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Published in:
2021 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
2. Power Generation
Author : Valentin Crastan, Dr.
Published in: Springer Handbook of Power Systems
Publisher: Springer Singapore
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Abstract
The 1.5∘C climate target calls for rapid elimination of coal and oil for electricity production and the progressive reduction of the contribution of natural gas. This demands an enormous effort in the energy sector for the production of electricity using CO2-free energy sources. This chapter discusses five ways to generate electrical energy as sustainably as possible. The resulting grid stability problems are briefly outlined.
Hydropower (Sects. 2.1–2.6) is one of the most important sources of energy for generating electricity. It is also ecologically sound (no CO2 emissions) if the plant construction (river dams, reservoirs) respects nature and human settlements appropriately. In 2016, hydropower installations accounted for 16.6% of global electricity production. This section provides an overview of the planning, engineering and modeling of hydraulic power stations.
The efficiency of power generation from fossil fuels in thermal power plants has risen considerably over time and today reaches almost 60% in natural gas-powered, combined cycle power plants (Sect. 2.7). Nevertheless over 40% of the energy is still lost as waste heat. In combined heat and power (), useful heat is produced in addition to electrical energy, thus further increasing overall energy efficiency.
The potential of wind energy (Sect. 2.8) and the prerequisites for its economic use have already been briefly discussed in Sect. 1.2.3. This section deals in more detail with the technical and economic aspects of wind-energy use.
In Sect. 2.9 the basics of photovoltaics (photoelectric effect) and solar cells (structure, types, characteristics, efficiencies) are given. To use them optimally requires knowledge of the radiation intensity and thus the calculation of the apparent movement of the sun relative to the Earth. Photovoltaic is the renewable energy with the highest potential worldwide.
Fuel cells (Sect. 2.10) can be used to convert hydrogen as well as natural gas and other hydrocarbons (e. g., petrol, methanol) or biogas electrochemically directly into electrical energy. It is predictable that in the course of the next decades this technology will open up a wide range of applications for mobile and stationary applications.