A review on the complementarity of renewable energy sources: concept, metrics, application and future research directions

It is expected, and regionally observed, that energy demand will soon be covered by a widespread deployment of renewable energy sources. However, the weather and climate driven energy sources are characterized by a significant spatial and temporal variability. One of the commonly mentioned solutions to overcome the mismatch between demand and supply provided by renewable generation is a hybridization of two or more energy sources in a single power station (like wind-solar, solar-hydro or solar-wind-hydro). The operation of hybrid energy sources is based on the complementary nature of renewable sources. Considering the growing importance of such systems and increasing number of research activities in this area this paper presents a comprehensive review of studies which investigated, analyzed, quantified and utilized the effect of temporal, spatial and spatio-temporal complementarity between renewable energy sources. The review starts with a brief overview of available research papers, formulates detailed definition of major concepts, summarizes current research directions and ends with prospective future research activities. The review provides a chronological and spatial information with regard to the studies on the complementarity concept.Comment: 34 pages 7 figures 3 table

Smart grid technology in the developing world

A smart grid is the integration of communication and information technologies with contemporary power infrastructure to enhance load service and to incorporate continually evolving end-use applications. It is the latest advancement in the areas of power generation, transmission and distribution. It has advanced beyond the traditional grid structure at every stage; a smart grid is capable of incorporating distributed generation (DG) renewable sources and has improved transmission capabilities through implementation of technologies such as Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS). Through the addition of control technology in the distribution network a smart grid is able to implement “self-healing” and other methods to improve reliability of power supply. Enhanced interconnectivity also offers the option of microgrid development which can be accomplished more quickly and affordably than a large scale grid. The ultimate goal of this approach is to then connect various microgrids to establish a robust network. On the consumer’s side, smart devices are being developed which can practice load shifting to reduce demand on the grid at peak hours. One facet of this technology network is the smart meter, an enhanced metering device used by the consumer to practice demand side management through control technology and informed decision making. All of these characteristics make the smart grid more reliable, efficient, versatile, cost effective, interactive and environmentally beneficial than other systems. The goal of this paper is to first explore the characteristics of a smart grid system and to report on current work that is being done implementing these systems, particularly in developing countries. The latter half of the paper will then present a test for smart grid compatibility on a national level based on the necessary and beneficial preconditions for smart grid development. That test will then be applied to nations that lack a significant or reliable power generation and transmission system. The results of this test will determine specific regions which meet the criteria for both a high compatibility for smart grid development and a high demand for the solutions it offers. Those results will be synthesized into a proposal for future work, with the goal of broadening the global focus of smart grid development to include countries where millions of people still lack access to electricity in their cities and homes

Whole Life Sustainability Assessment at the Building Industry and Constructed Assets, through the Whole Life Costing Assessment and Life Cycle Costing Assessment evaluating the economic and financial aspects

Els edificis d’energia neta poden ser entesos com a edificis, que durant un temps determinat generen tanta energia com consumeixen. Ja sigui des del punt de vista de l’oferta o el consum, la disponibilitat d’energia està relacionada amb alguns aspectes bàsics, com ara la font (s), la conversió, la distribució, l’ús, el malbaratament, l’optimització, l’eficiència i l’autonomia. Aquests temes revelen la complexitat del tema de l'energia i justifiquen l'atenció especial que li dóna la comunitat acadèmica. Per obtenir resultats tangibles en l'anàlisi d'aquests sistemes, en el nostre estudi ens centrem en la modelització i optimització de solucions energètiques aplicades a edificis o sistemes similars. D'altra banda, el període de temps dels objectes analitzats es va estendre fins al seu període de cicle de vida previst. Es van establir els objectius principals com: - Verificar i analitzar l’estat de la tecnologia de les energies renovables per a edificis i actius construïts i l’aplicabilitat de l’anàlisi de costos del cicle de vida a aquests temes; - Configurar models reproductibles d’edificis i les seves principals càrregues elèctriques, mitjançant eines d’enginyeria de processos assistits per ordinador, per procedir a simulacions i optimització, considerant-se com a font d’energia primària l’energia solar; - Quantificar, utilitzant estudis de casos reals i hipotètics, els beneficis de les solucions proposades, amb l'objectiu de realitzar tota l'avaluació de la sostenibilitat de la vida mitjançant la reducció de tot el cost del cicle de vida;Los edificios de energía de red cero pueden entenderse como edificios, que durante un tiempo dado generan tanta energía como consumen. O bien, desde el punto de vista del suministro o el consumo, la disponibilidad de energía está relacionada con algunos problemas básicos, como las fuentes, la conversión, la distribución, la utilización, el desperdicio, la optimización, la eficiencia y la autonomía. Estos problemas revelan la complejidad del tema de la energía y justifican la atención especial que le presta la comunidad académica. Para obtener resultados tangibles en el análisis de estos sistemas, en nuestro estudio nos centramos en el modelado y la optimización de soluciones energéticas aplicadas a edificios o sistemas similares. Por otro lado, el período de tiempo de los objetos analizados se extendió a su período de ciclo de vida esperado. Los objetivos principales se establecieron como: - Verificar y analizar el estado de la técnica de las soluciones de energía renovable para edificios y activos construidos y la aplicabilidad del análisis de costos de ciclo de vida a estas cuestiones; - Configure modelos reproducibles de edificios y sus principales cargas eléctricas, a través de herramientas de Ingeniería de Procesos Asistidos por Computadora, para proceder a simulaciones y optimización, considerando como fuente de energía primaria la energía solar;Net-zero energy buildings can be understood as buildings, that for a given time, generate as much energy as they consume. Either, from the point of view of supply or consumption, energy availability is related to some basic issues such as source (s), conversion, distribution, utilization, waste, optimization, efficiency and autonomy. These issues reveal the complexity of the subject of energy and justify the special attention given to it by the academic community. To obtain tangible results in the analysis of these systems, in our study we focus on the modelling and optimization of energy solutions applied to buildings or similar systems. On the other hand, the time frame of the analysed objects was extended to their expected life cycle period. The main objectives were stablished as: - Verify and analyse the state-of-the-art of renewable energy solutions for buildings and constructed assets and the applicability of life cycle costing analysis to these issues; - Configure reproducible models of buildings and their main electrical loads, via Computer Aided Process Engineering tools, to proceed simulations and optimization, considering as primary energy source solar energy; - Quantify, using real-life and hypothetical case studies, the benefits of the proposed solutions, aiming the whole life sustainability assessment through the reduction of the whole life cycle costing; and - Guarantee the reproducibility of the models and main general results of this study and make them public, to contribute with their applicability and further researches

