FPV for Sustainable Electricity Generation in a Large European City

There is a huge interest worldwide related to continuously increasing the use of renewable energy sources (RES) for electricity generation. Romania, at this moment, even though it has to attain a share of 30.7% of RES from total energy consumption by 2030, does not have any major investment project of this kind in the near future. Photovoltaic (PV) is one of the most promising technologies, with decreasing prices for PV panels but with the disadvantage of large, needed surfaces. This study presents a solution to install PV panels where there is a need for electricity, in a large city, by using the surface of a reservoir. “Lacul Morii” Reservoir in Bucharest is the choice for the case study. The insolation and the possibility to install floating PV, as well as electricity generation, benefits for water quality and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction are assessed, and even the installation of charging stations for electric bikes and cars. The results are very promising, and the main conclusion is that, after its realization, the floating photovoltaic (FPV) plant on “Lacul Morii” Reservoir will be a source of clean electricity and a demonstration project on how to benefit from solar energy to produce electricity in large cities where there are reservoirs.

Simulation Of the Conical Gravitational Water Vortex Turbine (GWVT) Design in Producing Optimum Force for Energy Production

Sustainable electricity power supply is crucial especially for less populated rural area. Micro hydropower generation in rural area is important in providing electricity especially in off-grid electricity area. This study aims to predict and harness power from micro hydropower generation through conical gravitational water vortex turbine (GWVT) via SOLIDWORKS flow simulation. Conical GWVT under study was designed as fully enclosed system with conical turbine basin. Two different turbine orientations were simulated i.e., vertical and horizontal at different blade angle designs i.e., 25°, 45°, 75°, 90°, and 120° and with different number of blades i.e., 8, 12, and 18 while forces were harnessed at tangential (z-axis) direction. The simulation results showed that it was possible to run and produce force from conical GWVT design in a fully enclosed system. It was found that vertical turbine orientation produced a slightly higher force than horizontally orientated turbine, using 12 runner blades at 90° angles where the distributed forces were 15.31N and 14.12N respectively, at tangential (z-axis) direction. The results are useful to predict turbine’s torque for small capacity micro hydropower electricity generation prior to actual conical GWVT set up, in rural area, to minimise cost implication and construction issues.

Small Hydropower Plant for Sustainable Electricity from RES Mix

In the context of the need for an increasing share of renewables in electricity mixes, the paper presents the existing RES mix, PV and wind, for partially covering the electricity consumption of a research institute, ICSTM, and proposes a solution for completion with a third form of RES, a small hydropower plant. Moreover, it is envisaged to include the proposed small hydropower plant as a new real-scale laboratory attached to ICSTM. The method includes the presentation of an existing proposal for increasing installed capacity in new PV panels and propose to install an SHPP to a weir situated a few hundred meters from the institute. The hydropower potential for two possible arrangements is assessed and some types of turbines suitable for this location are presented. The main results demonstrate that building an SHPP is a better solution for completion of PV and wind as source of electricity for ICSTM. The main conclusion of the paper is that by installing new RES capacities, ICSTM can build a real-scale laboratory for new technologies, at the same time fully covering its own electricity consumption and even supplying a green electricity mix into the national power system.

Assessment of Renewable Electricity Policy for Sustainable Electricity Generation in Nigeria

Nigeria commits to fast track the integration of renewables in electricity generation by enacting a 2015 National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy (NREEEP). Thus, this policy briefing assesses the effect of the policy, and other socioeconomic factors, on the deployment of renewable electricity generation. The preliminary findings show that renewable energy policy has little effect in facilitating renewable electricity integration in Nigeria due to lack of political will and its adverse effect evident in the non-implementation of incentives like feed-in-tariffs and a zero import duty waiver. Second, increased fossil fuel consumption impedes the deployment of renewable electricity due to the hydrocarbon endowment and its subsidization. The domestic financial market development in Nigeria does not also support the deployment of renewable electricity that requires long-term finance. It requires a political will to strengthen the legal and institutional framework for a sustainable electricity generation deployment. It is also pertinent to consider the total removal of fossil fuel subsidies for renewable electricity integration.

Distribution-Level Flexibility Markets—A Review of Trends, Research Projects, Key Stakeholders and Open Questions

In modern power systems high penetration of renewable energy sources and decentralized paradigm are regarded as the path toward more sustainable electricity landscape. This includes distributed energy resources whose intermittency and uncertainty may cause issues to the system operators. Distribution system operators have an obligation to ensure secure and stable system operation. Hence, they seek the most efficient methods to deal with these challenges. Flexibility procurement is considered as one of the prerequisites for painless and successful integration of renewable sources. Furthermore, distribution-level flexibility markets are modeled and tested to trade flexibility locally, solve congestion issues and defer grid expansion. This paper surveys the ongoing research in the field of flexibility markets, its design, open questions and most promising research projects. The key stakeholders are identified, overview of the current trends in the power system and research initiatives are presented, accompanied with the dilemmas being discussed in the power systems community.