scholarly journals Feasibility Design of an Optimized Desalinator Assisted Only by Solar Energy. Case: Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Biain
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Flash Distillation ◽  
Parametric Analyses ◽  
Auxiliary Heater

Desalinators are traditionally driven by fossil-fuels but in order to avoid greenhouse emissions, renewable energy must be used. In this paper, a coupling between multi-stage flash distillation apparatus and a parabolic trough solar collector is analyzed. The purpose of this study is to determine the economic feasibility of the system, considering four cities of Saudi Arabia and three different potable water productions. To avoid solar energy intermittency and unavailability at night, thermal storage is implemented. Whereas other researchers made parametric analyses, in this paper, the authors developed a mathematical program which was optimized with the help of GAMS software, where the capital cost of the plant was the objective function. After that, a life cycle cost analysis was carried out for each scenario. Depending on the region and water production, the costs of drinking water vary from 2.26 to 3.93 US$/m3, and from 7440 to 23825 tons of carbon dioxide emissions are avoided. As a consequence of the approach used, low costs are obtained; even though no auxiliary heater is implemented and the lowest irradiance conditions are considered. The results of this study reflect that the proposed process is competitive with respect to the traditional one.

Electricity production and its effects on carbon dioxide emissions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: إنتاج الكهرباء وآثاره في انبعاثات ثاني أكسيد الكربون في المملكة العربية السعودية

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 134-108
Author(s):  
Zakiah Radhi Alhajji, Mohamed Elsayed Hafez Ali Zakiah Radhi Alhajji, Mohamed Elsayed Hafez Ali
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Energy Productivity ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia

Because of increased demand for electrical energy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has resulted in an increase in carbon dioxide emissions, the electricity system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest in the Gulf region and the Arab world, with approximately 61.7 gigatons (GW) of peak demand and 89.2 gigatons (GW) of available capacity in 2018 of electricity power. It has grown rapidly over more than 20 years and has almost doubled in size since 2000. Where we observe that the total carbon dioxide emissions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 1990 to 2020; where shows rapid growth in emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases, as it was found that CO2 emissions in 1990 amounted to 151 million metric tons compared to 2011 when it reached about 435 million metric tons, and the increase continued until 2020 when it reached about 530 million metric tons. The comprehensive study relied on time series analysis to carefully analyze the electric energy productivity rate from fossil fuels and the significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions typically resulting from promptly burning fossil fuels to naturally produce electric energy. Therefore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through Vision 2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, looks to reduce the rate of carbon dioxide emissions in the field of electric power generation by diversifying the fuels used or replacing them with clean and renewable energy such as solar and wind energy.

Thermal performance of multi-stage flash distillation plants in Saudi Arabia

Desalination ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osman A. Hamed ◽  
Mohammad A.K. Al-Sofi ◽  
Monazir Imam ◽  
Ghulam M. Mustafa ◽  
Khalid Ba Mardouf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Thermal Performance ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Flash Distillation

scholarly journals Economic perspective of hybrid wind-diesel technology for commercial loads of Dhahran Saudi Arabia: A step towards sustainable future

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-178
Author(s):  
S.M. Shaahid
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Hybrid Systems ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Commercial Building

The governments world-wide are deliberating to promote renewable energy sources such as wind to mitigate increasing demand of energy and to overcome effects of pollution due to to use of fossil fuels. Integration of wind turbine generators (WTG) with the diesel plants is pursued widely to reduce dependence on fossil-fuels and to reduce carbon emissions. Literature indicates that commercial/residential buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A) consume an estimated 10 - 40% of the total electric energy generated. The aim of this study is to analyze wind-speed data of Dhahran (East-Coast, K.S.A.) to assess the economic feasibility of utilizing hybrid wind-diesel power systems to meet the load requirements of a typical commercial building (with annual electrical energy demand of 620,000 kWh). The monthly average wind speeds range from 3.3 to 5.6 m/s. The hybrid systems simulated consist of different combinations of 100 kW commercial WTG supplemented with diesel generators. NREL?s (HOMER Energy?s) HOMER software has been employed to perform the techno-economic analysis. The simulation results indicate that for a hybrid system comprising of 100 kW wind capacity together with 175 kW diesel system, the wind penetration (at 37 m hub-height, with 0% annual capacity shortage) is 25%. The cost of generating energy (COE, $/kWh) from this hybrid wind-diesel system has been found to be 0.121 $/kWh (assuming diesel fuel price of 0.1$/liter). The study exhibits that for a given hybrid configuration, the number of operational hours of diesel gensets decreases with increase in wind farm capacity. Emphasis has also been placed on wind penetration, un-met load, energy production and COE, excess electricity generation, percentage fuel savings and reduction in carbon emissions (relative to diesel-only situation) of different hybrid systems, cost break-down of wind-diesel systems, COE of different hybrid systems, etc.

