Ranko Goic

Bio: Ranko Goic is an academic researcher from University of Split. The author has contributed to research in topics: Wind power & Photovoltaic system. The author has an hindex of 17, co-authored 41 publications receiving 3216 citations.

A review of solar photovoltaic technologies

Abstract: Global environmental concerns and the escalating demand for energy, coupled with steady progress in renewable energy technologies, are opening up new opportunities for utilization of renewable energy resources. Solar energy is the most abundant, inexhaustible and clean of all the renewable energy resources till date. The power from sun intercepted by the earth is about 1.8 × 1011 MW, which is many times larger than the present rate of all the energy consumption. Photovoltaic technology is one of the finest ways to harness the solar power. This paper reviews the photovoltaic technology, its power generating capability, the different existing light absorbing materials used, its environmental aspect coupled with a variety of its applications. The different existing performance and reliability evaluation models, sizing and control, grid connection and distribution have also been discussed. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A review of solar thermal technologies

Abstract: The use of solar energy in recent years has reached a remarkable edge. The continuous research for an alternative power source due to the perceived scarcity of fuel fossils is its driving force. It has become even more popular as the cost of fossil fuel continues to rise. The earth receives in just 1 h, more energy from the sun than what we consume in the whole world for 1 year. Its application was proven to be most economical, as most systems in individual uses requires but a few kilowatt of power. This paper reviews the present day solar thermal technologies. Performance analyses of existing designs (study), mathematical simulation (design) and fabrication of innovative designs with suggested improvements (development) have been discussed in this paper.

A review of climate change, mitigation and adaptation

Abstract: Global climate change is a change in the long-term weather patterns that characterize the regions of the world. Scientists state unequivocally that the earth is warming. Natural climate variability alone cannot explain this trend. Human activities, especially the burning of coal and oil, have warmed the earth by dramatically increasing the concentrations of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. The more of these gases humans put into the atmosphere, the more the earth will warm in the decades and centuries ahead. The impacts of warming can already be observed in many places, from rising sea levels to melting snow and ice to changing weather patterns. Climate change is already affecting ecosystems, freshwater supplies, and human health. Although climate change cannot be avoided entirely, the most severe impacts of climate change can be avoided by substantially reducing the amount of heat-trapping gases released into the atmosphere. However, the time available for beginning serious action to avoid severe global consequences is growing short. This paper reviews assessing of such climate change impacts on various components of the ecosystem such as air, water, plants, animals and human beings, with special emphasis on economy. The most daunting problem of global warming is also discussed. This paper, further reviews the mitigation measures, with a special focus on carbon sequestration and clean development mechanism (CDM). The importance of synergy between climate change mitigation and adaptation has been discussed. An overview of the relationship between economy and emissions, including Carbon Tax and Emission Trading and the policies are also presented.

A review of solar drying technologies

Abstract: Agricultural products such as coffee, tobacco, tea, fruit, cocoa beans, rice, nuts, and timber generally require drying through a consistent application of relatively low heat. Traditionally, crop drying has been accomplished by burning wood and fossil fuels in ovens or open air drying under screened sunlight. These methods, however, have their shortcomings. The former is expensive and damages the environment and the latter is susceptible to the variety and unpredictability of the weather. Solar crop drying is a happy medium between these two methods and it dries crops with more efficiency, uniformity, and less expense. A solar crop drying system does not solely depend on solar energy to function; it combines fuel burning with the energy of the sun, thus reducing fossil fuel consumption. In this paper, the status of solar drying technologies in developing countries is presented. The various designs of solar dryers, its types and performance analysis are reviewed. Special attention is given to the solar drying technologies that facilitate drying of crops in off-sunshine hours. The solar dryers specifically designed or tested using specific crops like the vegetable dryer, fruit dryer, grain dryer, grape dryer, and so on are also reviewed with details about the specifications and the results. In short, the state of art technologies and development of solar dryers are presented in this paper.

Flat plate solar photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) systems : A reference guide

Abstract: The increasing installed area of solar technologies around the world gives us an idea about the unlimited potential available in solar energy. This combined with the rising fossil fuel prices and frequent power outages, favor decentralized power generation among domestic consumers and small industries. However, the low energy of the solar PV module, the low exergy of the solar flat plate thermal collector and limited usable shadow-free space on building roof-tops could be overcome by the high overall (electrical and thermal) efficiency of a solar Photovoltaic Thermal (PV/T) system, which combines the electrical and thermal components in a single unit area. This paper gives a brief overview of the different solar flat plate PV/T technologies, their efficiencies, applications, advantages, limitations and research opportunities available.

Role of renewable energy sources in environmental protection: A review

Abstract: Renewable technologies are considered as clean sources of energy and optimal use of these resources minimize environmental impacts, produce minimum secondary wastes and are sustainable based on current and future economic and social societal needs. Sun is the source of all energies. The primary forms of solar energy are heat and light. Sunlight and heat are transformed and absorbed by the environment in a multitude of ways. Some of these transformations result in renewable energy flows such as biomass and wind energy. Renewable energy technologies provide an excellent opportunity for mitigation of greenhouse gas emission and reducing global warming through substituting conventional energy sources. In this article a review has been done on scope of CO2 mitigation through solar cooker, water heater, dryer, biofuel, improved cookstoves and by hydrogen.

Optimization methods applied to renewable and sustainable energy: A review

Abstract: 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.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation

Abstract: As a ubiquitous solar-thermal energy conversion process, solar-driven evaporation has attracted tremendous research attention owing to its high conversion efficiency of solar energy and transformative industrial potential. In recent years, solar-driven interfacial evaporation by localization of solar-thermal energy conversion to the air/liquid interface has been proposed as a promising alternative to conventional bulk heating-based evaporation, potentially reducing thermal losses and improving energy conversion efficiency. In this Review, we discuss the development of the key components for achieving high-performance evaporation, including solar absorbers, evaporation structures, thermal insulators and thermal concentrators, and discuss how they improve the performance of the solar-driven interfacial evaporation system. We describe the possibilities for applying this efficient solar-driven interfacial evaporation process for energy conversion applications. The exciting opportunities and challenges in both fundamental research and practical implementation of the solar-driven interfacial evaporation process are also discussed. The thermal properties of solar energy can be exploited for many applications, including evaporation. Tao et al. review recent developments in the field of solar-driven interfacial evaporation, which have enabled higher-performance structures by localizing energy conversion to the air/liquid interface.

A review of energy sources and energy management system in electric vehicles

Abstract: The issues of global warming and depletion of fossil fuels have paved opportunities to electric vehicle (EV). Moreover, the rapid development of power electronics technologies has even realized high energy-efficient vehicles. EV could be the alternative to decrease the global green house gases emission as the energy consumption in the world transportation is high. However, EV faces huge challenges in battery cost since one-third of the EV cost lies on battery. This paper reviews state-of-the-art of the energy sources, storage devices, power converters, low-level control energy management strategies and high supervisor control algorithms used in EV. The comparison on advantages and disadvantages of vehicle technology is highlighted. In addition, the standards and patterns of drive cycles for EV are also outlined. The advancement of power electronics and power processors has enabled sophisticated controls (low-level and high supervisory algorithms) to be implemented in EV to achieve optimum performance as well as the realization of fast-charging stations. The rapid growth of EV has led to the integration of alternative resources to the utility grid and hence smart grid control plays an important role in managing the demand. The awareness of environmental issue and fuel crisis has brought up the sales of EV worldwide.