Entrepreneurship Through Start-ups in Hill Areas Using Photovoltaic Systems

There is large potential for generating solar power in Uttarakhand (India) endowed with natural resources. The extensive use of solar energy through solar PV panels in Distributed and Renewable Electricity Generation is significant to utilize multi climatic zones of hilly areas. In this regard, UREDA (Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency) targets to achieve a huge boost of solar PV battery backup with approved subsidy budget of INR 6 billion to 50 billion by 2019/20 under JNNSM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission). This investment will increase productivity, enhance employment opportunities and improve quality of education. However, maximization of power output from panels used for same is achieved through use of MPPT (Maximum Power Point Trackers). The commercially installed solar power systems can be made to accomplish higher efficiency by implementing MPPT systems in start ups. In this paper, the effort is made to use MPPT system designed by intelligent controller for implementation in PV based utility systems. The regulated voltage output from MPPT system is obtained irrespective of fluctuations in environment. These variations are tested for changing temperature and irradiance due to shading or partial unavailability of sun. The results of same have been optimized through MATLAB/SIMULINK. The model designed is intended to be a beneficial source for PV engineers and researchers to provide high efficiency with the use of MPPT

Günəş panellərindən əldə edilən elektrik enerjisinin qeyri-səlis məntiq ilə idarə edilməsi və ağıllı ev sistemlərində tətbiqi.

In this thesis, application of Fuzzy Logic controller to the building energy management system using solar power system energy as a renewable energy source has been put into practice in smart home automation buildings. Solar panels with 2 photovoltaic system with 150 Watt force value and 2 accumulators with 12 V 200 Ah values were used in this hybride power system. The aim of this study is to provide the created system both work autonomous and grid connected. According to this purpose, including the grid connection failure providing energy permanence on managed loads is aimed. This process done by Fuzzy logic controllable building energy managament system. Energy which is produced by hybrid system, firstly charges accumulators and then is transfered to grid or loads. If the hybrid system doesn’t produce energy and batteries are empty, continuity of autonomous loads are compensated from city grid. Additionally before the connecting to the city grid, the controller can analyze home distribution system for supply to the life safety and most importance loads such as , fire alarm control system, access door system, wifi network and extar low voltage power supply. The most important factor here is to ensure the stability of the energy supply of important loads. Second issueis that, energy saving by opening unnecessary loads and also reducing unnecessary energy consumption in smart home systems through specially applied lighting, brightness, movement and precense sensors has been studied

Manufacturing of Photovoltaic Devices, Power Electronics and Batteries for Local Direct Current Power Based Nanogrid

To meet the current and future demands of electrical power for household, industrial, commercial and transport sectors, the energy infrastructure has to undergo changes in terms of generation, distribution and consumption. Due to the shortcomings of nuclear and fossil fuel based power generation, the emergence of renewable energy has provided a very lucrative option. With the advent of low-cost photovoltaics (PV) panels and our ability to generate, store and use electrical energy locally without the need for long-range transmission, the world is about to witness transformational changes in electricity infrastructures. For local nano-grids, direct current (DC) -based system has several distinct advantages that are demonstrated through theoretical and experimental results. A PV- powered and local DC power based nano-grids can be more efficient, reliable, cyber secured, and can easily adopt internet of things (IoT) platforms. With DC generation, storage and consumption, significant amount of energy can be saved that are wasted in back and forth conversion between AC and DC. In case of geomagnetic disturbances, such nano-grids will be more resilient compared to centralized distribution network. Free-fuel, i.e. sunlight, based local DC nano-grid can be the sustainable and cost effective solution for underdeveloped, developing and developed economies. To take advantage of this, the manufacturing of PV, power electronics and batteries have to follow the best practices that aid process control, quality improvement and potential cost reduction. Without proper process control, the variation will result in yield loss, inferior performance and higher cost of production. On many instances, these issues were not considered, and some technology such as perovskite solar cell, received a lot of attention as a disruptive technology. Through detailed technical and economic assessments, it was shown that the variability and lack of rigorous process control will result in a lower efficiency when perovskite thin film solar cells are connected together to form a module. Due to stability and performance reasons, it was showed the perovskite solar cell is not ideal for 2-terminal or 4-terminal multi-junction/tandem configuration with silicon cells. Power electronics also play a vital role in PV systems. The challenges and design rules for silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) based power device manufacturing were analyzed. Based on it, advanced process control (APC) based single wafer processing (SWP) tools for manufacturing SiC and GaN power devices are proposed. For energy storage, batteries play an important role in PV installation. Li-ion technology will become the preferred storage due to its capabilities. Incorporation of advanced process control, rapid thermal processing, Industrial IoT, etc. can reduce variability, improve performance and reduce quality-check failures and bring down the cost of electrochemical batteries. The combined approaches in manufacturing of PV, power electronics and batteries will have a very positive impact in the growth of PV powered DC –based nano-grids

