The Current Trends in Conventional Power Plant Technology on Two Continents From the Perspective of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Contractor and Original Equipment Manufacturer

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gosia Stein-Brzozowska ◽  
Christian Bergins ◽  
Allan Kukoski ◽  
Song Wu ◽  
Michalis Agraniotis ◽  
...  

In terms of CO2 emissions, the year 2030 has been addressed as a very crucial deadline for both European Union (EU) and the U.S. Whereas the U.S. Clean Power Plan proposes the reduction of national CO2 emissions from the existing power stations by 30% with respect to 2005, the EU aims at cutback by 40% from their levels in 1990. Due to the restricted emission goals dictated by the European and U.S. energy policies, both energy markets witness currently drastic changes. Whereas the U.S. wants to shift away from coal, the EU shifts away from gas due to high natural gas prices in Europe while drastically increasing the feed-ins from renewable energy sources (RES). In some of the European countries constantly growing installation of renewable energy plants is superseding natural gas-fired power plants and thus causing the electrical grid stabilization to be overtaken by coal fired power stations. On the contrary, the U.S. market due to increasing extraction of shale gas and low natural gas prices puts the gas power plants in favor and poses increasing pressure on closing some coal fired plants. A solution that uses the potential of the existing site and reduces overall emissions is converting from coal into gas-fired power plants, so-called fuel switch. Whereas for the U.S. market the later solution is relevant, in the vast majority of EU Member States the focus is on increasing the flexibility of coal fired power plants. The challenges and technical solutions developed and applied according to the demands of the market in both EU and U.S. are addressed in this paper. Both currently applied technologies and technologies under development are shortly presented.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4209
Author(s):  
Rita Remeikienė ◽  
Ligita Gasparėnienė ◽  
Aleksandra Fedajev ◽  
Marek Szarucki ◽  
Marija Đekić ◽  
...  

The main goal of setting energy efficiency priorities is to find ways to reduce energy consumption without harming consumers and the environment. The renovation of buildings can be considered one of the main aspects of energy efficiency in the European Union (EU). In the EU, only 5% of the renovation projects have been able to yield energy-saving at the deep renovation level. No other study has thus far ranked the EU member states according to achieved results in terms of increased usage in renewable sources, a decrease in energy usage and import, and reduction in harmful gas emissions due to energy usage. The main purpose of this article is to perform a comparative analysis of EU economies according to selected indicators related to the usage of renewable resources, energy efficiency, and emissions of harmful gasses as a result of energy usage. The methodological contribution of our study is related to developing a complex and robust research method for investment efficiency assessment allowing the study of three groups of indicators related to the usage of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and ecological aspects of energy. It was based on the PROMETHEE II method and allows testing it in other time periods, as well as modifying it for research purposes. The EU member states were categorized by such criteria as energy from renewables and biofuels, final energy consumption from renewables and biofuels, gross electricity generation from renewables and biofuels and import dependency, and usage of renewables and biofuels for heating and cooling. The results of energy per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions per million inhabitants (ECO2), energy per capita, the share of CO2 emissions from public electricity, and heat production from total CO2 emissions revealed that Latvia, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, Austria, Lithuania, Romania, Denmark, and Finland are the nine most advanced countries in the area under consideration. In the group of the most advanced countries, energy consumption from renewables and biofuels is higher than the EU average.


Author(s):  
Alexey Dragunov ◽  
Eugene Saltanov ◽  
Igor Pioro ◽  
Pavel Kirillov ◽  
Romney Duffey

It is well known that the electrical-power generation is the key factor for advances in any other industries, agriculture and level of living. In general, electrical energy can be generated by: 1) non-renewable-energy sources such as coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear; and 2) renewable-energy sources such as hydro, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and marine. However, the main sources for electrical-energy generation are: 1) thermal - primary coal and secondary natural gas; 2) “large” hydro and 3) nuclear. The rest of the energy sources might have visible impact just in some countries. Modern advanced thermal power plants have reached very high thermal efficiencies (55–62%). In spite of that they are still the largest emitters of carbon dioxide into atmosphere. Due to that, reliable non-fossil-fuel energy generation, such as nuclear power, becomes more and more attractive. However, current Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) are way behind by thermal efficiency (30–42%) compared to that of advanced thermal power plants. Therefore, it is important to consider various ways to enhance thermal efficiency of NPPs. The paper presents comparison of thermodynamic cycles and layouts of modern NPPs and discusses ways to improve their thermal efficiencies.


