Deployment Prospects for Proposed Sustainable Energy Alternatives in 2020

Author(s):  
Glenn N. Doty ◽  
David L. McCree ◽  
Judy M. Doty ◽  
F. David Doty

We present brief comparative economic and environmental appraisals of the alternatives that have received the most attention in recent years: conventional biofuels (agrofuels), cellulosic ethanol (CE), microalgae, electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrids (PEHVs), compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, “semi-clean” (SCPC) coal, clean coal, wood co-firing, nuclear, photovoltaic solar (PV), concentrated solar power (CSP), geothermal, hydropower, wind, and a novel alternative energy solution known as “WindFuels”. Critical reviews of the projections of both Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and life-cycle CO2 emissions of these primary alternatives for clean, sustainable energy are presented. We identify and review the major challenges faced by these alternatives — many of which have received incomplete treatment in previous studies. Then from the projected LCOE, carbon neutrality, resource availability, technological challenges, and recent market data; the probable growth rates for the various alternatives are projected, and the environmental benefit and economic burdens associated with these alternatives are assessed.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1063
Author(s):  
Catalina Hernández Moris ◽  
Maria Teresa Cerda Guevara ◽  
Alois Salmon ◽  
Alvaro Lorca

The energy sector in Chile demands a significant increase in renewable energy sources in the near future, and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies are becoming increasingly competitive as compared to natural gas plants. Motivated by this, this paper presents a comparison between solar technologies such as hybrid plants and natural gas-based thermal technologies, as both technologies share several characteristics that are comparable and beneficial for the power grid. This comparison is made from an economic point of view using the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) metric and in terms of the systemic benefits related to flexibility, which is very much required due to the current decarbonization scenario of Chile’s energy matrix. The results show that the LCOE of the four hybrid plant models studied is lower than the LCOE of the gas plant. A solar hybrid plant configuration composed of a photovoltaic and solar tower plant (STP) with 13 h of storage and without generation restrictions has an LCOE 53 USD/MWh, while the natural gas technology evaluated with an 85% plant factor and a variable fuel cost of 2.0 USD/MMBtu has an LCOE of 86 USD/MWh. Thus, solar hybrid plants under a particular set of conditions are shown to be more cost-effective than their closest competitor for the Chilean grid while still providing significant dispatchability and flexibility.


2021 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 203-208
Author(s):  
Ogheneruona E. Diemuodeke ◽  
Michael Orji ◽  
Clinton Ikechukwu ◽  
Yacob Mulugetta ◽  
Youba Sokona ◽  
...  

This paper presents solar PV electric cooking systems to fill the gap of clean energy stove demand in Africa and in particular in rural communities. The design analyses of four different solar PV electric cooking configurations, based on resistive burner and induction burner, are presented. The levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of the solar PV induction e-cooking, with battery storage, is 0.39 $/kWh. Sensitivity analysis was done to ascertain the affordability range of solar PV e-cooking. It was shown that the combination of the reduced cost of investment and good sunshine would most likely make the solar PV induction e-cooking competitive. However, the acceptability of the solar PV induction cooking will require addressing some important technical, economic, policy and socio-cultural related barriers.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wandifa Saidyleigh ◽  
A. I. Olcer ◽  
R Baumler

The increase in world seaborne trade over the past decade due to global economic and population expansion has resulted in a corresponding increase of world shipping fleet with even greater size and power requirements. The bulk of these ships use cheap and widely available fossil fuels, mainly oil for operation but which has deleterious effects on the environment. In order to address environmental concerns in the shipping sector, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), responding to the global call to reduce greenhouse gases emissions from international shipping adopted technical and operational measures. These are to ensure efficient energy management on ships and have led to the application of many innovative technologies including the use of renewable energies and alternative fuels on ships to minimize fossil fuel consumption and reduce emissions. However, in order to achieve a substantial emissions reduction in international shipping, the potential applicability of a technology which utilizes a universal renewable energy resource on the largest ship type in international shipping fleet should be investigated. This research focuses on investigating the potential of Solar Photovoltaic technology on dry bulk carriers using a developed methodology and Levelised cost of energy concept as the basis for comparison. The results of this research can be used to guide decision makers about the potentials of Solar Photovoltaic technology on dry bulk carriers in general whilst its developed methodology may be useful in the specific context for determining which ships and under what circumstances solar PV is an option.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Galelli ◽  
Kais Siala ◽  
AFM Kamal Chowdhury ◽  
Thanh Duc Dang

