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

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.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 2212-2217

Hybrid wind-diesel technology is disseminated world-wide to minimize depletion of fossil-fuels and carbon emissions. Appreciable amount (10-40%) of energy generated is consumed by commercial/residential buildings of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A.). This investigation aims at techno-economic assessment of hybrid wind-diesel systems (HWDS) to satisfy electrical demand (620,000 kWh per year) of a representative commercial building at Turaif (Northern Province, K.S.A.) by analysis of wind speed data. As per the study, the monthly average wind speed of Turaif lies in the range 3.4 - 4.4 meters per second. The configurations simulated include various mixes of 100 kW wind machines (WTG) and diesel systems. The techno-economic evaluation is carried out by using NREL’s (HOMER Energy’s) HOMER software. The results point out that the wind fraction (with zero % load rejection) is 20% for a hybrid configuration composed of one 100 kW WTG together and 175 kW diesel generator. The energy generation cost (COE) from this system is 0.123 $/kWh. Also, 20% wind fraction, results in reducing carbon emissions by 91 tons/year. The diesel operation time is less with higher penetration of wind. Also, emphasis is on effect of wind fraction on energy produced, COE, operational time of diesel sets, un-met load, excess energy, fuel savings, carbon emissions, cost of HWDS, etc.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (1 Part B) ◽  
pp. 745-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Shaahid

In view of growing concerns of global warming and depleting oil/gas reserves, many nations are considering use of hybrid photovoltaic-diesel technology as an option for power generation The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has higher level of solar radiation and is a prospective candidate for deployment of solar photovoltaic systems. Literature indicates that commercial/residential buildings in the Kingdom consume about 10-45% of the total electric energy generated. The aim of this study is to analyze solar radiation data in city of Yanbu to assess the technoeconomic feasibility of utilizing hybrid photovoltaic-diesel-battery power systems to meet the load of a typical residential building. The monthly average daily solar global radiation ranges from 3.61 to 7.90 kWh/m2 . National Renewable Energy Laboratory?s HOMER software has been used in the study. The simulation results indicate that for a hybrid system, composed of 4 kWp photovoltaic system together with 10 kW diesel system, and a battery storage of 3 hours of autonomy (average load), the photovoltaic penetration is 21%. The cost of generating energy from that hybrid system has been found to be 0.180 $/kWh. With use of this hybrid system, about 2 tons per year of carbon emissions can be avoided entering into the local atmosphere. Also, for a given hybrid configuration, the operational time of diesel generators has been found to decrease with increase in photovoltaic capacity. The investigation examines impact of photovoltaic penetration on: carbon emissions, diesel fuel consumption, net present cost, cost of energy, etc.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Hamlehdar ◽  
Alireza Aslani

Abstract Today, the fossil fuels have dominant share of energy supply in order to respond to the high energy demand in the world. Norway is one of the countries with rich sources of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources. The current work is to investigate on the status of energy demand in Norway. First, energy and electricity consumption in various sectors, including industrial, residential are calculated. Then, energy demand in Norway is forecasted by using available tools. After that, the relationship between energy consumption in Norway with Basic economics parameters such as GDP, population and industry growth rate has determined by using linear regression model. Finally, the regression result shows a low correlation between variables.


Author(s):  
Alberto Tama Franco

Wind technology is considered to be among the most promising types of renewable energy sources, and due to high oil prices and growing concerns about climate change and energy security, it has been the subject of extensive considerations in recent years, including questions related to the relative sustainability of electricity production when the manufacturing, assembly, transportation and dismantling processes of these facilities are taken into account. The present article evaluates the environmental impacts, carbon emissions and water consumption, derived from the production of electric energy of the Villonaco wind farm, located in Loja-Ecuador, during its entire life cycle, using the Life Cycle Analysis method. Finally, it is concluded that wind energy has greater environmental advantages, since it has lower values of carbon and water footprints than other energy sources. Additionally, with the techniques Cumulative Energy Demand and Energy Return on Investment, sustainability in the production of electricity from wind power in Ecuador is demonstrated; and, that due to issues of vulnerability to climate change, the diversification of its energy mix is essential considering the inclusion of non-conventional renewable sources such as solar or wind, this being the only way to reduce both the carbon footprint and the water supply power.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roshan Sharma ◽  
Jaya Wahono ◽  
Himlal Baral

