Search Results (5)

Hydrogen offers an effective pathway for the large-scale storage of renewable energy. For a tourist city located in a plateau region rich in renewable energy, hydrogen shows great potential for reducing carbon emissions and utilizing uncertain renewable energy. Herein, the wind–solar–hydrogen stand-alone and grid-connected systems in the plateau tourist city of Lijiang City in Yunnan Province are modeled and techno-economically evaluated by using the HOMER Pro software (version 3.14.2) with the multi-criteria decision analysis models. The system is composed of 5588 kW solar photovoltaic panels, an 800 kW wind turbine, a 1600 kW electrolyzer, a 421 kWh battery, and a 50 kW fuel cell. In addition to meeting the power requirements for system operation, the system has the capacity to provide daily electricity for 200 households in a neighborhood and supply 240 kg of hydrogen per day to local hydrogen-fueled buses. The stand-alone system can produce 10.15 × 10⁶ kWh of electricity and 93.44 t of hydrogen per year, with an NPC of USD 8.15 million, an LCOE of USD 0.43/kWh, and an LCOH of USD 5.26/kg. The grid-connected system can generate 10.10 × 10⁶ kWh of electricity and 103.01 ton of hydrogen annually. Its NPC is USD 7.34 million, its LCOE is USD 0.11/kWh, and its LCOH is USD 3.42/kg. This study provides a new solution for optimizing the configuration of hybrid renewable energy systems, which will develop the hydrogen economy and create low-carbon-emission energy systems. Full article

With the penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs), new network challenges arise that limit the hosting capacity of the network, which consequently makes the current expansion-planning models inadequate. Smart inverters as a promising tool can be utilized to enhance the hosting capacity. Therefore, in response to technical, economic, and environmental challenges, as well as government support for renewable resources, especially domestic solar resources located at the point of consumption, this paper is an endeavor to propose a smart-inverter-based low-voltage (LV) distribution expansion-planning model. The proposed model is capable of dynamic planning, where multiple periods are considered over the planning horizon. In this model, a distribution company (DISCO), as the owner of the network, intends to minimize the planning and operational costs. Optimal loading of transformers is considered, which is utilized to operate the transformers efficiently. Here, to model the problem, a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model is utilized. Using the GAMS software, the decision variables of the problem, such as the site and size of the installation of distribution transformers, and their service areas specified by the LV lines over the planning years, and the reactive power generation/absorption of the smart inverters over the years, seasons, and hours are determined. To tackle the operational challenges such as voltage control in the points of common coupling (PCC) and the limitations in the hosting capacity of the network for the maximized penetration level of PV cells, a smart-inverter model with voltage control capability in PCC points is integrated into the expansion-planning problem. Then, a two-stage procedure is proposed to integrate the reactive power exchange capability of smart inverters in the distribution expansion planning. Based on the simulations of a residential district with PV penetration, results show that by a 14.7% share of PV energy generation, the loss cost of LV feeders is reduced by 28.3%. Also, it is observed that by optimally making use of the reactive power absorption capability of the smart inverters, the hosting capacity of the network is increased by 50%. Full article

Until recently, the prominent stage of electricity generation has been carried out by utility firms; however, the general landscape of power generation in the world is changing. The availability of low-cost photovoltaic panels is encouraging households to become local producers themselves and sell energy to the grid at a micro-scale. Therefore, the development of renewable energy production is increasing the domain of the energy market from pure product delivery to a market of mixed services and goods delivery, with new players entering the value chain. For this reason, utility firms need to rethink their marketing activities, their interface and interaction with the consumer, the infrastructure they need for the flow of their production to the consumer, and the architecture of their value proposition. Faced with the growing market for renewable energy services, this study investigates how utility firms should target marketing activities to take advantage of business opportunities in the newer networks of competitive coalitions. The results of the study carried out suggest that firms need to strengthen their competitiveness and capability in internal marketing, their core competence in technological development and personnel management, and their external marketing promotions. By doing so, firms will be able to compete with established technologies and generate revenue by treating the disruptive and innovative technologies of the distributed generation as the gateway to the service market, and prospect the S-D-dominant logic of marketing in their activities. Moving beyond the traditional electricity delivery culture of utility firms could open up new opportunities for growth and expansion to attract a greater number of consumers, as is done today in similar high-tech industries. Full article

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has a large solar and wind energy resource. Through its Vision 2030 to exploit such resources, KSA is planning to install 9.5 GW of renewable energy power generation systems by 2030, through a mix of solar and wind energy. The government is planning to invest 109 billion US$ over the next 20 years for solar energy. The focus will be on solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar technologies at a national level. So far, the electricity demand in KSA is almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels for generating power. This paper addresses the potential to utilize the solar radiation resource at a different scale and reduce the power demand from the grid, bringing collateral benefits for householders and the government alike. The work presents the results from monitoring the electricity consumption of two typical domestic buildings (villas) in Jeddah, KSA. The electricity consumption observations were associated with indoor environmental conditions to study how and when cooling demand affects final demand. The study investigated options to serve the observed demand profile of the villas with simulated power generation from arrays of PV panels installed on two buildings’ roofs. Finally, a model of dynamic solar radiation simulation was developed to assess the hourly electricity generation, and a cost-benefit analysis was conducted for different capacity PV systems scenarios. The results indicate that locally used rooftop PV output could reduce the household electrical demand from the grid by around 80% at the housing level and in combination with building refurbishment solutions, could result in additional energy savings. The economic analysis discusses the implications of a proposed feed-in tariff with the associated payback periods and ROI, as well as proposals for PV system deployment at a large scale on the roof of buildings in KSA. Full article

The growing penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems requires a fundamental understanding of its impact at a system-level. Furthermore, distributed energy storage (DES) technologies, such as batteries, are attracting great interest owing to their ability to provide support to systems with large-scale renewable generation, such as PV. In this light, the system-level impacts of PV and DES are assessed from both operational and adequacy perspectives. Different control strategies for DES are proposed, namely: (1) centralised, to support system operation in the presence of increasing requirements on system ramping and frequency control; and (2) decentralised, to maximise the harnessing of solar energy from individual households while storing electricity generated by PV panels to provide system capacity on request. The operational impacts are assessed by deploying a multi-service unit commitment model with consideration of inertial constraints, dynamic reserve allocation, and interconnection flexibility, while the impacts on adequacy of supply are analysed by assessing the capacity credit of PV and DES through different metrics. The models developed are then applied to different future scenarios for the Great Britain power system, whereby an electricity demand increase due to electrification is also considered. The numerical results highlight the importance of interconnectors to provide flexibility. On the other hand, provision of reserves, as opposed to energy arbitrage, from DES that are integrated into system operation is seen as the most effective contribution to improve system performance, which in turn also decreases the role of interconnectors. DES can also contribute to providing system capacity, but to an extent that is limited by their individual and aggregated energy availability under different control strategies. Full article