Showing papers on "Grid parity published in 2016"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors give more insight about the Floating PV technology, its present status and various design options. But, they do not discuss the design of the floating PV panels.
Abstract: The noticeable rise in the electricity demand, fast depletion of fossil fuels, along with environmental concerns throughout the world has led to the requirement of commissioning Solar PV plants in large scale. Solar photovoltaic (PV) installation has the burden of intense land requirements which will always be a premium commodity. To conserve the valuable land & water, installing Solar PV system on water bodies like oceans, lakes, lagoons, reservoir, irrigation ponds, waste water treatment plants, wineries, fish farms, dams and canals can be an attractive option. Floating type solar photovoltaic panels have numerous advantages compared to overland installed solar panels, including fewer obstacles to block sunlight, convenient, energy efficiency, higher power generation efficiency owing to its lower temperature underneath the panels. Additionally, the aquatic environment profits by the solar installation because the shading of the plant prevents excessive water evaporation, limits algae growth and potentially improving water quality. This paper gives more insight about the Floating PV technology, its present status & various design options.
422 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a comprehensive and systematic review of PV output power forecast models were provided, which covers the different factors affecting PV forecast, PV output output power profile and performance matrices to evaluate the forecast model.
350 citations
TL;DR: In this article, different solar power technologies have been reviewed which can be utilized for the global sustainable electric power generation, including solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies.
Abstract: Most of the energy generated globally utilize fossil fuels involving the emission of environmentally hazardous carbon dioxide and depletion of fossil fuel resources. The continuous variation in fuel prices has added a major concern on its sustainable use for future energy requirements. In order to minimize the environmental degradation during energy production process due to emissions of hazardous gases, the utilization of renewable energy resources can make the energy use clean as well as sustainable. Due to an ever increasing demand of clean energy, a sharp rise in the utilization of naturally available solar energy has been observed. Currently, there are several possible routes for solar energy technological developments. In order to effectively utilize the solar power system, one needs to know the technology and its suitability according to the requirements and nature of usage. In this article, different solar power technologies have been reviewed which can be utilized for the global sustainable electric power generation. Major emphasize has been on solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies. Their types, mechanism, efficiency and cost factors have been discussed. It has been observed that solar PV being more commercially developed and mature technology is suited for both small and large scale applications while CSP technology despite being expensive yield higher economic returns and is suited for large scale applications. Every solar power technology has its own advantage and disadvantage and their preferred usage is basically dependent on the specific case and given conditions. It has also been observed that solar energy, which is a fairly stable and consistently available source of clean energy has the significant potential to cater ever increasing world electricity requirements.
332 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the possibility of charging battery electric vehicles at workplace in Netherlands using solar energy and proposed a priority mechanism to facilitate the charging of multiple EVs from a single EV-PV charger.
330 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a comprehensive literature review on problems associated when the intermittent PV is connected to grid and the methods of smoothing the output power fluctuation from PV is presented, also briefly discusses control strategy built for battery energy storage pertaining to this issue.
Abstract: Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) particularly photovoltaic (PV) and wind are becoming important sources for power generation. Frequently varying output of PV and wind caused by clouds movement, weather condition and wind speed make them an intermittent and unreliable sources when connected to grid. Connecting intermittent sources to grid introduces challenges in various technical aspects such as power quality, protection, generation dispatch control and reliability. In this context, leveling intermittent source׳s output is necessary inorder to maintain grid׳s stability. This paper is aimed at bringing out the latest comprehensive literature review on problems associated when the intermittent PV is connected to grid and the methods of smoothing the output power fluctuation from PV. This paper also briefly discusses control strategy built for battery energy storage pertaining to this issue.
304 citations
TL;DR: The interconversion between electricity and hydrogen, two energy carriers directly produced by sunlight, will be a key tool to distribute renewable energies with the highest flexibility.
