Advances in Clean Energy Systems and Technologies

Solar power is becoming increasingly important as a source of renewable energy, and photovoltaic (PV) technology has become the key method of harnessing solar energy. Unlike conventional power plants, scheduling PV power production is not possible as it relies on the unpredictable nature of sunlight and local weather conditions. It is why accurate forecasts of power production are crucial for ensuring a stable and reliable supply of electricity. This study is an initial analysis of the effect of local cloud cover on solar production forecasting for Vis power plant. It was shown that even a crude representation of cloud mask images from EUMETSAT can greatly improve production forecasting in a best-case scenario. The model that integrated both solar irradiance and cloud images exhibited superior performance (up to 24%) compared to the model that solely relied on solar irradiance in the one-hour ahead forecast. These results show great promise in further expanding this research with more advanced algorithms and EUMETSAT products.

In this chapter, the conversion of solar energy into electricity using photovoltaic modules is experimentally investigated. The efficiency of PV modules is based on the electrical characteristics of the PV panel and the PV module temperature. In this work, an experimental evaluation of the performance of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels coupled with an evaporative cooling system has been subjected to the hot and dry climate of Saudi Arabia for the months of August and September 2022. The back surface of the PV module was cooled by the capillary action of the burlap material that absorbs water from the pipe that was longitudinally cut to allow the burlap to absorb water and transfer it down by capillary action to the surface of the back side of the PV module. The experimental results showed that the average temperature of the uncooled PV module was 62.3 °C. While, the cooled panel temperature was 44 °C which is about 29.3% drop in the operating temperature and achieving about 12.7% improvement in the electrical efficiency compared to the uncooled PV module. In addition to that, the minimal water consumption is 0.30 L/h.

Perovskite solar cells (PSC) have attracted the attention of scientists and researchers due to their good absorption coefficient and color tunability. These properties make them a genuine contender to be used in building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technologies such as semi-transparent windows. The semi transparency of PSC can be achieved either by band gap tuning or reducing absorber layer thickness. In this work, the FTO/TiO2/MAPbI3/PTAA/Au PSC structure is modelled in SCAPS-1D software. A systematic methodology is designed to study the effect of band gap tuning and layer thickness on the optical transmittivity/absorption, transparency, quantum efficiency, energy band alignment, short circuit current, open circuit voltage, fill factor, and power conversion efficiency of the PSC. Results showed that by increasing the band gap from 1.55 eV to 1.95 eV, the absorption of the light spectrum wavelengths reduced from 800 nm to 650 nm, allowing visible wavelengths to pass through, with efficiency of more than 12%. Reducing the absorber layer thickness from 400 nm to 150 nm further increases the transparency of the PSC to more than 30%.

This study aims to determine the energy payback time (EPBT) and evaluate the climate change environmental indicator caused by the generation of 1 kWh by a 1.1 MWp PV system installed in Burkina Faso. A comparison of these impacts with the national electricity mix was also made. The SimaPro 9.4 environmental modeling software, the Cumulative Energy Demand (CED), and IPPC 100 methods were used to determine the energy payback time and the climate change environmental indicator. The results show that the energy payback time varies from 1.86 to 2.71 years, depending on the end-of-life management scenario. The generation of 1 kWh by the PV system emits 24.6–58.3 g CO2 eq. and is mainly dominated by the manufacturing stages of PV modules (39–43%) and mounting structures (40–43%). Burkina Faso’s electricity mix, dominated by fossil fuel thermal power plants emits 468.9 g CO2 eq/kWh into the environment, that is, 8 to 19 times higher than the PV systems scenarios studied. Recycling the mounting structures at the photovoltaic plant's end-of-life, generates environmental benefits, reducing EPBT by 31% and climate change by 34%. The development of solar PV energy in Burkina Faso represents an environmental benefits compared to thermal power plants energy. However, the management of PV waste must be a priority for the coming years.

Solar stills desalinate brackish/saline water cost-effectively and in an environmentally friendly manner, particularly in arid areas. In addition, distilled water is safe for drinking, providing a hygienic apparatus. The conceptual design procedures of the proposed systems are presented and discussed in detail. The new design aims to enhance the performance of passive pyramid solar still by incorporating an adsorption unit to increase nocturne production. This design aims to boost the solar still performance and raise its output yield. The design techniques consider customer requirements, which are surveyed, and product specifications are determined. The quality function deployment is used to provide design objectives. Three conceptual design alternatives are proposed and compared, with the best alternative selected using the decision matrix.