The energy demand in Indonesia has increased significantly with its population growth, urbanization, and economic development. The growing concern of meeting energy demand while reducing dependency on fossil fuels has resulted in an increasing demand for renewable energy. As a country with a rich biomass base, bioenergy is now an important component of Indonesia’s energy agenda. However, a crucial problem in bioenergy production is the selection of species that can provide a sustainable supply of feedstock without having an impact on food security and the environment. In this context, we discuss the characteristics and benefits of using bamboo, a perennial grass, as a potential species for bioenergy feedstock in Indonesia. We describe the fuel characteristics of bamboo along with the possibility to align its cultivation, production, and usage with environmental and developmental agendas which makes it a suitable bioenergy crop in the country. In addition, its ability to grow on degraded lands, fast growth, long root system, and easy maintenance prove it as a powerful ally for the restoration of degraded land. We recommend in-depth research on the social, ecological, and economic feasibility of using this species for bioenergy production.


Processes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avraam Roussos ◽  
Nikiforos Misailidis ◽  
Alexandros Koulouris ◽  
Francesco Zimbardi ◽  
Demetri Petrides

Renewable liquid biofuels for transportation have recently attracted enormous global attention due to their potential to provide a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. In recent years, the attention has shifted from first-generation bioethanol to the production of higher molecular weight alcohols, such as biobutanol, from cellulosic feedstocks. The economic feasibility of such processes depends on several parameters such as the cost of raw materials, the fermentation performance and the energy demand for the pretreatment of biomass and downstream processing. In this work, two conceptual process scenarios for isobutanol production, one with and one without integrated product removal from the fermentor by vacuum stripping, were developed and evaluated using SuperPro Designer®. In agreement with previous publications, it was concluded that the fermentation titer is a crucial parameter for the economic competitiveness of the process as it is closely related to the energy requirements for product purification. In the first scenario where the product titer was 22 g/L, the energy demand for downstream processing was 15.8 MJ/L isobutanol and the unit production cost of isobutanol was $2.24/L. The integrated product removal by vacuum stripping implemented in the second scenario was assumed to improve the isobutanol titer to 50 g/L. In this case, the energy demand for the product removal (electricity) and downstream processing were 1.8 MJ/L isobutanol and 10 MJ/L isobutanol, respectively, and the unit production cost was reduced to $1.42/L. The uncertainty associated with the choice of modeling and economic parameters was investigated by Monte Carlo simulation sensitivity analysis.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4954
Author(s):  
Mohammad AlHashmi ◽  
Gyan Chhipi-Shrestha ◽  
Kh Md. Nahiduzzaman ◽  
Kasun Hewage ◽  
Rehan Sadiq

Rapid population growth has led to significant demand for residential buildings around the world. Consequently, there is a growing energy demand associated with increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The residential building energy demand in arid countries such as Saudi Arabia is supplied with fossil fuel. The existing consumption pattern of fossil fuels in Saudi Arabia is less sustainable due to the depletion of fossil fuel resources and resulting environmental impacts. Buildings built in hot and arid climatic conditions demand high energy for creating habitable indoor environments. Enormous energy is required to maintain a cool temperature in hot regions. Moreover, climate change may have different impacts on hot climatic regions and affect building energy use differently. This means that different building interventions may be required to improve the performance of building energy performance in these geographical regions, thereby reducing the emissions of GHGs. In this study, this framework has been applied to Saudi Arabia, a hot and arid country. This research proposes a community–government partnership framework for developing low-carbon energy in residential buildings. This study focuses on both the operational energy demand and a cost-benefit analysis of energy use in the selected geographical regions for the next 30 years (i.e., 2050). The proposed framework primarily consists of four stages: (1) data collection on energy use (2020 to 2050); (2) setting a GHG emissions reduction target; (3) a building intervention approach by the community by considering cost, energy, and GHG emissions using the Technique for Order of Performance by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to select the best combinations in each geographical region conducting 180 simulations; and (4) a clean energy approach by the government using grey relational analysis (GRA) to select the best clean energy system on the grid. The clean energy approach selected six different renewable power generation systems (i.e., PV array, wind turbine, hybrid system) with two storage systems (i.e., battery bank and a combination of electrolyte, fuel cell, and hydrogen tank storage). This approach is designed to identify the best clean energy systems in five geographical regions with thirty scenario analyses to define renewable energy-economy benefits. This framework informs through many engineering tools such as residential building energy analysis, renewable energy analysis, multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques, and cost-benefit analysis. Integration between these engineering tools with the set of energy policies and public initiatives is designed to achieve further directives in the effort to reach greater efficiency while downsizing residential energy demands. The results of this paper propose that a certain level of cooperation is required between the community and the government in terms of financial investments and the best combinations of retrofits and clean energy measures. Thus, retrofits and clean energy measures can help save carbon emissions (enhancing the energy performance of buildings) and decrease associated GHG emissions, which can help policy makers to achieve low-carbon emission communities.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jilin Yuan ◽  
Linyang Li ◽  
Chuanbao Xiao ◽  
Nianbing Zhong ◽  
Dengjie Zhong ◽  
...  