Abstract: The energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables is already ongoing, but it will be a long and difficult process because the energy system is a gigantic and complex machine. Key renewable energy production data show the remarkable growth of solar electricity technologies and indicate that crystalline silicon photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines are the workhorses of the first wave of renewable energy deployment on the TW scale around the globe. The other PV alternatives (e.g., copper/indium/gallium/selenide (CIGS) or CdTe), along with other less mature options, are critically analyzed. As far as fuels are concerned, the situation is significantly more complex because making chemicals with sunshine is far more complicated than generating electric current. The prime solar artificial fuel is molecular hydrogen, which is characterized by an excellent combination of chemical and physical properties. The routes to make it from solar energy (photoelectrochemical cells (PEC), dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (DSPEC), PV electrolyzers) and then synthetic liquid fuels are presented, with discussion on economic aspects. The interconversion between electricity and hydrogen, two energy carriers directly produced by sunlight, will be a key tool to distribute renewable energies with the highest flexibility. The discussion takes into account two concepts that are often overlooked: the energy return on investment (EROI) and the limited availability of natural resources-particularly minerals-which are needed to manufacture energy converters and storage devices on a multi-TW scale.
292 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the feasibility of running a hybrid diesel/PV/Wind/battery power generation system for a non-residential large electricity consumer in the south of Iran was investigated.
228 citations
01 Oct 2016
TL;DR: An extensive literature review is conducted on emerging power quality challenges due to renewable energy integration, and various methods are reviewed, and the control-technology-based power quality improvement is the major focus of this paper.
Abstract: Renewable energy becomes a key contributor to our modern society, but their integration to power grid poses significant technical challenges. Power quality is an important aspect of renewable energy integration. The major power quality concerns are: 1) Voltage and frequency fluctuations, which are caused by non-controllable variability of renewable energy resources. Their intermittent nature due to ever-changing weather conditions leads to voltage and frequency fluctuations at the interconnected power grid. 2) Harmonics, which are introduced by power electronic devices utilized in renewable energy generation. When penetration level of renewable energy is high, the influence of harmonics could be significant. In this paper, an extensive literature review is conducted on emerging power quality challenges due to renewable energy integration. The paper consists of two sections: 1) Power quality problem definition. Wind turbines and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and their power quality issues are summarized. 2) Existing approaches to improve power quality. Various methods are reviewed. The future research directions for emerging power quality challenges for renewable energy integration are recommended in the paper.
209 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a supermarket in Aachen, Germany, has been investigated with respect to self-consumption and degree of self-sufficiency for photovoltaic (PV) systems.
198 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a long-term multi-objective optimization model for integrated hydro/PV power system considering the smoothness of power output process and the total amount of annual power generation of the system simultaneously.
191 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the potential of hybrid wind/solar energy system in the west coast area of Saudi Arabia is analyzed, where the authors put emphasis on the energy production and cost of energy from both wind turbine and photovoltaic (PV) in the hybrid system.
TL;DR: A detailed design of a standalone rooftop solar PV system to provide uninterrupted power supply for a hostel building is presented and the detailed procedure for specifying each component of the stand-alone rooftop PV system and its performance analysis using simulation software is outlined.
TL;DR: In this article, a review of the benefits and challenges of concentrated solar power plants (CSPs) in the desert regions is presented and suggested solutions are made to address the challenges.
Abstract: Concentrated solar power plants (CSPs) are gaining momentum due to their potential of power generation throughout the day for base load applications in the desert regions with extremely high direct normal irradiance (DNI). Among various types of the CSPs, solar tower power technologies are becoming the front runners especially in the United States and around the world with the possibility to compete with traditional power generation technologies in terms of efficiency and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). A bibliometric analysis of the publications on the CSP systems and components since 1990 shows a total of 6400+ publications and reveals an exponential growth due to reasons that CSP systems promises a lot of potential as the future large scale power source for varied applications. This review consolidates the benefits and challenges of the CSP technologies particularly in the desert regions. Thorough literature analysis as well as the meteorological data projects the trend that the CSP systems would become a reality in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Australia, Southwestern region of the United States, Southwestern part of China and China/Mongolia border with high direct normal irradiance. However, enormous amount of support and capital investments are needed for making these CSP systems realistic as there is not much power grid network in existence. It is evident that there are multiple challenges specifically in water consumption, materials design and development for the optimum heat transfer fluid, thermal energy storage and receiver subsystems in addition to commercial viability and environmental impacts. Each of the challenges is discussed in detail and suggestions are made to address the challenges.