The thermal efficiency, heat transfer, and friction factor of a solar collector circulated with water diluted MgO nanofluid under natural circulation have been estimated. The tests were run with particle loadings of 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1.0% between the hours of 10:00 and 3:30. The greatest increase in Nusselt number has been reported for 1.0% vol. of nanofluid to be 21.48% and 37.28% higher than water at Re of 143 and 346, respectively. Larger friction factor penalties of 1.14 times and 1.27 times, compared to water, were simultaneously reported for nanofluid concentrations of 1.0% vol. at Re numbers of 143 and 346, respectively. The collector efficiency was larger from 57.15% to 65.47% when used with water and at 1.0% vol. The relative variances of the formulae created to assess the friction factor and Nusselt number are within 2.5%.

The chapter presents an evaluation on long-term range of the wind energy availability in existing Romanian wind farms. The necessity of increasing the renewable energy sources in the global energy portfolio of Romania leads to the development of several wind farms around the country. Although these farms’ establishment is based on some previous assessments of wind energy potential, there are no references on the future long-term evolution of the wind speed in these locations. Taking into account that the main parameter in wind turbine efficiency is the wind speed and the permanent climate changes, wind speed changes occur too. Knowing that the estimated lifetime of a wind turbine is around 20 years, an analysis of the predicted wind speed for the 30-year period 2020–2050, based on RCP4.5/8.5 scenarios, allowed to evaluate the opportunity to maintain and develop the wind farms in the same areas or start new investigation in order to find new appropriate places for the future wind energy extraction.

As a broadly used power system analytical simulation platform in the world, PSS/E has considerable advantage in the research of model simulations. However, the wind turbine generator (WTG) model in PSS/E ignores the variation of wind speed and cannot be used to study the impact of wind power volatility on power system. Based on the principle analysis for the PSS/E 2nd-generation generic wind turbine model, a variable wind speed WTG model is established by using the PSS/E user-defined function in this chapter. The effectiveness and correctness of these models are validated and proved in study cases. The research in this chapter enriches the transient model library in PSS/E and is benefit to the study of the wind generation influence on the operation and stability of the power system.

The European offshore wind industry is one of the most competitive energy sectors. This is continuously expanding, being expected to provide the support for the development of some other renewables, such as wave energy. Motivated by this aspect, the aim of the present work is to assess the performances of some commercial wave energy converters for different marine sites from the Iberian Peninsula, France, Ireland, or Denmark, respectively. As a first step, the wave energy profile of each site was established based on 10 years of ERA5 data (2012–2021). The most energetic conditions were noticed close to the sites facing the North Atlantic Ocean (ex: 87 kW/m) while lower values are expected near the ones from the Baltic Sea. As expected, the performance of a particular Wave Energy Converter depends on the wave climate, and as a consequence the correlation between the power matrix and the local sea state was also assessed. In terms of the capacity factor, a value of 22% is expected near the Irish coast, which can easily increase up to 37% during the winter time.

A bio-inspired small wind turbine with two blades and a rotor diameter of 1 m is designed and analyzed for its performance in this study. The turbine aerodynamic properties are inspired by the maple seed, and the high-lift airfoil S826 is used. Blade twist is optimized using the airfoil experimental lift and drag data from the literature. The turbine is optimized at a low tip speed ratio of 3, as that is a requirement for small wind turbines to guarantee low noise and vibration levels. Computational fluid dynamics simulations with flow visualization are conducted to analyze the turbine performance. It is found that the turbine performance is competitive with other small wind turbines with a maximum power coefficient of 0.38 achieved at low tip-speed ratio of 3. The potential of bio-inspired design in improving the performance of small wind turbines is demonstrated in this study, and it can serve as a basis for further research in this area.

The entire planet is moving toward renewable energy because of its lower environmental impact and to reduce air pollution, but also because of the rising price of conventional energy. Wind energy is one of the most advantageous methods of obtaining renewable energy because it is easy to exploit and does not require high construction and maintenance costs. Europe has great potential for offshore wind energy. However, when it comes to the Mediterranean Sea, there is still no wind farm in operation currently. Therefore, this chapter presents the future wind farms that are expected to operate in this area and a comparative wind climate analysis for the 2001–2020 period and the 2071–2100 period, using ERA5 data, the fifth generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis for the global climate, and wind data projections under RCP4.5 scenario by a Regional Climate Model. The aim is to see how the wind climate may change in the future and how it will affect the energy produced by the wind farms deployed in the Mediterranean Sea area.