2020 ◽  
pp. 117-133
Author(s):  
L.Hr. Melnyk ◽  
O.N. Derykolenko ◽  
Yu.O. Mazin ◽  
O.I. Matsenko ◽  
V.S. Piven

Energy security and independence is one of the key points in sustainable development. In modern conditions of rapid growth and development of technologies, more and more attention is paid to finding practical solutions for environmentally friendly and inexpensive energy production. For a long time, scientists from various fields of scientific activity around the world have been engaged in the development and use of alternative energy sources. The share of renewable energy sources in the generation of electricity around the world is growing steadily, which indicates an increase in the use of energy obtained from alternative sources, such as, for example, wind and sun. These trends testify to the desire of consumers to abandon the use of fossil energy sources and nuclear power plants as much as possible in order to ensure further sister development. Under the current conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for electricity worldwide has decreased, however, as the study shows, this pandemic has not affected the development of renewable energy. The article analyzes modern trends in the development of renewable energy, taking into account the experience of the EU countries and leading countries of the world in this area. As a result, it was concluded that in modern conditions, to achieve sustainable development, transformation processes are needed in such an important area as energy. Various processes in the global economy, which contributed to the intensive development of alternative energy sources, served as a powerful impetus for such changes. Many countries have made significant progress in the development of renewable energy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marijke Welisch ◽  
Gustav Resch ◽  
André Ortner

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to provide estimation results for feasibility of renewable energy source (RES) deployment in Turkey, the Western Balkans and North Africa. From these results, the potential for cooperation in renewables production between the countries and the European Union (EU) is assessed and evaluated, in a mid- (2030) and long-term (up to 2040) perspective. Design/methodology/approach The authors focus on the quantitative assessments undertaken on the extent to which RES cooperation can create mutual benefits, identifying costs and benefits for both sides, but in particular with respect to RES target achievement (2020 and 2030) at EU level. The potentials for RES generation in Turkey, North Africa and the Western Balkans are calculated under different policy pathways, taking into account different levels of economic and non-economic barriers that could occur. Findings Overall, the authors found that increasing RES deployment in the three analysed regions and initiating or intensifying cooperation with EU28 Member States leads to mutual benefits. Concretely, these benefits become apparent in terms of the EU Member States importing renewable energy sources for electricity with a good resource quality and adding on to their targets for RES deployment. At the same time, substantial savings occur for the EU, in turn leading to income and investments in the cooperating regions. Originality/value The assessment underlying this paper is the first of its kind to the authors’ knowledge that opens up the geographical spread in comparison to merely assessing cooperation between Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. Furthermore, the multitude of policy parameters analysed provides detailed and robust insights concerning a broad variety of different possible scenarios.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3-4 (185-186) ◽  
pp. 109-125
Author(s):  
Myroslav Podolskyy ◽  
Dmytro Bryk ◽  
Lesia Kulchytska-Zhyhailo ◽  
Oleh Gvozdevych

An analysis of Ukraine’s sustainable development targets, in particular in the field of energy, resource management and environmental protection, are presented. It is shown that regional energetic is a determining factor for achieving the aims of sustainable development. Changes in the natural environment in Ukraine due to external (global) and internal (local) factors that are intertwined and overlapped can cause threats to socio-economic development. It is proved that in the areas of mining and industrial activity a multiple increase in emissions of pollutants into the environment are observed. The comparison confirmed the overall compliance of the structure of consumption of primary energy resources (solid fossil fuels, natural gas, nuclear fuel, oil and petroleum products, renewable energy sources) in Ukraine and in the European Union, shows a steaby trend to reduce the share of solid fuels and natural gas and increasing the shares of energy from renewable sources. For example, in Ukraine the shares in the production and cost of electricity in 2018 was: the nuclear power plants – 54.33 % and in the cost – 26.60 %, the thermal power – 35.95 and 59.52 %, the renewable energy sources – 9.6 and 13.88 %. The energy component must be given priority, as it is crucial for achieving of all other goals of sustainable development and harmonization of socio-economic progress. The paper systematizes the indicators of regional energy efficiency and proposes a dynamic model for the transition to sustainable energy development of the region.


2021 ◽  
pp. 6-13
Author(s):  
Irina Habro ◽  
Mykhailo Solomko

The article is devoted to the analysis of the development of environmental diplomacy of the European Union. Today environmental diplomacy has become an important way for states to promote their course of environmental diplomacy, to protect their environmental rights and interests, to promote their own economic and environmental development. The most striking example of the application of green diplomacy on a regional and global scale is the environmental policy implemented by EU member states. Within the EU there is a huge number of environmental programs for the development of renewable energy sources, protection of flora and fauna, as well as combating pollution of water and land resources. To implement its own environmental diplomacy, the EU has adopted a number of important regulations, which are analyzed in the article. The most thorough legal act in the field of environmental diplomacy was Council Directive 85/337 / EEC of 1985 on the assessment of the effects of public and private projects on the environment. This directive reflects the EU’s desire to draw the attention of government agencies and the public to environmental issues and to encourage their collective solution. EU environmental diplomacy is carried out through diplomatic missions, missions, delegations, as well as at the individual level. It involves European politicians and officials who are able to influence international public opinion, employees of foreign ministries and diplomatic missions. The EU also involves third countries as partners to discuss the most pressing environmental issues and their future solutions: climate change, biodiversity conservation, soil depletion, forest and water resources, and renewable energy. Environmental protection is one of the priority areas for European integration. States wishing to join the EU must meet its environmental standards and implement key principles of environmental legislation. It is noted that the EU countries are trying to transfer the economy to clean technologies and diplomatically encourage others to take measures to improve the environmental situation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 174-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bandiyah Sri Aprillia ◽  
Desri Kristina Silalahi ◽  
Muhammad Agung Foury Rigoursyah