TL;DR: The value of day-ahead solar power forecasting improvements was analyzed by simulating the operation of the Independent System Operator -New England (ISO-NE) power system under a range of scenarios with varying solar power penetrations and solar power forecast improvements.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors calculated the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) on the Atacama solar platform for a solar-solar energy mix with the objective of evaluate new options for continuous energy delivery.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a solution for the installation of distributed sources in the lowvoltage (LV) grid, where most consumers are sparsely located, and they ease the integration of distributed generators with energy storage systems (ESSs) at a consumption level.
Abstract: Environmental concerns and new energy policies are causing energy systems to shift toward decentralization and sustainability. Electricity generation has been historically based on large-scale fossil and nuclear sources, even though in the last decade, the share of renewables has grown significantly. Microgrids (MGs) come as a suitable solution for the installation of distributed sources in the low-voltage (LV) grid, where most consumers are sparsely located. MGs ease the integration of distributed generators (DGs) with energy storage systems (ESSs) at a consumption level, especially renewable energy sources (RESs), such as solar panels and small wind turbines (WTs). By decentralizing electricity generation, it can now be produced in closer proximity to the consumer, thereby avoiding transmission and distribution losses and increasing the efficiency of the electricity grid, as well as higher power reliability.
TL;DR: More than 200 research publications on the topic of grid interfaced wind power generation systems have been critically examined, classified and listed for quick reference as discussed by the authors, which is a ready-reckoner of essential topics for grid integration of wind energy and available technologies.
Abstract: Wind energy is becoming more important in recent years due to its contribution to the independence of power generation industry from traditional fossil energy resources and availability of continuous harvest-able potential on earth approximately around 10 6 MW . This paper presents a comprehensive overview of grid interfaced wind power generation systems. This is intended to provide a wide spectrum on the status of wind profile, wind potential estimation, configuration/design of wind energy conversion systems, wind generators, power converter topologies used for grid integration of wind power, energy storage systems for wind power applications, power smoothing methods, HVDC links used for wind integration, international grid codes and maximum power point tracking methods to the researchers, designers, manufacturers, and engineers working on the grid interfaced wind power generation. More than 200 research publications on the topic of grid interfaced wind power generation systems have been critically examined, classified and listed for quick reference. This review is ready-reckoner of essential topics for grid integration of wind energy and available technologies in this field.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide the rationale for forecasting in power systems, a succinct review of forecasting techniques as well as an assessment of their performance as applied in the literature, also techniques for improving the accuracy of forecasts have been presented together with key forecasting issues and developing trends.
Abstract: Power generation from renewable energy resources is on the increase in most countries, and this trend is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. In an effort to enhance the integration of renewable power generation from solar and wind into the traditional power network, there is need to address the vulnerabilities posed to the grid as a result of the intermittent nature of these resources. Variability and ramp events in power output are the key challenges to the system operators due to their impact on system balancing, reserves management, scheduling and commitment of generating units. This has drawn the interest of utilities and researchers towards developing state of the art forecasting techniques for forecasting wind speeds and solar irradiance over a wide range of temporal and spatial horizons. The main forecasting approaches employ physical, statistical, artificial intelligence and hybrid methodologies. This study provides the rationale for forecasting in power systems, a succinct review of forecasting techniques as well as an assessment of their performance as applied in the literature. Also, techniques for improving the accuracy of forecasts have been presented together with key forecasting issues and developing trends.
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of wind power on electricity prices using a production cost model of the Independent System Operator -New England power system was investigated, and different scenarios in terms of wind penetration, wind forecasts, and wind curtailment were modeled in order to analyze the impact on electricity price for different wind penetration levels.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess how future greenhouse gas emissions from electricity production in Brazil can be minimized by optimizing the daily dispatch of photovoltaic (PV), wind, thermal, and hydropower plants.
TL;DR: This paper examines the impact of changes to key PV module and system parameters on the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and the impacts on the 2015 baseline LCOE due to changes to each parameter are shown.
