scholarly journals Barriers and Solutions for Increasing the Integration of Solar Photovoltaic in Kenya’s Electricity Mix

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 5502
Author(s):  
Dominic Samoita ◽  
Charles Nzila ◽  
Poul Alberg Østergaard ◽  
Arne Remmen
Keyword(s):  
Geothermal Energy ◽  
Trade Balance ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Storage Solutions ◽  
Electricity Mix ◽  
National Trade

Currently, Kenya depends mainly on oil, geothermal energy and hydro resources for electricity production, however all three have associated issues. Oil-based electricity generation is environmentally harmful, expensive and a burden to the national trade balance. The rivers for hydropower and their tributaries are found in arid and semi-arid areas with erratic rainfall leading to problems of supply security, and geothermal exploitation has cost and risk issues amongst others. Given these problems and the fact that Kenya has a significant yet underexploited potential for photo voltaic (PV)-based power generation, the limited—although growing—exploitation of solar PV in Kenya is explored in this paper as a means of diversifying and stabilising electricity supply. The potential for integration of PV into the Kenyan electricity generation mix is analysed together with the sociotechnical, economic, political, and institutional and policy barriers, which limit PV integration. We argue that these barriers can be overcome with improved and more robust policy regulations, additional investments in research and development, and improved coordination of the use of different renewable energy sources. Most noticeably, storage solutions and other elements of flexibility need to be incorporated to balance the intermittent character of electricity generation based on solar PV.

scholarly journals Are Renewables as Friendly to Humans as to the Environment?: A Social Life Cycle Assessment of Renewable Electricity

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shutaro Takeda ◽  
Alexander Keeley ◽  
Shigeki Sakurai ◽  
Shunsuke Managi ◽  
Catherine Norris
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Electricity Mix ◽  
The Impact

The adoption of renewable energy technologies in developing nations is recognized to have positive environmental impacts; however, what are their effects on the electricity supply chain workers? This article provides a quantitative analysis on this question through a relatively new framework called social life cycle assessment, taking Malaysia as a case example. Impact assessments by the authors show that electricity from renewables has greater adverse impacts on supply chain workers than the conventional electricity mix: Electricity production with biomass requires 127% longer labor hours per unit-electricity under the risk of human rights violations, while the solar photovoltaic requires 95% longer labor hours per unit-electricity. However, our assessment also indicates that renewables have less impacts per dollar-spent. In fact, the impact of solar photovoltaic would be 60% less than the conventional mix when it attains grid parity. The answer of “are renewables as friendly to humans as to the environment?” is “not-yet, but eventually.”

scholarly journals GEOTHERMAL ENERGY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA AND HYDROCHEMICAL ASPECTS OF ITS EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrijana Stevanović ◽  
Boban Jolović
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Geothermal Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Resource ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Thermal Waters ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Banja Luka

One of the most used renewable energy sources worldwide is geothermal energy. Itrepresents the heat, originated by natural processes happen in the Earth interior. The hot springsphenomena are the most frequent natural manifestation of geothermal activity.Geothermal potentiality of some area can be estimated based on geothermal gradient. Geothermalgradient is a conductive terrestrial parameter that represents the degree of increasing of the Earthtemperature vs. depth. It is usually expressed in ⁰C/m or ⁰C/km. Different areas have differentthermal gradients and thus different geothermal potential. Generally, higher geothermal gradientscorrespond to areas containing more geothermal energy.Geothermal characteristics of the territory of the Republic of Srpska are closely related to itscomplex geological setting. It is the reason why geothermal characteristics are different from areato area. Higher geothermal potentiality is recognised in the northern parts of the entity, in the firstorder in Semberija, Posavina and Banja Luka regions.The use of geothermal energy with different fluid temperatures can be considered throughthe Lindaldiagram, who firstly proposed acomprehensive scale with appropriate temperatures for differentuses. High temperature fluids are mostly used for electricity production and moderate and lowtemperature fluids for the direct use.Despite the fact that the territory of the Republic of Srpska hasfavourable geothermal properties, utilization of this kind of renewable energy resource isinadequate. Especially indicative are data about the use of geothermal energy by heat pumps (inbad sense) in comparison with praxis of developed countries.Chemical composition of thermal waters plays very important role and can be used in itsexploration stage, for analyses of possibility of its use and for prediction of exploitation effects, aswell. This kind of renewable energyresource, highly ecologically recommended, must be consideredmore seriously in the future in the Republic of Srpska. Furthermore, it must be put into the energystrategic documentsin appropriate manner.