Electricity demand increases along with an increasing population. Renewable energy power plants are experiencing an increase in their use. This increase occurred because the world's electricity needs are rising every year, so the development of renewable energy power plants continues. Indonesia's state-owned power plants supply electricity more from non-renewable energy sources than renewable energy sources. Therefore, there is a need for renewable energy sources that can supply electricity in Indonesia. This research discusses an efficient renewable energy system for residential and the total installation costs for on-grid systems in Bandung, Indonesia. The research method used is collecting solar radiation data, equipment specifications and other data needed and then optimized. The simulation model uses HOMER software. HOMER is used to determine the best technically estimated cost, payback period, and NPC. Based on the optimization results, the system configuration can supply the electricity load 45.5% of daily load consumption with a total NPC cost is 75,300,000 million with a payback period of 7 years. In addition, the on-grid system produces 1400 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year from diesel generators, lower than the CO2 emissions from systems that only comprise diesel generators reaching 114 tons per year.    


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (23) ◽  
pp. 8142
Author(s):  
Sanzana Tabassum ◽  
Tanvin Rahman ◽  
Ashraf Ul Islam ◽  
Sumayya Rahman ◽  
Debopriya Roy Dipta ◽  
...  

The ambitious target of net-zero emission by 2050 has been aggressively driving the renewable energy sector in many countries. Leading the race of renewable energy sources is solar energy, the fastest growing energy source at present. The solar industry has witnessed more growth in the last decade than it has in the past 40 years, owing to its technological advancements, plummeting costs, and lucrative incentives. The United States is one of the largest producers of solar power in the world and has been a pioneer in solar adoption, with major projects across different technologies, mainly photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, and solar heating and cooling, but is expanding towards floating PV, solar combined with storage, and hybrid power plants. Although the United States has tremendous potential for exploiting solar resources, there is a scarcity of research that details the U.S. solar energy scenario. This paper provides a comprehensive review of solar energy in the U.S., highlighting the drivers of the solar industry in terms of technology, financial incentives, and strategies to overcome challenges. It also discusses the prospects of the future solar market based on extensive background research and the latest statistics. In addition, the paper categorizes the U.S. states into five tiers based on their solar prospects calculated using analytical hierarchy process and regression analysis. The price of solar technologies in the U.S. is also predicted up to 2031 using Wright’s law, which projected a 77% reduction in the next decade.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
Judit Csizmásné Tóth ◽  
Zsolt Hollósy ◽  
Judit Poór

This paper presents the expansion of renewable energy sources of electricity generation over the last 10-15 years, based on statistical data for Hungary and for the EU-28 member states. The share of renewable energy in electricity production was almost 30% in the EU28 in 2016, while in Hungary it was only 7%, which is the second lowest share in EU member states. In Hungary, the share of nuclear energy is still high in electricity production, and the proportion of biomass in renewable energy in Hungary is very high compared to the EU-28 average. An important issue for Hungary is how to reduce the share of nuclear energy in the longer term. Finally, the paper highlights the essential elements of the Hungarian METAR subsidy system aimed at encouraging the production of electricity (and heat) energy from renewable energy sources while minimizing the burden on end users.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 4261
Author(s):  
Józef Paska ◽  
Tomasz Surma ◽  
Paweł Terlikowski ◽  
Krzysztof Zagrajek

The aim of this paper is to present the state of development of renewable energy sources (RES) in Poland in accordance with the obligations of European Union energy policy. The EU Member States are obliged to adopt different support mechanisms for the development of renewable energy sources, and in consequence to achieve their Directive’s targets. Poland, being a Member State of the EU since 2004, has accepted a target of a 15% share of energy generated from renewable energy sources in final energy consumption, including 19.3% from renewable electricity until 2020. Due to the difficulties with target achievement, the authors found it reasonable to analyze the challenge of RES development in Poland. The article presents energy policy in the EU, as well as the review of measures implemented for renewable energy development. The current state of and perspectives on using renewable energy sources in Poland and in the EU are also depicted. In the article, the authors analyze the relation between reference prices at dedicated RES auctions in Poland and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The paper also provides a description of the renewable energy sources’ development in three areas: electricity, heat and transport biofuels. Its main content, though, refers to the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources.


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