scholarly journals Solar Assisted Power Generation System in Hot Desert Climate: A Cost-Benefit Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramzi Alahmadi ◽  
◽  
Kamel Almutairi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Economic Viability ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Pv Systems

With the increasing global concerns about greenhouse gas emissions caused by the extensive use of fossil fuels, many countries are investing in the deployment of clean energy sources. The utilization of abundant solar energy is one of the fastest growing deployed renewable sources due its technological maturity and economic competitivity. In addition to report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), many studies have suggested that the maturity of solar energy systems will continue to develop, which will increase their economic viability. The focus of analysis in this paper is countries with hot desert climates since they are the best candidates for solar energy systems. The capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh is used as the case study due to the country’s ambitious goals in this field. The main purpose of this study is to comprehensively analyze the stochastic behavior and probabilistic distribution of solar irradiance in order to accurately estimate the expected power output of solar systems. A solar Photovoltaic (PV) module is used for the analysis due to its practicality and widespread use in utility-scale projects. In addition to the use of a break-even analysis to estimate the economic viability of solar PV systems in hot desert climates, this paper estimates the indifference point at which the economic feasibility of solar PV systems is justified, compared with the fossil-based systems. The numerical results show that the break-even point of installing one KW generation capacity of a solar PV system is estimated to pay off after producing 16,827 KWh, compared to 15,422 KWh for the case of fossil-based systems. However, the increased cost of initial investment in solar PV systems deployment starts to be economically justified after producing 41,437 KWh.

scholarly journals Renewable Energy Integration: Economic Assessment of Solar Energy to Produce Biodiesel at Supercritical Conditions

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
José A. León ◽  
Gisela Montero ◽  
Marcos A. Coronado ◽  
Conrado García ◽  
Héctor E. Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Biodiesel Production ◽  
Energy Integration ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Supercritical Conditions

In recent years, research on noncatalytic methods for biodiesel production has increased, mainly processes under supercritical conditions that allow the processing of waste vegetable oils (WVO) without the need to use catalysts, where the absence of catalyst simplifies the processes of purification of biodiesel. The high consumption of alcohol and energy to maintain the appropriate conditions of pressure and temperature of the reaction has turned the processes of supercritical conditions into an unfeasible method. However, the stages of biodiesel purification and methanol recovery are more straightforward, allowing the reduction of the total energy consumption by 25% compared to alkaline methods. Therefore, the present work describes a study through Aspen Plus® of the production of biodiesel by a process in supercritical conditions with WVO as raw material. Also, a solar collector arrangement was structured using the TRNSYS® simulator to supply energy to the process. To evaluate the economic feasibility of the proposed process, the installation of a pilot plant in Mexicali, Baja California, was considered. The internal rate of return (IRR) and the net present value (NPV) were determined for ten-year period. The planned system allows supplying solar energy, 69.5% of the energy required by the process, thus reducing the burning of fossil fuels and the operation cost. Despite the additional investment cost, for the solar collectors, the process manages to maintain a competitive production cost of USD 0.778/l of biodiesel. With an IRR of 31.7%, the investment is recovered before the fifth year of operation. The integration and implementation of clean technologies are vital in the development of the biofuels.

scholarly journals Evaluating the potential energy savings of residential buildings and utilizing solar energy in the middle region of Saudi Arabia – Case study

2020 ◽  
pp. 014459872097514
Author(s):  
AbdulRahman S Almushaikah ◽  
Radwan A Almasri
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Middle Region

Lately, with the growth in energy consumption worldwide to support global efforts to improve the climate, developing nations have to take significant measures. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) implemented meaningful policy actions towards promoting energy efficiency (EE) in several sectors, especially in the building sector, to be more sustainable. In this paper, various EE measures and solar energy prospects are investigated for the residential sector, in two locations in the middle region of the KSA. An energy performance analysis of pre-existing residential buildings with an overall design is performed using simulation programs. However, installing EE measures in the building envelope is important to achieve an efficient sector regarding its energy consumption. The findings showed that applying EE measures for the building envelope, walls, roof, and windows should be considered first that makes the energy conservation possible. In Riyadh, EE measures are responsible for reducing energy consumption by 27% for walls, 14% for roof, and 6% for window, and by 29%, 13%, and 6% for walls, roof, and windows, respectively, for Qassim. However, the most impactful EE solution was selecting a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system with a high energy efficiency rate (EER), which can minimize the energy consumption by 33% and 32% for Riyadh and Qassim, respectively. The study's feasibility showed that the number of years needed to offset the initial investment for a proposed roof PV system exceeds the project's life, if the energy produced is exported to the grid at the official export tariff of 0.019 $/kWh. However, the simple payback time was 13.42 years if the energy produced is exported to the grid at a rate of 0.048 $/kWh, reflecting the project's economic feasibility.