Analysis of High-Speed Electrical Generators for Utility Applications

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav P. Petrov
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Generation ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Energy Utilization ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Technical Challenges ◽  
Compact Design

High-speed alternators are believed to be well developed nowadays, following the improvement in performance and decrease of costs for electronic power converters and permanent magnet materials. Their compact design and their ability to vary the rotational speed in off-design conditions promise superior performance when compared to conventional generators. High-speed alternators are only available in limited sizes for small-scale applications, whereas improvements in efficiency and optimized part-load behavior are particularly important especially for small-scale electricity generation. Enhanced energy utilization for electricity production by small utility plants or by distributed units located at private homes or commercial buildings, based on thermodynamic cycles powered by natural gas or various renewable energy sources, is possible to be achieved through a wider application of grid-integrated high-speed technology. This study presents a critical review of previous research and demonstration work on high-speed electrical machines and a summary of the technical challenges limiting their performance and their expansion into larger sizes. Conclusions are drawn for finding appropriate solutions for practical high-speed electricity generation units and their readiness for a much wider deployment. Closer analysis is attempted on the thermal and mechanical integrity of high-speed alternators and the technical challenges that slow down their scale-up to MW-size units for utility applications. The necessary research and development work that needs to be done in the near future is outlined and discussed herein.

Analyzing the Efficiency of Renewable Energy Sources in Terms of Electricity Generation

2021 ◽  
pp. 155-176
Author(s):  
Talip Arsu
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Geothermal Energy ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Efficiency Determination ◽  
Energy Supply Security

Electricity generation, one of the renewable energy sources (RES), delivers a solution for various problems such as energy efficiency, energy supply security, reducing foreign dependency, and especially, environmental concerns. However, the solutions provided for these problems bring along the question of which RESs are produced more effectively. Therefore, in this research, RESs used for electricity generation in Turkey were analyzed by using generation data to show which one is more effective. Bi-objective multiple-criteria data envelopment analysis (BiO-MCDEA) method, a goal programming-based efficiency determination method, was used for the efficiency analysis conducted for five years between the years of 2014 and 2018. As a result of the analysis, geothermal energy came into prominence as the most effective RES for all of the years included in the solution. Geothermal energy was followed by biomass energy, wind energy, hydroelectric, and solar energy, respectively.

scholarly journals Entanglement of Top-Down and Bottom-Up: Sociotechnical Innovation Pathways of Geothermal Energy in Switzerland

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Ejderyan ◽  
Franziska Ruef ◽  
Michael Stauffacher
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Heat Production ◽  
Geothermal Energy ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Federal Policies ◽  
Deep Geothermal Energy ◽  
Policy Incentives

By looking at deep geothermal energy in Switzerland, this article illustrates how innovation pathways in federal countries take entangled forms between top-down and bottom-up. The Swiss federal government presents deep geothermal energy as an important technology to decarbonize electricity production. Setbacks in early projects have slowed these efforts. Despite strong policy incentives from the federal government, no electricity is being produced from geothermal projects in Switzerland in 2019. Based on four case studies, we analyze how some cantons and cities have taken different pathways: Rather than implementing federal objectives, they favor heat production instead of electricity generation. The relative success of these initiatives led federal authorities to modify their approach to promoting geothermal energy. This study shows that federal mechanisms and instruments alone are not enough to make energy infrastructures acceptable locally. To learn from bottom-up experiences and adapt federal policies to local reality, better coordination between the federal and subnational levels is needed.

scholarly journals Analyzing the impact of dust accumulation and different cleaning mechanism on efficiency of solar photovoltaic panel

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atul Kumar1 ◽  
Srivastava Manish2
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Photovoltaic Panel ◽  
Pv Systems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Rooftop Solar

Electricity generation around the world is mainly produced by using non-renewable energy sources especially in the commercial buildings. However, Rooftop solar Photovoltaic (PV) system produced a significant impact on environmental and economical benefits in comparison to the conventional energy sources, thus contributing to sustainable development. Such PV’s system encourages the production of electricity without greenhouse gas emissions that leads to a clean alternative to fossil fuels and economic prosperity even in less developed areas. However, efficiency of rooftop solar PV systems depends on many factors, the dominant being geographical (latitude, longitude, and solar intensity), environmental (temperature, wind, humidity, pollution, dust, rain, etc.) and the type of PV (from raw material extraction and procurement, to manufacturing, disposal, and/or recycling) used. During the feasibility analysis of the environment, geographical conditions are keep in well consideration, but the pollution level of the city is always overlooked, which significantly influences the performance of the PV installations.           Therefore, this research work focused on the performance of rooftop solar PV installed in one of the most polluted city in India. Here, the loss in power generation of rooftop solar PV has been studied for the effect of deposited dust particles, wind velocity before and after the cleaning of the panels. The actual data has been utilized for the calculation of the energy efficiency and power output of the PV systems. According to the results, it has been concluded that dust deposition, wind speed and pollution level in city significantly reduces the efficiency of solar photovoltaic panel. Hence, an overview of social and environmental impacts of PV technologies is presented in this paper along with potential benefits and pitfalls.

scholarly journals Solar Energy Data Analytics: PV Deployment and Land Use

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Mancini ◽  
Benedetto Nastasi
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Renewable Electricity ◽  
Building Integrated Photovoltaics ◽  
Electricity Mix ◽  
Final Energy Consumption ◽  
Policy Scenarios

