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39 pages, 10507 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Method for Spatiotemporal Solar Power Profile Estimation for a Proposed U.S.–Caribbean–South America Super Grid under Hurricanes

by Rodney Itiki, Nils Stenvig, Teja Kuruganti and Silvio Giuseppe Di Santo

Energies 2024, 17(7), 1545; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17071545 - 23 Mar 2024

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Abstract

Solar photovoltaic (PV) generation technology stands out as a scalable and cost-effective solution to enable the transition toward decarbonization. However, PV solar output, beyond the daily solar irradiance variability and unavailability during nights, is very sensitive to weather events like hurricanes. Hurricanes nucleate massive amounts of clouds around their centers, shading hundreds of kilometers in their path, reducing PV power output. This research proposes a spatiotemporal method, implemented in MATLAB R2023b coding, to estimate the shading effect of hurricanes over a wide distribution of PV solar plants connected to a high-voltage power infrastructure called the U.S.–Caribbean–South America super grid. The complete interconnection of the U.S., the Caribbean, and South America results in the lowest power valley levels, i.e., an overall percentual reduction in PV power output caused by hurricane shading. The simulations assess the impact of hurricanes in 10 synthetic trajectories spanning from Texas to Florida. The Caribbean would also experience lower power valleys with expanded interconnectivity schemes. The U.S.–Caribbean–South America super grid reduces Caribbean variability from 37.8% to 8.9% in the case study. The proposed spatiotemporal method for PV power profile estimation is a valuable tool for future solar power generation expansion, transmission planning, and system design considering the impact of hurricanes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section A: Sustainable Energy)

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19 pages, 4517 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Proposed Extension of the U.S.–Caribbean Super Grid to South America for Resilience during Hurricanes

by Rodney Itiki, Madhav Manjrekar and Silvio Giuseppe Di Santo

Energies 2024, 17(1), 233; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17010233 - 1 Jan 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2479

Abstract

Climate change mitigation, adaptation to intensifying hurricanes, and decarbonization challenges in developing countries emphasize the urgent need for resilient high-voltage grids to facilitate the expansion of renewables. This research explores the technical feasibility of extending the U.S.–Caribbean Super Grid to include the Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana, and the northeastern part of Brazil in South America. This proposed extension aims to capitalize on the recent introduction of a new generation of wind turbines certified for operation under strong hurricane forces. The research utilizes modeling and simulation techniques to evaluate the performance of the proposed extension. A method for modeling and estimating spatiotemporal wind power profiles is applied, and the results demonstrate a reduction in maximum wind power variability within the U.S.–Caribbean Super Grid. Depending on the hurricane trajectory, the variability is reduced from 56.6% to less than 43.2%. This reduction takes effect by distributing peak surplus wind power alongside the proposed U.S.–Caribbean–South America Super Grid (UCASG). The research concludes by acknowledging the merits and limitations of the study and discussing potential directions for future research in this field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section A: Sustainable Energy)

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20 pages, 1076 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Calibration Report for Wireless Sensor-Based Weatherboards

by Muthoni Masinde and Antoine Bagula

J. Sens. Actuator Netw. 2015, 4(1), 30-49; https://doi.org/10.3390/jsan4010030 - 9 Mar 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 9062

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa contains the highest number of people affected by droughts. Although this can easily be mitigated through the provision of timely, reliable and relevant weather forecasts, the sparse network of weather stations in most of these countries makes this difficult. Rapid development in wireless sensor networks has resulted in weatherboards capable of capturing weather parameters at the micro-level. Although these weatherboards offer a viable solution to Africa’s drought, the acceptability of such data by meteorologists is only possible if these sensors are calibrated and their field readiness scientifically evaluated. This is the contribution of this paper; we present results of a calibration exercise that was carried out to: (1) measure and correct lag, random and systematic errors; (2) determine if Perspex was an ideal material for building sensor boards’ enclosures; and (3) identify sensor boards’ battery charging and depletion rates. The result is a calibration report detailing actual error and uncertainty values for atmospheric pressure, humidity and temperature sensors, as well as the recharge and discharge curves of the batteries. The results further ruled out the use of Perspex for enclosing the sensor boards. These experiments pave the way for the design and implementation of a sensor-based weather monitoring system (SenseWeather) that was piloted in two regions in Kenya. Full article

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