<p>Fossil fuels and hydropower dams have long been at the backbone of power supply systems in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), an energy policy catalyzed by the direct availability of these resources, the backing of foreign investments, and the limited coordination among the many decision-makers. Such policy has resulted in large externalities: gas and coal-fired plants contribute to the carbon footprint of all GMS countries, particularly Thailand; dams have affected the riverine ecosystems, impacting entire economic sectors. According to the official energy plans, coal will be soon sidelined, but dams will keep playing an important role. That is despite the availability of solar and other renewable resources. Is it possible to design more sustainable energy plans for the GMS? Can we limit the number of dams that will be built in the near future? What are the main technologies and policies that should be prioritized? To answer these questions, we developed a spatially-distributed numerical model that co-optimizes capacity expansion as well as hourly dispatch of generation, transmission, and storage. The model is applied to Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, over a planning period spanning from 2016 to 2037. Optimization results show that the generation capacity planned by these countries could be met in a more sustainable manner by relying on solar PV, which could supply about one third of the projected electricity demand. Investments in renewable energy should be supported by cross-border grid interconnections, which would connect load centers to more production sites, easing the supply-demand balancing. To put the analysis in a broader water-energy context, we also assess the impact of current and proposed energy plans on river connectivity and flows. Overall, our analysis demonstrates that there are untapped opportunities for untying the fate of the Mekong River basin from that of power supply and economic development.</p>


Implementation of modified AHP coupled with MOORA methods for modeling and optimization of solar photovoltaic (PV)-pumped hydro energy storage (PHS) system parameter is presented in this chapter. Work optimized the parameters, namely unmet energy (UE), size of PV-panel, and volume of upper reservoir (UR), to get economic cost of energy (COE) and excess energy (EE). The trail no.11 produces the highest assessment values compared to the other trails and provides EE as 16.19% and COE as 0.59 $/kWh for PV-PHS. ANOVA and parametric study is also performed to determine the significance of the parameters for PV-PHS performance. Investigation results indicate the effectiveness and significant potential for modeling and optimization of PV-PHS system and other solar energy systems.


IEEE Access ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 53817-53840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Sanwar Hossain ◽  
Abu Jahid ◽  
Khondoker Ziaul Islam ◽  
Md. Fayzur Rahman

2020 ◽  
Vol 185 ◽  
pp. 02012
Author(s):  
Ping Chen

With the gradual deterioration of climate and environment, countries are becoming increasingly vigilant and repulsive to the economic development mode at the cost of energy consumption. It has become a new development trend to seek new alternative energy sources and pursue green and environment-friendly sustainable development mode. Environmental protection behaviors are generally considered to have positive external effects. This paper examines whether the environmental protection behaviors of A listed company have positive effects on the company based on the data related to environmental information disclosure from 2014 to 2017, and also examines the attitude of external supervision represented by independent auditing towards the company’s environmental protection behaviors. It is enlightening to encourage listed companies to save energy and protect the environment.


Author(s):  
Saleh Al Saadi ◽  
Moncef Krarti

This paper summarizes the findings from a feasibility study of using renewable energy sources in combination with conventional power systems to meet the electrical requirements for an isolated island of Masirah in Oman. The study has been conducted to determine the best hybrid system to generate electrical energy needed for a small community of 500 residential buildings. A series of a simulation analyses have been carried out to evaluate and optimize different distribution technologies including photovolatics, wind and diesel for electrical generation in combination with storage batteries. It was found that the cost of energy could be reduced by as much as 48% compared to the cost for the baseline generation system currently used in the Masirah Island (i.e. diesel-driven generators). In particular, it was found that wind turbines in combination with storage batteries have a great impact in reducing the cost of generating electrical energy for the residential community. Moreover, solar PV panels were found unattractive under the current diesel price rates but could potentially become viable if the diesel prices increase. The paper outlines an optimal design for generating electricity for the community at lowest cost while minimizing carbon emissions.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluca Lillo ◽  
Rita Mastrullo ◽  
Alfonso William Mauro ◽  
Raniero Trinchieri ◽  
Luca Viscito

The rising of the global energy demand requires the use of alternative energy conversion systems employing renewable sources. In the refrigeration and air conditioning fields, heat driven ejector systems represent a promising way to produce the cooling effect by using available low-grade temperature sources. In this paper, a thermo-economic analysis of a waste heat recovery hybrid ejector cycle (WHRHEC) was carried out. A thermodynamic model was firstly developed to simulate a WHRHEC able to obtain chilled water with a cooling load of 20 kW, by varying the working fluids and the pinch point values in the heat exchangers. Specific single- and two-phase heat transfer correlations were used to estimate the heat transfer surface and therefore the investment costs. The operative ranges that provide a reasonable compromise between the set-up costs and the cycle performances were then defined and compared to the current waste heat-driven technologies, such as absorption chillers and organic Rankine cycles (ORCs) coupled with vapor compression cycles (VCCs). The last part of the paper presents an economic analysis providing the map of the design (plant size) and contingent (specific cost of energy, waste heat availability) variables that lead to the economic convenience of a WHRHEC system when integrated to a conventional VCC plant.


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