The aim of the present work is to describe a computational platform (CSIAM – Computational System for Impact Assessment of the Marine energy farms) that can easily be implemented to identify the expected coastal impact of a particular marine energy farm. Several case studies are discussed in order to present the versatility of this tool, including coastal areas from Portugal (central part), Italy (Sardinia), or Romania (the Danube Delta), respectively. Various spatial configurations were considered, starting from individual wave energy converters, such as the Wave Dragon and ending with generic marine farms defined by particular absorption properties and distances from the shore. Furthermore, considering the ERA5 wave data (from 2012 to 2021), some extreme sea states were identified for each target area, the significant wave heights reaching maximum values of 8 m in the case of Iberian Peninsula. Based on these results, we can conclude that the CSIAM interface can be efficiently used in the early development of a particular project, being possible to identify the best correlation between the spatial layout and the far-fields effects.

The traditional phase-based protection applied to the new energy access system has some adaptation problems, while the R-L model-based time domain differential equation algorithm has the problem of “voltage dead zone.” Based on this, a directional relay based on zero-sequence voltage comparison is proposed for line outlet ground fault. The relay can distinguish the fault direction of the outlet ground fault by comparing the trend of the measured value of the zero sequence voltage with the calculated value, and the simulation analysis shows the effectiveness of this relay.

The reliability of the distribution network is an important indicator of the level of operation of the distribution network. With the upgrading of the network and the application of new technologies and equipment, the time spent on planned outages is constantly being reduced and the efficiency of fault handling is constantly being improved, resulting in a gradual increase in the reliability of power supply and a reduction in the length of outages throughout the year. In outage management, giving full play to the advantages of grid technology management and effective allocation of outage indicators can maximize customer satisfaction, while stimulating technical and management upgrades to achieve lean control of distribution network reliability. The outage index decomposition method based on grid comprehensive assessment is proposed to provide a basis for guiding the reliability management of power supply enterprises.

The pollution of the common connection point (CCP) in the power grid is the result of the interaction of multiple harmonic sources. In order to more accurately and fairly divide the harmonic responsibility and harmonic influence of each harmonic source at the CCP, a comprehensive evaluation method considering the user’s harmonic tolerance and grid loss is proposed. Through power flow calculation and correlation analysis, the influence degree of multi-harmonic sources on the common connection point is divided. Considering the degree of harmonic tolerance of general users on the user side and the network loss factors on the grid side, the multi-harmonic source access distribution network is comprehensively evaluated. Combined with the power flow calculation results and the harmonic compatibility level of the distribution network, a comprehensive evaluation index is formulated. This method can objectively evaluate the influence degree of the harmonic source on the distribution network, and has certain guiding significance for the location selection of the harmonic source access to the distribution network, the harmonic responsibility allocation of the multi-harmonic source access to the distribution network, and the subsequent harmonic control.

Nowadays, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is recognized as one of the most effective strategies to decrease CO2 emission. Besides, power-to-gas (P2G) technology as an emerging system by converting the power generated from renewable energy resources into natural gas plays a key role in integrating renewable energies into multi-energy microgrids (MEMGs). So far, few works incorporate CCS and P2G facilities with the fully distributed coordination of MEMGs. To fill this gap, this chapter proposes an optimization approach for an islanded MEMG considering CCS and P2G technologies. In the investigated system, five energy carriers of power, heat, hydrogen, gas, and CO2 are proposed, where suppliers contain micro turbine, combined heat and power, wind turbines, and photovoltaic. Furthermore, this system presents multi-energy storage system including battery energy storage, thermal energy storage, hydrogen energy storage, gas storage, and CO2 storage. The total operating cost of the MEMG is maximized over 24-hour scheduling. Analyzing the results verifies the performance of the presented model.

As the “carbon peak,” “carbon neutral,” “building energy market and data market” have been put forward, the power grid needs to accept a greater challenge. It is necessary to control the energy storage system with PCS (Power Conversion System) because of the frequent occurrence of explosions due to the problems of energy storage power station. This chapter proposes a new energy storage controller, and uses the linear optimization algorithms of primary frequency modulation, constant active power control, dynamic reactive power voltage regulation, constant power factor voltage regulation, and constant reactive power voltage regulation to design the corresponding functions. Therefore, the safety and economic aspects of energy storage urgently could be resolved. So, the chapter introduces a novel controller based on PCS control algorithm to carry out certain functions, to meet the requirements of the grid.

Energy storage systems play an important role in improving the reliability of electricity networks due to increasing contribution of electricity from intermittent sources like wind and solar. The main considerations in choosing a suitable storage system are cost and performance. Since the price for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) supplied to the network and battery energy storage system (BESS) costs are dynamic, consumers interested in a battery may have challenges in choosing between the various batteries available in the market. This study presents a the levelized cost of storage as a suitable method or approach for selecting the most suitable battery technology for household and industrial consumers. The future power systems are expected to have large proportions of intermittent energy sources like wind, solar, or tidal energy that require scale-up of energy storage to match the supply with hourly, daily, and seasonal electricity demand profiles. Available storage technologies include batteries, pumped hydroelectricity storage, compressed air energy storage, and power-to-gas storage. The energy transition to renewable energy supply calls for increased application of energy storage. Identification of optimal solutions requires a holistic view of the energy system beyond the electricity-only focus. In this study, an integrated cross-sector approach is adopted to identify the most efficient and least-cost storage options for off grid and grid scale application. Storage batteries can widely be divided into solid state batteries and flow batteries using solid and liquid electrolytes, respectively.

