Energy is a vital input for social and economic development. As a result of the generalization of agricultural, industrial and domestic activities the demand for energy has increased remarkably, especially in emergent countries. This has meant rapid grower in the level of greenhouse gas emissions and the increase in fuel prices, which are the main driving forces behind efforts to utilize renewable energy sources more effectively, i.e. energy which comes from natural resources and is also naturally replenished. Despite the obvious advantages of renewable energy, it presents important drawbacks, such as the discontinuity of generation, as most renewable energy resources depend on the climate, which is why their use requires complex design, planning and control optimization methods. Fortunately, the continuous advances in computer hardware and software are allowing researchers to deal with these optimization problems using computational resources, as can be seen in the large number of optimization methods that have been applied to the renewable and sustainable energy field. This paper presents a review of the current state of the art in computational optimization methods applied to renewable and sustainable energy, offering a clear vision of the latest research advances in this field.

Optimization methods applied to renewable and sustainable energy: A review

Energy storage for mitigating the variability of renewable electricity sources: An updated review

Energy is an essential ingredient of socio-economic development and economic growth. Renewable energy sources like wind energy is indigenous and can help in reducing the dependency on fossil fuels. Wind is the indirect form of solar energy and is always being replenished by the sun. Wind is caused by differential heating of the earth's surface by the sun. It has been estimated that roughly 10 million MW of energy are continuously available in the earth's wind. Wind energy provides a variable and environmental friendly option and national energy security at a time when decreasing global reserves of fossil fuels threatens the long-term sustainability of global economy. This paper reviews the wind resources assessment models, site selection models and aerodynamic models including wake effect. The different existing performance and reliability evaluation models, various problems related to wind turbine components (blade, gearbox, generator and transformer) and grid for wind energy system have been discussed. This paper also reviews different techniques and loads for design, control systems and economics of wind energy conversion system.

A review of wind energy technologies

The pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) is a well-established and commercially-acceptable technology for utility-scale electricity storage and has been used since as early as the 1890s. Hydro power is not only a renewable and sustainable energy source, but its flexibility and storage capacity also make it possible to improve grid stability and to support the deployment of other intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. As a result, a renewed interest in PHES and a demand for the rehabilitation of old small hydro power plants are emerging globally. With regard to PHES, advances in turbine design are required to enhance plant performance and flexibility and new strategies for optimizing storage capacity and for maximizing plant profitability in the deregulated energy market. In the early 2000s, this technology has again emerged as an economically and technologically acceptable option for peak load shaving and wind and solar energy storage for power quality assurance. Furthermore, renewable energy sources due to their fluctuating nature cannot maintain or regulate continuous supply of power and hence require bulk electricity storage. The present study aims at reviewing the existing global PHES capacities, technological development, and hybrid systems (wind-hydro, solar pv-hydro, and wind-pv-hydro) and recommending the best possible options. The review explores that PHES is the most suitable technology for small autonomous island grids and massive energy storage, where the energy efficiency of PHES varies in practice between 70% and 80% with some claiming up to 87%. Around the world, PHES size mostly nestles in the range of 1000–1500 MW, being as large as 2000–3000 MW. On the other hand, photovoltaic based pumped storage systems have been used for very small scale (load of few houses) only.

Pumped hydro energy storage system: A technological review

The probability density function (PDF) of wind speed is important in numerous wind energy applications. A large number of studies have been published in scientific literature related to renewable energies that propose the use of a variety of PDFs to describe wind speed frequency distributions. In this paper a review of these PDFs is carried out. The flexibility and usefulness of the PDFs in the description of different wind regimes (high frequencies of null winds, unimodal, bimodal, bitangential regimes, etc.) is analysed for a wide collection of models. Likewise, the methods that have been used to estimate the parameters on which these models depend are reviewed and the degree of complexity of the estimation is analysed in function of the model selected: these are the method of moments (MM), the maximum likelihood method (MLM) and the least squares method (LSM). In addition, a review is conducted of the statistical tests employed to see whether a sample of wind data comes from a population with a particular probability distribution. With the purpose of cataloguing the various PDFs, a comparison is made between them and the two parameter Weibull distribution (W.pdf), which has been the most widely used and accepted distribution in the specialised literature on wind energy and other renewable energy sources. This comparison is based on: (a) an analysis of the degree of fit of the continuous cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) for wind speed to the cumulative relative frequency histograms of hourly mean wind speeds recorded at weather stations located in the Canarian Archipelago; (b) an analysis of the degree of fit of the CDFs for wind power density to the cumulative relative frequency histograms of the cube of hourly mean wind speeds recorded at the aforementioned weather stations. The suitability of the distributions is judged from the coefficient of determination R2. Amongst the various conclusions obtained, it can be stated that the W.pdf presents a series of advantages with respect to the other PDFs analysed. However, the W.pdf cannot represent all the wind regimes encountered in nature such as, for example, those with high percentages of null wind speeds, bimodal distributions, etc. Therefore, its generalised use is not justified and it will be necessary to select the appropriate PDF for each wind regime in order to minimise errors in the estimation of the energy produced by a WECS (wind energy conversion system). In this sense, the extensive collection of PDFs proposed in this paper comprises a valuable catalogue.

A review of wind speed probability distributions used in wind energy analysis: Case studies in the Canary Islands

A wind energy analysis of Grenada: an estimation using the 'Weibull' density function

A wind¿diesel system with hydrogen storage: Joint optimisation of design and dispatch

On the economics of electricity consumption in small island developing states: a role for renewable energy technologies?

Instantaneous wind energy penetration in isolated electricity grids: concepts and review

Due to various pressures and desires more and more developing countries embark on power sector reform programmes. Yet, there are a wide range of reform options and at present insufficient evidence is available as to which path will deliver best the desired objectives. Presently, most Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are dependent on high-cost fossil fuel imports for power generation. In spite of evidence that harnessing abundant domestic renewable sources of energy can deliver environmental, social and economic benefits. However, depending on the type of power sector reform the transition towards renewable energy technologies (RETs) can be either undermined or facilitated. The specific focus on SIDS is justified because they have inherent characteristics that limit the degree to which the power sector can be transformed in comparison to larger continental developing countries. With specific reference to SIDS this manuscript reviews the drivers and desires for power sector reform, as well as presenting the available reform options and their implications on the up-take of RETs. In addition to elaborating aspects of market governance, other barriers to the consideration of RETs, such as financial bias in investment, human capacity and environmental policy are discussed. In view of this discussion, which is based on evidence from recent reform programmes and theoretical academic literature, recommendations are formulated that discourage full privatisation of the power sector, as well as proposing less dogmatic lending conditions by international assistance bodies.

Daniel Weisser

Papers

A wind energy analysis of Grenada: an estimation using the 'Weibull' density function

A wind¿diesel system with hydrogen storage: Joint optimisation of design and dispatch

On the economics of electricity consumption in small island developing states: a role for renewable energy technologies?

Instantaneous wind energy penetration in isolated electricity grids: concepts and review

Power sector reform in small island developing states: what role for renewable energy technologies?