Machine Learning and Data Mining Applications in Power Systems

This Special Issue was intended as a forum to advance research and apply machine-learning and data-mining methods to facilitate the development of modern electric power systems, grids and devices, and smart grids and protection devices, as well as to develop tools for more accurate and efficient power system analysis. Conventional signal processing is no longer adequate to extract all the relevant information from distorted signals through filtering, estimation, and detection to facilitate decision-making and control actions. Machine learning algorithms, optimization techniques and efficient numerical algorithms, distributed signal processing, machine learning, data-mining statistical signal detection, and estimation may help to solve contemporary challenges in modern power systems. The increased use of digital information and control technology can improve the grid’s reliability, security, and efficiency; the dynamic optimization of grid operations; demand response; the incorporation of demand-side resources and integration of energy-efficient resources; distribution automation; and the integration of smart appliances and consumer devices. Signal processing offers the tools needed to convert measurement data to information, and to transform information into actionable intelligence. This Special Issue includes fifteen articles, authored by international research teams from several countries

Real time battery voltage level monitoring system for telecommunication towers a case study: Habari Node public limited company Arusha, Tanzania

A Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Embedded and Mobile System of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyVoltage fluctuations in batteries during consumption are amongst the challenges facing telecommunication towers. Due to these fluctuations, many injuries that cause deaths and environmental poisoning have been reported. These fluctuations and injuries mainly occur due to poor management and lack of battery voltage-level monitoring systems after installation. This paper proposes a battery voltage-level monitoring system to be used in telecommunication towers. The proposed solution is incorporated with a centralized mobile application dashboard that allows access to the live data of the installed battery due to integration with components for sensing the battery’s voltage, current, and temperature levels, as well as fire, and gas contents. An Arduino Uno microcontroller board was used in the processing and analysis of the data collected from the sensors. The global service message module (GSM) internet connectivity was used to store and monitor data in the cloud. The user was then alerted about low voltage, detected fire, and increased levels of harmful gases in the tower through a short message service (SMS). The experiment was conducted at Ngorongoro and Manyara telecommunication towers and it revealed that the developed battery voltage-level monitoring system could access battery information remotely while allowing users to continually monitor the battery usage in telecommunication towers in real time. The unique value of this study is the proposed battery voltage-level monitoring system that contributes to the elimination of battery hazards in telecommunication towers. The proposed battery voltage-level monitoring system can be adopted by telecommunication towers engineers to reduce voltage fluctuation risks like injuries, environmental degradation, and deaths

DC Microgrid Modeling and Control in Islanded Mode

Microgrid is new emerging power distribution infrastructures, in smart grid architectures that has the potential to solve major problems arising from distributed generation. Microgrid is defined as the cluster of multiple distributed generators (DGs) that supply electrical energy to consumers with lower power loss. The realization of demand response, efficient energy management, high capability of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), and high-reliability of electricity delivery leads to a successful Microgrid. In this thesis, DC Microgrid in islanded mode was modelled and controlled and its performance is tested for 24 hours period. The different distributed energy generation systems used are photovoltaic (PV) system, battery energy storage (BESS) system and fuel cell (FC). PV system is modelled by calculating series and shunt resistances of the real life equivalent circuit of the Solar Cell. Four experiments were performed in the Smart Energy lab, RIT Dubai, for the PV systems, to calculate open circuit voltage and short circuit current, to plot the IV characteristics of the PV system, and to track the maximum power point at different irradiances and calculating the daily irradiances. FC modeling was performed in Simulink, the fuel flow was controlled by the output current of the FC to reach the nominal current of 133.3 A and nominal voltage of 45 V. Lithium Ion batteries were used for storing energy generated by the PV system when the supply power exceeds the demand power. Demand power was estimated as the usual daily demand for 24 hours. Controlling these generation systems is performed using converters. Boost Converter used for the PV system was controlled by Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) incremental conductance algorithm to maintain a constant voltage of 300 V at the DC bus despite daily change of the solar power in a day. Boost Buck converter is used to control the charging and discharging processes of the BESS to maintain a constant voltage at the input terminals of the battery to charge it at 130 V and a constant voltage at the DC bus. Boost Converter used for the FC maintained a constant voltage of 100 V

Technology development of electric vehicles: A review

To reduce the dependence on oil and environmental pollution, the development of electric vehicles has been accelerated in many countries. The implementation of EVs, especially battery electric vehicles, is considered a solution to the energy crisis and environmental issues. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the technical development of EVs and emerging technologies for their future application. Key technologies regarding batteries, charging technology, electric motors and control, and charging infrastructure of EVs are summarized. This paper also highlights the technical challenges and emerging technologies for the improvement of efficiency, reliability, and safety of EVs in the coming stages as another contribution

A Battery Voltage Level Monitoring System for Telecommunication Towers

This research article was published by Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, Vol. 11, No. 6, 2021Voltage fluctuations in batteries form a major challenge the telecommunication towers face. These fluctuations mostly occur due to poor management and the lack of a battery voltage level monitoring system. The current paper presents a battery voltage-level monitoring system to be used in telecommunication towers. The proposed solution is incorporated with a centralized mobile application dashboard for accessing the live data of the installed battery, integrated with voltage-level, current, temperature, fire, and gas sensors. An Arduino Uno microcontroller board is used to process and analyze the collected data from the sensors. The Global Service Message (GSM) module is used to monitor and store data to the cloud. Users are alerted in the case of low voltage, fire, and increase in harmful gases in the tower through Short Message Service (SMS). The experiment was conducted at Ngorongoro and Manyara telecommunication towers. The developed system can be used in accessing battery information remotely while allowing real-time continuous monitoring of battery usage. The proposed battery voltage-level monitoring system contributes to the elimination of battery hazards in towers. Therefore, the proposed battery voltage level monitoring system can be adopted by telecommunication tower engineers for the reduction of voltage fluctuation risks