scholarly journals  Can the 1.5 deg C warming target be met in a global transition to 100% renewable energy? 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Schwartzman ◽  
Peter Schwartzman
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Energy Status ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Air Capture ◽  
State Of The Science

<p>Can the 1.5 deg C warming target still be met with an aggressive phaseout of fossil fuels coupled with a 100% replacement by renewable energy?  We address this question in our modeling study by computing the continuous generation of global wind/solar energy power along with the cumulative carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in a complete phaseout of fossil fuels over a 20 year period. We assume a baseline of energy status at 2018, as well as the EROI of currently available wind/solar energy technologies.  We compare these computed emissions with the state-of-the-science estimates for the remaining carbon budget of carbon dioxide emissions consistent with the 1.5 deg C warming target. Our conclusion is that it is still possible to meet this warming target if the creation of a global 100% renewable energy transition of sufficient capacity begins very soon, coupled with aggressive negative carbon emissions. The latter technology uses a fraction of total renewable energy delivery for direct air capture for permanent crustal storage over the last ten years of this energy transition that is compatible for simulations with no more than 10 to 15 % reinvestment of renewable energy to make more of itself. More efficient renewable technologies in the near future will make this transition easier.  The maximum amount of fossil fuel consumed in our scenarios for the complete transition is no more than 5% of the proven reserves of coal, natural gas and oil as currently estimated.  </p><p> </p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Comprehensive Review on Solar, Wind and Hybrid Wind-PV Water Pumping Systems-An Electrical Engineering Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Sachin Angadi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Power Electronics ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Water Pumping ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Ac Motor

In India, the demand for water is continuously increasing due to the growing population. Approximately 16.5% of all country’s electricity used to pump this water is from fossil fuels leading to increased pump Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. With the recent advancement in power electronics and drives, renewables like solar photovoltaic and wind energy are becoming readily available for water pumping applications resulting in the reduction of GHG emissions. Recently, research towards AC motor based Water Pumping Systems (WPS) has received a great emphasis owing to its numerous merits. Further, considering the tremendous acceptance of renewable sources, especially solar and wind, this paper provides a detailed review of single-stage and multi-stage WPS consisting of renewable source powered AC motors. The critical review is performed based on the following figure of merits, including the type of motor, power electronics interface and associated control strategies. Also, to add to the reliability of solar PV WPS, hybrid Wind-PV WPS will be discussed in detail. Readers will be presented with the state-of-the-art technology and research directions in Renewable Energy-based WPS (REWPS) to improve the overall system efficiency and hence reduce the payback period.

scholarly journals Analysis of Thermal Energy Collection From Precast Concrete Roof Assemblies

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley B. Abbott ◽  
Michael W. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Precast Concrete ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Water Heating ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
Pump System ◽  
Heat Pump System

The development of precast concrete housing systems provides an opportunity to easily and inexpensively incorporate solar energy collection by casting collector tubes into the roof structure. A design is presented for a precast solar water heating system used to aid in meeting the space and domestic water heating loads of a single-family residence. A three-dimensional transient collector model is developed to characterize the precast solar collector’s performance throughout the day. The model describes the collector as a series of segments in the axial direction connected by a fluid flowing through an embedded tube. Each segment is represented by a two-dimensional solid model with top boundary conditions determined using a traditional flat plate solar collector model. The precast collector is coupled to a series solar assisted heat pump system and used to meet the heating needs of the residence. The performance of the proposed system is compared to the performance of a typical air-to-air heat pump. Using the system model, various designs and operating parameters were analyzed to determine a set of near optimal design values. The annual performance of the near optimal system was evaluated to determine the energy and cost savings for applications in Atlanta, GA and Chicago, IL. In addition, a life cycle cost was completed to determine the economic feasibility of the proposed system. The results of the annual study show that capturing solar energy using the precast collector and applying the energy through a solar assisted heat pump can reduce the electricity required for heating by more than 50 percent in regions with long heating seasons such as Chicago. The life cycle cost analysis shows that the energy savings justifies the increase in initial cost in locations with long heating seasons but that the system is not economically attractive in locations with shorter heating seasons.

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