This research aims to look into the potential for generation of power and hydrogen (H2) manufacturing in Oman using solar and wind energy resources. The research also covered several optimization methodologies for comparing the energy production cost and performance of various hybrid system configurations using HOMER (Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources) simulation software. The solar energy potential was first analyzed, with the majority of the fields having a high radiation intensity of more than 2200 kWh/m2. Second, wind resources were investigated, which revealed a high-power density of 3.0–6.3 m/s for 28 different locations in Oman. The outcomes show that a combination of 80.8 kW PV array, 62 wind turbines, 20.5 kW converter, and 133 batteries storage bank is the best formation that leads to the minimum 0.708 $/kWh cost of energy (COE) and 10.2 $/kg cost of hydrogen production (COH).

The world today needs to follow a sustainable pattern in terms of its energy demand, because the demand for energy is increasing and the massive contribution to global warming needs to be curbed. The objective of the research was to build and implement a prototype hydrogen production system from water electrolysis, using homemade materials, in such a way that they are easily accessible. As a result, it was obtained that the production of hydrogen and oxygen is related to the amount of sodium oxide used, since these gases become more volatile if the sodium oxide has a higher concentration. Considering hydrogen gas as the renewable energy of the future, which can be implemented in various industries, as it is an abundant and environmentally friendly energy source. Hydrogen and oxygen production was obtained, which varies with temperature; oxygen had a production of 0.068 g of O2 at 15 °C and 0.059 g of O2 at 60 °C. Hydrogen had a production of 0.011 g of H2 at 15 °C and 0.007 g of H2 at 60 °C. Regarding the energy balance, demand of 0.289 joule J by the electrolysis process, and 0.673 J supplied by the power supply; for the whole process 183,890.7 J.

In the current study, a cleaned glassy carbon (abbreviated as C) electrode was modified by the sequential electrodeposition of gold (AuNPs) and palladium (PdNPs) nanoparticles (denoted as Pd-Au/C) for the catalytic electro-oxidation of methanol (EOM). Interestingly, the catalyst showed a higher (~ 5 times increase) oxidation peak current, Ip, and a lower (~ 9 times decrease) charge transfer resistance (Rct) than the Au-unmodified Pd/C catalyst. This finding recommended the significant lowering of the catalyst’s surface poisoning together with enhanced charge transfer kinetics as the enhancement origin of EOM. Besides, the effects of NaOH concentration in the electrolyte and scan rate during oxidation were optimized to achieve an optimized EOM electrocatalysis.

The expansion of economic activity in both developed and developing nations has given rise to two significant worries: first, the rapid depletion of non-renewable energy sources due to their constant consumption; and second, the effects of global warming brought on by the emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. Against this background, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol served as an avenue where attempts were made to cut the proportion of emissions caused by fossil fuels. The pact required the industrialized nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions, namely, CO2 emissions. The study examined the nexus between renewable energy and economic growth in “Next Eleven” emerging economies. It employed the dynamic panel model and Granger causality. Employing these tools, the findings revealed that causality only runs from economic growth to renewable energy, not vice versa. They also revealed that renewable energy consumption essentially causes a decline in economic growth for most of the countries in the group. The only exceptions were Mexico and Bangladesh, which experienced a short-run increase in economic growth due to renewable energy consumption. This chapter recommends that ambitious but realistic targets should be made when formulating renewable energy policies.

A growing number of industries depends on the availability of electricity to operate. Current energy levels have proven insignificant at handling the high levels of technological transformation, given the deterioration in available power in recent years. Hospitals, for example, play major roles in society and depend mostly on electricity. Changing to a more-reliably energy-generation system would have a big impact on human wellbeing. This study uses a cost–benefit tool to address the unreliability electricity in the health sector. The results showed a 78% positive transition to solar energy in the health sector while avoiding harmful effects.

This chapter aims to analyze the evolution of electricity prices in Europe over the last 5 years. Several databases were used for this study to check the accuracy of the information. Considering the differences in electricity prices in Europe, several countries using different sources of raw materials to produce electricity were analyzed. It can be seen that at the European level the price of electricity has been affected by several events that have produced significant changes in the energy sector. These include the COVID-19 pandemic, the European economic recovery plan, and in addition the economic instability in Eastern Europe and the Russian raw material embargo. In addition, the large amount of electricity intermittently produced by renewable energy sources and energy market transactions produce waves in the final price of electricity as presented in the chapter.