EU targets for sustainable development call for strong changes in the current energy systems as well as committed protection of environmental resources. This target conflicts if a policy is not going to promote the compatible solutions to both the issues. This is the case of the additional renewable energy sources to be exploited for increasing the share in the electricity mix and in the gross final energy consumption. Solar energy is, currently, the cheapest solution in Southern European Countries, like Italy. In this paper, thanks to the availability of three open databases provided by National Institutions, the authors compared the historic trends and policy scenarios for soil consumption, electricity consumption, and renewable electricity production to check correlations. The provincial scale was chosen as resolution of the analysis. The deviations from the policy scenarios was then addressed to identify the demand for policy recommendations and pathways to promote in order to achieve the target for renewable electricity share as well as the reduction in soli consumption trend in 2030. The role of renewables integrated in the existing contexts, such as building integrated photovoltaics, is considered a key driver for solving this issue.

scholarly journals Reduction of solar photovoltaic resources due to air pollution in China

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (45) ◽  
pp. 11867-11872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyuan Li ◽  
Fabian Wagner ◽  
Wei Peng ◽  
Junnan Yang ◽  
Denise L. Mauzerall
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Radiant Energy ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Annual Average ◽  
The Impact

Solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation is expanding rapidly in China, with total capacity projected to be 400 GW by 2030. However, severe aerosol pollution over China reduces solar radiation reaching the surface. We estimate the aerosol impact on solar PV electricity generation at the provincial and regional grid levels in China. Our approach is to examine the 12-year (2003–2014) average reduction in point-of-array irradiance (POAI) caused by aerosols in the atmosphere. We apply satellite-derived surface irradiance data from the NASA Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) with a PV performance model (PVLIB-Python) to calculate the impact of aerosols and clouds on POAI. Our findings reveal that aerosols over northern and eastern China, the most polluted regions, reduce annual average POAI by up to 1.5 kWh/m2per day relative to pollution-free conditions, a decrease of up to 35%. Annual average reductions of POAI over both northern and eastern China are about 20–25%. We also evaluate the seasonal variability of the impact and find that aerosols in this region are as important as clouds in winter. Furthermore, we find that aerosols decrease electricity output of tracking PV systems more than those with fixed arrays: over eastern China, POAI is reduced by 21% for fixed systems at optimal angle and 34% for two-axis tracking systems. We conclude that PV system performance in northern and eastern China will benefit from improvements in air quality and will facilitate that improvement by providing emission-free electricity.

scholarly journals Solar Photovoltaic Electricity Generation: A Lifeline for the European Coal Regions in Transition

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 3703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Bódis ◽  
Ioannis Kougias ◽  
Nigel Taylor ◽  
Arnulf Jäger-Waldau
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
International Energy Agency ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Energy Agency ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Pv Systems

The use of coal for electricity generation is the main emitter of Greenhous Gas Emissions worldwide. According to the International Energy Agency, these emissions have to be reduced by more than 70% by 2040 to stay on track for the 1.5–2 °C scenario suggested by the Paris Agreement. To ensure a socially fair transition towards the phase-out of coal, the European Commission introduced the Coal Regions in Transition initiative in late 2017. The present paper analyses to what extent the use of photovoltaic electricity generation systems can help with this transition in the coal regions of the European Union (EU). A spatially explicit methodology was developed to assess the solar photovoltaic (PV) potential in selected regions where open-cast coal mines are planned to cease operation in the near future. Different types of solar PV systems were considered including ground-mounted systems developed either on mining land or its surroundings. Furthermore, the installation of rooftop solar PV systems on the existing building stock was also analysed. The obtained results show that the available area in those regions is abundant and that solar PV systems could fully substitute the current electricity generation of coal-fired power plants in the analysed regions.

scholarly journals External costs of electricity generation in 27 European countries from 2010 - 2030: Pathway towards sustainability or business as usual?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Baumgärtner ◽  
Peter Letmathe
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Generation ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
External Costs ◽  
Electricity Mix ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Uniform Manner ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Energy Strategies ◽  
Country Specific

Abstract Electricity generation in Europe is undergoing fundamental change. The aim is to increase sustainability by reducing emissions. Each country has a different electricity mix, and there is no established method for measuring environmental impacts of electricity production with a single indicator, in a uniform manner and with country-specific data. To address this gap, we have developed a model that measures costs of 19 environmental externalities (usually types of emissions). Using country-specific technologies, electricity mixes and external cost rates, we assess and analyse the development of external costs of generating electricity in 27 European countries between 2010 and 2030. Our simulation results show that despite the initiated transformation of the energy systems in many EU countries, external costs per kWh are decreasing in only eight of these countries. This fact underlines the need for a drastic change in national energy strategies. Particularly striking are the developments of the energy mixes in six countries. Overall, the results show that more far-reaching policy measures are needed in order to significantly reduce the external costs of the energy sector in Europe.

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