Abstract: To quantify the potential value of technological advances to the photovoltaics (PV) sector, this paper examines the impact of changes to key PV module and system parameters on the levelized cost of energy (LCOE). The parameters selected include module manufacturing cost, efficiency, degradation rate, and service lifetime. NREL's System Advisor Model (SAM) is used to calculate the lifecycle cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for residential, commercial, and utility scale PV systems within the contiguous United States, with a focus on utility scale. Different technological pathways are illustrated that may achieve the Department of Energy's SunShot goal of PV electricity that is at grid price parity with conventional electricity sources. In addition, the impacts on the 2015 baseline LCOE due to changes to each parameter are shown. These results may be used to identify research directions with the greatest potential to impact the cost of PV electricity. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: In this paper, the operations, balancing requirements, and costs of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council power system under a stringent greenhouse gas emission reduction target are explored. But the cost of achieving the goal and the technology mix are uncertain.
TL;DR: A general model framework is developed on the optimal offering strategy for CSP plants in joint day-ahead energy, reserve and regulation markets, which is robust for solar energy uncertainty and stochastic for market price uncertainty.
Abstract: In addition to energy, a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant with thermal energy storage (TES) could also provide ancillary service (AS) in the reserve and regulation markets. On one hand, providing AS contributes to the flexibility of the power systems and increases the revenue of CSP plants. On the other hand, the flexibility of CSP plants to accommodate solar energy, which is of great uncertainty, might be significantly weakened by an inappropriate offering strategy, e.g., offering excessive AS. Insufficient flexibility might cause massive solar energy curtailment and reduce the potential revenue. This paper develops a general model framework on the optimal offering strategy for CSP plants in joint day-ahead energy, reserve and regulation markets, which is robust for solar energy uncertainty and stochastic for market price uncertainty. On this basis, given the optimal day-ahead offering strategy, the offering curves to provide incremental AS capacities in the supplemental AS markets are further derived considering the opportunity cost. A new index, the maximum acceptable curtailment rate, is introduced to formulate the tradeoff of CSP plants between supplying AS to the system and reserving the flexibility for solar energy accommodation. The case study results demonstrate the validity of the proposed model.
TL;DR: In this paper, the economic viability of off-grid PV+battery+CHP systems by calculating the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of the technology to be compared to centralized grid electricity is analyzed.
Abstract: The technological development and economic of scale for solar photovoltaic (PV), batteries and combined heat and power (CHP) have led to the technical potential for a mass-scale transition to off-grid home electricity production for a significant number of utility customers. However, economic projections on complex hybrid systems utilizing these three technologies is challenging and no comprehensive method is available for guiding decision makers. This paper provides a new method of quantifying the economic viability of off-grid PV+battery+CHP systems by calculating the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of the technology to be compared to centralized grid electricity. The analysis is inherently conservative as it does not include the additional value of the heat form the CHP unit. A case study for residential electricity and thermal demand in an extreme worst case environment (Houghton, Michigan) is provided to demonstrate the methodology. The results of this case study show that with reasonable economic assumptions and current costs, PV+battery+CHP systems already provide a potential source of profit for some consumers to leave the grid. A sensitivity analysis for LCOE of such a hybrid system was then carried out on the capital cost of the three energy sub-systems, capacity factor of PV and CHP, efficiency of the CHP, natural gas rates, and fuel consumption of the CHP. The results of the sensitivity provide decision makers with clear guides to the LCOE of distributed generation with off-grid PV+battery+CHP systems and offer support to preliminary analysis that indicated a potential increase in grid defection in the U.S. in the near future.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a near-optimal storage control algorithm for residential PV-based energy generation and controllable energy storage devices for peak shaving on their power demand profile, thereby minimizing their electricity bill.