Electricity demand in the United Kingdom is set to double by 2050. By the same date, the UK is committed to achieving Net Zero in its carbon emissions and the UK government has set a target for the electricity grid to achieve Net Zero by 2035. The need for a decentralised, flexible electricity network as part of the Net-Zero energy transition means there is potential for community energy to play a role in addressing the growing constraints in the electricity network, while simultaneously bringing benefits to communities. The six electricity Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) in Great Britain are about to enter a new price control period 2023–2028. Their business plans emphasise the role of community energy as a trusted actor which can engage electricity consumers and deliver the flexible demand that DNOs need to minimize capital expenditure on network improvements. The chapter situates the DNOs and community energy organisations in the United Kingdom in the context of the transition to Net Zero and current UK energy policy, summarises current progress in the community energy sector, sets out the plans for engagement with community energy, and explores the extent to which DNOs’ expectations of the community energy sector might be met. Following extensive document review and 40 interviews with key informants from across the community energy sector, the DNOs, and other stakeholders, this chapter argues that the conditions for successful cooperation on domestic flexibility between DNOs and community energy are yet to be met. DNOs may fail to deliver greater flexibility in domestic electricity demand unless there are greater incentives for community energy organisations to engage.

The aims of lowering the exhaust emissions and improving the engine performance of diesel and producer gas (PG) dual fuel engine have been continuously developed. Diesel blended with 20% palm oil methyl ester (PME20) is examined as an alternative fuel to replace conventional diesel. In this research study, a generator-loaded non-modified diesel engine fueled by PME20 pre-mixed with PG with the air flow rates increasing from 8.92 to 16.21 kg/h was examined. They were investigated at 3000 rpm under load variation, compared with PME20 and regular diesel. PG was generated by a downdraft gasifier by coconut shell and was added by 9.74 kg/h to replace PME20 injection. As a result, PME20 mixed with the high PG flow rate led to the reduction of engine performance and the escalation of exhaust emissions, except nitrogen oxide, compared with PME20 and regular diesel. The increase of air flow rates blending with PG resulted in the improvement of engine performance and the abatement of exhaust emissions, rather than the PG mixed with limiting air. PME20 saving was improved by 51% over the non-modified engine.

As a fuel that can be made from renewable energy and carbon dioxide, methanol has a wide range of application prospects as an energy carrier for the vehicle-application. In order to improve engine efficiency and reduce emissions, a concept of the gasoline-syngas engine is proposed which dissociates methanol to hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO) by recycling exhaust heat of the engine through a methanol dissociation device and then adding the dissociated methanol gas to the engine to improve combustion. In this study, the effect on gasoline combustion processes with dissociated methanol gas is investigated. Blending dissociated methanol gas into gasoline could improve its flame speed. In addition, the equivalence ratio corresponding to the maximum laminar flame speed increased with the increase of the dissociated methanol ratio. The addition of dissociated methanol gas increased the concentration of the O, H, and OH radicals, enhanced the rate of key elementary reactions, and made the peak appear earlier. H2 could have a significant impact on the elementary reactions of O2 + H = O + OH and H2 + OH = H + H2O, while CO remarkably affected the elementary reaction of CO + OH = CO2 + H.

The Global demand for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) has increased over the past decade and is expected to grow rapidly in the future with increased interest by governments in cleaner energy to fuel economic growth. The LNG value chain starts upstream with exploration and production operations. It then moves through the intermediate stage of processing and transportation, followed by the downstream phases of liquefaction to shipping and distribution to the consumer. Despite all the measures deployed for prevention and response at each link in the value chain, the risk of catastrophic accidents such as a BLEVE remains, following an unforeseen event. The consequences of such an accident can be mitigated if preliminary safety perimeters are properly implemented upon arrival of first responders. The present work proposes to the first responders responsible for safety, lessons based on a graphical approach, related to the thermal effects of the fireball of an LNG BLEVE.Methods: Starting from Lee’s point source model and performing the appropriate transformations to express with simplified terms, an equality reflecting the distance vs. the fuel mass and the thermal dose felt.Results: The drawing of 02 graphical abacuses containing each one 10 characteristic functions, among them the radius of the fireball.Conclusion: Ease, speed, and precision are the outstanding characteristics of the use of graphical abacuses.

The supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) Brayton cycle shows obvious advantages (e.g., higher efficiency, compact system design, etc.) compared with the traditional Rankine cycle for high temperature thermal sources due to the special physical properties of CO2 near the critical points. Though it is generally considered suitable for a wide range of applications, including power generation systems, and has become a very hot topic, real system efficiency is still a problem, for the system efficiency design and optimization analysis. This study proposed a recompression sCO2 Brayton cycle with the heat regeneration process and thermodynamic optimization of the sCO2 Brayton cycle was tested. For the sCO2 Brayton cycle, the parameters, especially for the main compressor inlet temperature, have significant effect on the system performance, and it was investigated in detail. The influence of the adiabatic efficiency of the compressors and turbines and the heat transfer temperature difference of the recuperators on the cycle efficiency were analyzed to evaluate the system performance under actual equipment parameters and the feasibility of practical applications. The main compressor inlet temperature has a significant effect on performance, and the system show high efficiency only when the main compressor inlet temperature is close to the critical point. When the isentropic efficiency of the compressors or the turbines decreases to 0.7 or the minimum heat transfer temperature difference of the recuperators increases to 50.0 °C, the cycle efficiency drops close to 30.0%, which has few advantages compared with the traditional Rankine cycles. Still, the real application parameter of compressor inlet is considered one critical reason for the efficiency analysis.

In Dubai, the rapid increase in electricity demand calls for investment in developing more efficient and enhanced future energy networks. There has been a yearly increase of 10% in both energy and power demand in 2021 compared to 2020. To accommodate the constant growth of energy demand and related carbon emissions, Dubai is implementing an ambitious plan to increase its share of renewables. The Dubai Clean Energy Strategy aims to provide 25% of power output from clean energy by 2030 and 100% by 2050. In addition, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s initiatives, such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park and Shams Dubai distributed generation program, have significantly increased solar energy production. However, solar power is intrinsically variable and could affect the stability of the energy system, especially when it accounts for a high percentage of the total generation. In Dubai, buildings are major energy consumers accounting for 80% of the total electricity consumption, and their share is expected to grow due to accelerated urbanization. Energy Flexible Buildings can respond quickly to the grid’s dynamic needs. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate their implementation feasibility and capability to support the stability of the power grid. This chapter presents a study that utilized thermal models to determine the energy flexibility potential of a building in Dubai. The investigation was carried out using a gray-box resistance-capacitance model of the building. This model was validated against a detailed reference model developed in EnergyPlus. Then, it was used to study different energy flexibility strategies for the building. Two indicators including storage capacity and storage efficiency were utilized to quantify the energy flexibility for a typical day in each month of the year. However, it was observed that there is no significant difference in energy flexibility values between different months of the year. The model was then used to perform a predictive control study of different grid signals for the marginal cost of electricity. It was found that implementing the model predictive control strategies could result in 11% cost savings.

To better understand the environmental impact of energy systems, this study introduces an overview of the concept of energy efficiency and best available techniques (BAT) through life cycle assessment. Using this applicable methodology (i.e., life cycle assessment), the study discusses the suitability, and applicability of the use of life cycle assessment for renewable energy systems (RES) in buildings. In order to support the sustainability concept and the transition towards a circular economy, some life cycle assessment (LCA) tools are being reviewed and criteria are established for their adaptability and use in the environmental impact assessment of building-integrated multi-energy system.

One of the main requirements that buildings must comply with is the stipulation of a safe and comfortable indoor environment. The study presented in this chapter focuses on the assessment of two important and substantial axes defining comfort: thermal and visual comfort. The bioclimatic design method for buildings mandates that designers use the surrounding environment throughout the year to achieve the appropriate level of thermal comfort for occupants. The analysis presented in this chapter outlines the distinct visual parameters adopted in the examined tools and investigates the climate characteristics of African regions using different thermal adaptive models. The available comfort models were realized in different African countries to understand how the ranges of comfort temperatures differ with the different adaptive models. The realization of a comfort range more suitable to warmer climates can help reduce cooling loads significantly. Results showed that, depending on ASHRAE’s model, which is usually suited for cooler climates, in hot climates would require the massive, and in many circumstances, long-lasting use of air conditioning systems. Santy and Karyono’s models work best in hot climates. In spaces where slightly higher comfort temperatures can be more tolerable and reducing cooling loads is a more critical target, Indraganti, Nguyen, and Humphreys models can be best utilized. The study can serve as a guideline for architects, designers, and engineers when designing a bioclimatic building.