Abstract The need for wastewater treatment is progressively rising as the release of copious amounts of industrial wastewater is increasing. Likewise, there is an urgent requirement for renewable energy sources because of the growing energy demand and depletion of fossil fuels. The use of microalgae to convert toxic phenolic wastewater to lipid-enriched biofuel has recently been proposed. Here, we report a new strategy for coupling N-doped TiO2-coated photocatalytic optical fibers and a microalgal biofilm to degrade 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) and produce biomass. In the combined photocatalysis and biodegradation system, the photocatalytic products were directly biodegraded by the heterotroph-enriched (Salinarimonas and Pseudomonas) biofilm, promoting biomass production; O2 produced by the phototrophs (Scenedesmus obliquus) promoted the generation of hydroxyl free radicals using N-doped TiO2. Thus, the combined photocatalysis and biodegradation system rapidly and sustainably degraded 4-CP while maintaining the growth of the microalgal biomass. The 4-CP removal, dechlorination, and biofilm growth rates reached ~78 µM/h, ~41 µM/h, and 1.8 g/h/m2, respectively. Overall, we present a useful synergy between an optical catalyst and a bioreactor that has implications for both wastewater remediation and sustainable microalgal biomass production.


2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (4II) ◽  
pp. 309-325
Author(s):  
Rafi Amir-Ud-Din

Energy crisis in Pakistan had been brewing long before it became an important national issue with the potential to significantly affect the outcome of general elections of 2013. The looming crisis of depleting non-renewable energy sources combined with a feeble economy has lent a new urgency to the search for an energy mix which is sustainable, economically viable and environmentally least hazardous. Fossil fuels with their known adverse environmental impacts dominate the current energy mix of Pakistan. The renewable energy sources remain underutilised despite being cost effective and less hazardous for the environment. A substantial amount of literature has highlighted various dimensions of existing energy sources in Pakistan with a particular emphasis on the environmental impact, the sustainability and the efficiency of various energy sources [see Asif (2009); Basir, et al. (2013); Bhutto, et al. (2012); Mirza, et al. (2009, 2008, 2003); Muneer and Asif (2007); Sheikh (2010) for example]. This study analyses the environmental impact, economic feasibility and efficiency of various energy sources subject to various economic and noneconomic constraints. Section 2 discusses energy security by reviewing various tapped and untapped energy sources besides analysing current energy mix and its future prospects. Section 3 highlights the interaction of energy use and environment. Section 4 discusses two approaches to assess the feasibility of an energy mix: disaggregated and aggregated. The latter approach makes a multidimensional comparison of all the energy sources discussed in this study. Section 5 consists of discussion and concluding remarks.


Author(s):  
Diego Da Silva de Souza ◽  
Paulo De Souza Silva ◽  
David Barbosa de Alencar

The general objective of this article was to promote through bibliographic studies the two types of lamps, in addition to the comparative analysis of compact fluorescent lamps versus LED lamps: an economy factor. The specific objectives were: - to explain the conceptual precepts on: lighting engineering, definitions, characteristics, invention, operation, defect, quality and the environments used and the NBRs regulations; - address the economic impact generated by the choice of LED lamps and compact fluorescent lamps; - emphasize on an economic feasibility study on the use of LED lamps and compact fluorescent lamps. The justification of the study is related, in the promotion regarding the use of LED lamps and compact fluorescents, in the factor that generates savings. Since the areas related to artificial lighting are responsible for a significant portion of energy demand, both on a large scale - such as lighting for public roads or industrial buildings - and on smaller scales - in commercial and residential buildings. Therefore, its promotion is crucial in the context of economic viability. The lamps provide the luminous energy, through which a better luminous efficiency is obtained. Currently, there are several types of lamps available, different in several aspects: luminous intensity, reproduction colors, energy efficiency, physical composition, method for emitting light, specific purposes, prices, among others. It is worth mentioning that the lamps differ from each other not only by the different luminous fluxes that they radiate, but also by the different powers they consume. In order to compare them, it is necessary to know how many lumens are generated per absorbed watt. This greatness is called energy efficiency. Thus, the proposal of a study was evidenced, in order to promote these luminous resources, in addition to emphasizing their economic viability.


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