Abstract: Integrating residential photovoltaic (PV) power generation and energy storage systems into the Smart Grid is an effective way of reducing fossil fuel consumptions. This has become a particularly interesting problem with the introduction of dynamic electricity energy pricing, since consumers can use their PV-based energy generation and controllable energy storage devices for peak shaving on their power demand profile, thereby minimizing their electricity bill. A realistic electricity pricing function is considered with billing period of a month, comprising both an energy price component and a demand price component. Due to the characteristics of electricity price function and energy storage capacity limitation, the residential storage control algorithm should 1)utilize PV power generation and load power consumption predictions and 2)account for various energy loss components during system operation, including energy loss components due to rate capacity effect in the storage system and power dissipation of the power conversion circuitry. A near-optimal storage control algorithm is proposed accounting for these aspects. The near-optimal algorithm, which controls the charging/discharging of the storage system, is effectively implemented by solving a convex optimization problem at the beginning of each day with polynomial time complexity. For further improvement, the reinforcement learning technique is adopted to adaptively determine the residual energy in the storage system at the end of each day in a billing period.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the effect of a 100% renewable energy mix composed by solar and run-of-the-river energy in Northern Italy where these two energy sources are the main alternative alternative energy sources.
TL;DR: The feasibility of implementing power-to-gas systems, to absorb surplus solar power from electricity distribution networks and carbon dioxide from biomass anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, in order to produce synthetic methane was investigated for a region of Southern Germany as mentioned in this paper.
16 Dec 2016
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a comprehensive and up-to-date account of existing PV technologies in conjunction with an assessment of technological developments, bringing together the expertise of international PV specialists.
Abstract: Solar PV is now the third most important renewable energy source, after hydro and wind power, in terms of global installed capacity. Bringing together the expertise of international PV specialists Photovoltaic Solar Energy: From Fundamentals to Applications provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of existing PV technologies in conjunction with an assessment of technological developments.
TL;DR: In this paper, an initial assessment of the potential utilization of solar based technologies for electricity generation is presented for three strategically located Nigerian cities of Onitsha, Kano and Lagos.
Abstract: Ensuring energy security increasingly requires expanding both yield and resilience of supply through source diversification. In this study, the current energy situation of Nigeria is presented through a detailed literature review. The survey reveals that access to the national grid is limited, and the power delivered to areas classified as urban with grid connection is very unreliable. An initial assessment of the potential utilization of solar based technologies for electricity generation is presented for three strategically located Nigerian cities of Onitsha, Kano and Lagos. These cities are known for their large commercial activities, and their frequent power outages hinder their business and socio-economic development. The solar resources are modeled using synthetic hourly meteorological data for a complete year in typical meteorological year format. On an annual basis, Kano has the largest average daily global horizontal resources (6.08 kWh m −2 ), while these resources are practically equal for Onitsha (4.43 kWh m −2 ) and Lagos (4.42 kWh m −2 ). For dual axis tracking, which maximizes utilization of solar resources, the monthly range of daily average solar insolation for all locations varies between 3.65 kWh m −2 and 8.00 kWh m −2 . A standalone photovoltaic system on a tilted surface is sized to meet a representative household demand based on intuitive and numerical simulation sizing methodologies. These sizing methodologies are general and can be applied to any location. The estimated PV capacity and the corresponding unit cost of electricity ranged from 1.26 kW p at 0.206 USD kWh −1 to 2.92 kW p at 0.502 USD kWh −1 for the selected cities. The results show that the unit cost of electricity from the proposed standalone PV systems is lower than that for the widely-utilized diesel generators. It is concluded that standalone PV electricity is technically and economically viable for urban residential application in Nigeria considering the current infrastructure and energy policies.
TL;DR: An overview of the state-of- the-art in the design and deployment of solar powered cellular base stations is presented and current challenges in the deployment and operation of such base stations are discussed.
Abstract: The increasing deployment of cellular networks across the globe has brought two issues to the forefront: the energy cost of running these networks and the associated environmental impact. Also, most of the recent growth in cellular networks has been in developing countries, where the unavailability of reliable electricity grids forces operators to use sources like diesel generators for power, which not only increases operating costs but also contributes to pollution. Cellular base stations powered by renewable energy sources such as solar power have emerged as one of the promising solutions to these issues. This article presents an overview of the stateof- the-art in the design and deployment of solar powered cellular base stations. The article also discusses current challenges in the deployment and operation of such base stations and some of the proposed solutions.