The Energy Performance Building Directive encourages Member States to establish clear long-term renovation strategies, highlighting the value of energy renovation for both the envelope and the smart services application in buildings. There is, however, a lack of works that effectively examine the cost-effectiveness linked to both the envelope retrofitting and the smartness of the building, which could hinder the effective implementation and prevent building owners, occupants, and stakeholders from taking full advantage of these strategies. This study presents a methodology to assess the most suitable “target” market across Europe for energy renovation. The work focuses on different typologies of commercial buildings, evaluating their potential for energy renovation under different boundary conditions such as climate or demand response market maturity. The assessment is performed in two stages: qualitative identification of those countries with the highest interest for renovation and energy management and quantitative assessment of the top candidates regarding their potential for renovation under different retrofitting scenarios in energy and economic terms. The study aims to serve as a decision-making process to explore and identify the potential for energy performance contracts for different typologies at the European level.

Considering the current climatic and energy crisis, one of the simplest energy-saving practices most easily implemented during this winter is the reduction of operation hours of HVAC system and the reduction of set-point value of the room temperature. From an energy point of view the benefits are undoubted, but what does the occupants feel in terms of thermo-hygrometric comfort? Can other factors, such as lighting color or control affect it? In the literature discrepancies were found between the classic comfort assessment models (such as the Fanger static model) and the occupant’s sensations. This could, in fact, depend on other factors that influence the psychological and perceptive sphere of people. The present study aims to investigate in an experimental way these aspects that have not very been deep in the literature. The analysis is performed in a full-scale living-lab conceived as a nearly zero energy building, placed in Benevento, Southern Italy. It will be shown that the building occupant judges the environment warmer than the one described by a static thermal comfort model. If there are warm lights it is preferable to be controlled by the user while the cold lights are preferable to be controlled automatically.

Due to high investment costs and long payback period in energy efficiency projects of buildings, careful evaluation is essential before implementing strategies for reducing energy consumption. Saving fossil energy and using clean energy sources for reducing the operating costs of building protect the environment and people’s health. Natural ventilation is one of the factors that affect thermal comfort. The objective of this chapter is to determine the proper distance between the window frames and floor in a house simulated in a moderate climate, which has been studied using library resources and simulation software. The main goal of this chapter is to design an appropriate window for saving energy. This chapter is organized to discuss three models of openings with the distance between the window frames and floor with 70 cm, 90 cm, and 110 cm, using Design Builder software in order to determine the validity of climate models and to compare and examine the airflow rate between the models. These three heights were chosen because they are the most common dimensions applied in residential buildings. The results demonstrate that the airflows in the distance between window frames and floor 90 cm and 110 cm are increased to reach a constant rate and thermal comfort is increased by the same amount. The implication of this study may contribute to designers, planners, and architects and assist them in creating a sustainable built environment.

The window-to-wall ratio directly affects the energy consumption of the transport hub’s cooling, heating and lighting systems in a transfer hall. In this chapter, adopting the dynamic simulation method, a transfer hall of an urban integrated transport hub in Beijing was taken as the research object. To ensure that the standard illumination of the room was 150 lx, the sensitivity analysis of the comparison of windows and walls facing each direction to the total annual energy consumption of the three items was conducted. Thus, to minimize the total yearly energy consumption of the transfer hall’s cooling, heating and lighting systems (referred to as the three annual total energy consumption). Through analysis and calculation, the optimal window wall ratio of the transfer hall was 0.28. For every 0.04 increase in the window-to-wall ratio, the annual total energy consumption of the three items per unit building area increased by 0.36–1.55 kWh. The transfer hall’s most appropriate window opening direction was in the East, and the West window opening was minimized. This study aimed to reduce the carbon emissions of transport hub buildings from the perspective of passive energy conservation.

Climate change is a topical issue whose main causes are related to human activity. Particularly the main causes of climate change are twofold: the first aspect is environmental; in fact, human activities such as combustion and deforestation cause greenhouse gas emission with an increase in average temperature. The second one is energy-related; in fact, the temperature increase impacts heating and cooling energy needs. Various mathematical models are widespread for forecasting future energy needs, often based on the use of a typical year. The novelty introduced by this paper is the simultaneous use of a neural network to predict the outdoor air temperature to evaluate the cooling and heating energy demand of a detached house through dynamic energy simulations. A neural network, trained on 6 years of monitored data, is used to perform air temperature prediction with a time horizon comparable to the useful life of the heating and cooling system. This prediction is used to carry out dynamic energy simulations in EnergyPlus engine for a reference building in the current state and its refurbished scenario.

