmental consciousness and perceived risk associated to the technology functionality was also considered in explaining the probability of purchase of a photovoltaic system in a short (one year) and medium (five years) terms. Findings The goal trigger grounded on normative motivations is the most influential on the probability of adoption of a photovoltaic system. However, the socioeconomic level of the household moderates the effect this type of goal trigger has on the intention of purchase a photovoltaic system. Individuals with a high socioeconomic level significantly increase their intention of purchase this green technology if motivated by a normative goal. On the contrary, individuals with a medium socioeconomic level are mostly motivated by goal triggers grounded on economic benefits. Research limitations/implications This study was circumscribed to a particular city of Mexico. Replication of the experiment in cities of other developing countries with contrasting sociotechnical contexts and the consideration of other green behaviours and explanatory variables is relevant to confirm and complement the results of this research. Practical implications The cost of photovoltaic systems represents a major barrier to the growth of the Mexican market of this renewable energy. Therefore, the promotion strategy for solar energy must be accompanied by the design of appropriate motivational drivers depending on the socioeconomic level of the segment and the time for the investment. Additionally, public and private strategies to decrease the cost of the technology and financing programs for individual and community projects are recommended. Social implications The willingness to use green energy and contribute to the protection of the environment should spring from within consumers. To upscale the solar energy market, it is relevant to understand the dominant goals of individuals when taking the decision to purchase green energy. Originality/value This study contributes to the extant research in green marketing by proposing and testing a new interpretative framework to examine how the benefits of green energy activate the self-goals of consumers, thus influencing their intentions of adoption of green energy. A theoretical model is proposed by constructing “goal-triggers” grounded on the goal-framing theory and empirically testing in the specific case of explaining the intention of purchasing photovoltaic systems in Mexico.

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A modelling methodology for a solar energy-efficient neighbourhood

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment ◽

10.1108/sasbe-10-2017-0044 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 117-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mansoureh Gholami ◽

Majid Mofidi Shemirani ◽

Rima Fayaz

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Solar Energy ◽

Photovoltaic Systems ◽

Urban Context ◽

Energy Potential ◽

Content Type ◽

Modeling Methodology ◽

Energy Factors ◽

Urban Energy ◽

The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology to quantify the solar energy potential for applying photovoltaic systems and find an efficient geometry for urban blocks to obtain a better quality of daylighting in terms of continuous daylight autonomy (DA) and spatial DA with less energy consumption. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a complete simulation of the topography and micro-climate of the area under study. Simulations were performed using ArcGIS and Rhinoceros and urban daylight (UD) and urban modeling interface plugin for a neighborhood in the region of Narmak in Tehran, Iran. Five configurations of a neighborhood were compared using simulations. Findings It was found that the impact of the geometrical form on daylight gain and energy consumption is significant and the terraced model is the most suitable form for obtaining a constant floor area ratio. Furthermore, it is an optimal form of urban blocks to gain the most energy through photovoltaic systems in the neighborhood as it would be able to satisfy about 42 percent of the energy needs. Originality/value Planning to achieve sufficient energy factors in cities is a difficult task, since urban planners often do not have adequate technical knowledge to measure the contribution of solar energy in urban plans and this paper aims to introduce a comprehensive modeling methodology by which the urban energy planning can be used and understood in the urban context to make it completely clear as a strategy of implementation.

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Efficient Co-Harvesting of Solar Energy and Low-Grade Heat by Molecular Photoswitches for High Energy Density, Long-Term Stable Solar Thermal Battery

10.26434/chemrxiv.9730694.v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Zhao-Yang Zhang ◽

Tao LI

Keyword(s):

Energy Density ◽

Solar Energy ◽

High Performance ◽

High Energy ◽

Solar Thermal ◽

High Energy Density ◽

Low Grade ◽

Thermal Battery ◽

Low Grade Heat

Solar energy and ambient heat are two inexhaustible energy sources for addressing the global challenge of energy and sustainability. Solar thermal battery based on molecular switches that can store solar energy and release it as heat has recently attracted great interest, but its development is severely limited by both low energy density and short storage stability. On the other hand, the efficient recovery and upgrading of low-grade heat, especially that of the ambient heat, has been a great challenge. Here we report that solar energy and ambient heat can be simultaneously harvested and stored, which is enabled by room-temperature photochemical crystal-to-liquid transitions of small-molecule photoswitches. The two forms of energy are released together to produce high-temperature heat during the reverse photochemical phase change. This strategy, combined with molecular design, provides high energy density of 320-370 J/g and long-term storage stability (half-life of about 3 months). On this basis, we fabricate high-performance, flexible film devices of solar thermal battery, which can be readily recharged at room temperature with good cycling ability, show fast rate of heat release, and produce high-temperature heat that is >20<sup> o</sup>C higher than the ambient temperature. Our work opens up a new avenue to harvest ambient heat, and demonstrate a feasible strategy to develop high-performance solar thermal battery.

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