The global cumulative capacity has reached around 843 GW in 2021. Considering that PV panels last on average between 25 and 30 years, at the end of life PV waste will become a serious problem due to the toxicity of some of the materials used in its modules. Global PV waste could reach 78 million metric tons by 2050. However, the global scene is still missing robust PV waste management policies. China, Germany, Japan, and India are leading globally in terms of installed PV capacity; therefore, these countries were investigated in the paper to assess their current PV waste management. Germany is an excellent model for PV waste management policy assessment. Although Japan and China have no effective PV-specific waste management law like Germany, they have other general laws that regulate PV waste. These laws could be investigated and used for assessment.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced that one of its Vision 2030 objectives is to increase domestic generation capacity from renewable energy to 50% by 2030; most of the generation will be through PV panels. Saudi Arabia does not have PV end-of-life policies. The assessment was used to highlight the important first steps for introducing PV waste management law in the Kingdom. The main feature that could be the cornerstone of all developed policies is the extended-producer-responsibility (EPR) framework. This assessment of the Saudi PV waste management law could be highly beneficial for future research on possible frameworks to be implemented in Saudi Arabia.

This chapter presents the first environmental life cycle impact assessment of the Portuguese conventional railway, through a LCA methodology that can be universally applied to other territories. The environmental performance and hotspots of both the infrastructure and the rolling stock of the Douro line were evaluated. The present setting (with the simultaneous use of electric and diesel trains) and three supplementary scenarios were analyzed. These additional scenarios theorize a situation where the railway line and rolling stock are completely electrified: the first considering the present Portuguese electricity production mix; the second scenario considering the projected Portuguese electric mix for 2030; and the third scenario with the mix projections for 2050. This permitted the gathering of conclusions on both the immediate and future environmental sustainability of the Portuguese railway, in line with European decarbonization goals. For the present setting, the use stage represents the majority of carbon emissions (74%). Most of this impact comes from the fuel burned on the diesel trains, and in smaller part the electricity used on the electric rolling stock and the powering of infrastructure. The first of the alternative settings, complete electrification with the current electric mix, leads to an immediate decrease of 38% in carbon emissions, with the projections for 2030 increasing this number to 56%, and the 2050 projections to 63%. This highlights the importance of electricity decarbonization on railway environmental performance, with the lessons learned from this Portuguese use-case also being valid for the rest of the world.

Life cycle assessments (LCAs) of power plants and energy conversion systems currently incorporate more granular spatial and temporal information, aimed at increasing the accuracy of inventories and the results. The power grid comprises highly diverse generation power generation technologies from radioactive nuclear to clean renewables and polluting fossil fuels which leads to electricity mixes. These differences among technologies highly influence the LCA results, hence the need to better characterize the spatial and temporal characteristics for accuracy. This study presents the environmental impacts of power generation technologies based on life cycle assessments (LCAs). The assessments cover impacts from extraction, processing and transportation of fuels, construction of power plants, and power generation. Life cycle assessment (LCA) to power generation technologies is very useful as the world seeks ways to meet growing electricity demand with less health and environmental impacts. LCA is an evolving methodology with several barriers and challenges but has helped in improving the understanding of the lifecycle energy, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutant emissions, and water-use implications to power generation. The application of LCA tools facilitates an analytically thorough and environmentally holistic approach in assessment and comparison of power generation technologies. Most LCAs show that the best power plants are hydropower, both run-of-river and with reservoir, nuclear energy, and wind power. Fuel combustion directly leads to emissions and potential environmental harm. The cradle-to-grave approach considers all steps between material and fuel extraction from the environment until they are returned to the environment.

Hydrokinetic turbines employ water flow kinetic energy to generate electricity and are a suitable option to be considered in the background of clean energy, specifically in countries or regions with high hydric potential. However, hydrokinetic devices present impacts on the fauna and flora during the installation and operation process. This work assesses the HK-10 rotor’s potential impacts on fish through numerical simulations. The HK-10 rotor is a four-blade propeller-type hydrokinetic turbine developed to reach a sustainable conversion technology for energy supply in small remote communities. The computation of some bio-criteria based on pressure and shear stress levels, mechanical design, and operation conditions allow us to qualify the HK-10 rotor as a fish-friendly device, complying with the established prerequisites in the literature. Finally, from the flow characteristic analysis in the wake rotor, we discuss how the coherent vortexes could affect the fish position and orientation.

This study addresses the effect of storing carbon dioxide conditions using industrial hydrated lime on the produced calcium carbonate morphology and particle size. The investigated carbonation conditions were carbonation reaction temperature and initial pH. The structural and chemical characteristics of the produced calcium carbonate sample were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. The results indicated that all carbonated products exhibited a calcite crystal structure, but with specific morphologies dependent on the carbonation conditions. A high carbonation reaction temperature promoted scalenohedral morphology, while lower temperatures promoted submicrometric elongated agglomerates and truncated prismatic morphology. The initial pH of the carbide lime mixture also significantly affected the morphology; the formation of a rhombohedral morphology was obtained at a pH value of 10.9, and the presence of rhombohedral and submicrometric elongated agglomerates was determined at pH values of 11.75 and 12.7, respectively.