Smart Grid Implementation in Brazil Must Focus on Consumer Behavior and Markets, Regulation, and Energetic Mix Availability

In Brazil, although some critical components are already monitored, such as interface audit meters as well as large customers meters, the data analyses are not systematic nor in real time for all dealers. In the best of cases, when some kind of accounting science is applied to this information, this knowledge becomes sectored and used to support a business segment

Smart Metering Technology and Services

Global energy context has become more and more complex in the last decades; the raising prices of fuels together with economic crisis, new international environmental and energy policies that are forcing companies. Nowadays, as we approach the problem of global warming and climate changes, smart metering technology has an effective use and is crucial for reaching the 2020 energy efficiency and renewable energy targets as a future for smart grids. The environmental targets are modifying the shape of the electricity sectors in the next century. The smart technologies and demand side management are the key features of the future of the electricity sectors. The target challenges are coupling the innovative smart metering services with the smart meters technologies, and the consumers' behaviour should interact with new technologies and polices. The book looks for the future of the electricity demand and the challenges posed by climate changes by using the smart meters technologies and smart meters services. The book is written by leaders from academia and industry experts who are handling the smart meters technologies, infrastructure, protocols, economics, policies and regulations. It provides a promising aspect of the future of the electricity demand. This book is intended for academics and engineers who are working in universities, research institutes, utilities and industry sectors wishing to enhance their idea and get new information about the smart meters

Planning framework and methods to assess possible future high renewable penetrations in emerging economy electricity industries and security, affordability, and environmental implications for Indonesia’s Java-Bali grid

Electricity industries worldwide are transitioning away from fossil-fuels towards wind and solar generation. While these technologies are now often cost-competitive as well as environmentally preferrable alternatives to coal and gas options, their highly variable output does raise challenges for delivering secure, affordable, and clean energy. This is particularly challenging for the electricity industries of emerging economies giving growing demand and limited financial resources. This thesis aims to address some of the limitations with existing frameworks, methods, and tools for assisting policymakers to plan electricity industry development, with a particular focus on better assessing future electricity generation options for emerging economies. It uses an open-source evolutionary programming-based optimisation model, National Electricity Market Optimiser (NEMO), to assess future generation options for the case study of Indonesia’s Java-Bali electricity grid. NEMO can model geographically and temporally variable wind and solar resources and solve least cost generation mixes in a highly configurable and transparent manner. A first study assessed the potential industry costs savings possible by recognising the reality of lower reliability standards in emerging economies than often assumed for modelling exercises. Accepting lower reliability outcomes not only reduces industry costs but also supports greater solar and wind deployment, hence better environmental outcomes. Next, the underlying evolutionary programming optimisation of NEMO was used to assess not just the least cost generation mix but the wider solution space, including generation portfolios that deliver total industry costs within 5% of the least cost solution highlighted the wide range of possible technology mixes that could potentially deliver a low cost future industry. Finally, NEMO was used to explore the potential implications of high variable renewable penetrations for operating reserves and hence power system security. The inevitability of some periods with both low wind and solar availability means that high renewables portfolios still feature significant dispatchable generation capacity. This means that the power system will generally have greater levels of operating reserves to cover possible plant failures than mixes with predominantly dispatchable generation. In summary, this thesis contributes to better understanding of the challenges and opportunities of deploying possible future high renewables in emerging economy electricity industries

Agent-based technology applied to power systems reliability

Tese de doutoramento. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Planning and operation objectives of public electric vehicle charging infrastructures: a review

Planning public electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure has gradually become a key factor in the electrification of mobility and decarbonization of the transport sector. In order to achieve a high level of electrification in mobility, in recent years, different studies have been presented, proposing novel practices and methodologies for the planning and operation of electric vehicles charging infrastructure. In this paper, the authors present an up-to-date analysis of the existing literature in this research field, organized by considering the perspectives and objectives of the principal actors/operators of the EV public charging infrastructure value chain. Among these actors, the electric vehicle, the charging operators and service providers, and the power system infrastructure (transmission and distribution system) are analyzed in depth. By classifying the reviewed literature based on this manifold viewpoints approach, this paper aims to facilitate researchers and technology developers in exploring the state-of-the-art methodologies for each actor’s perspective, and identify conflicting interests and synergies in charging infrastructure operation and planning.The authors would like to thank the Research Council of Norway and industry partners for the support in writing this paper under project 295133/E20FuChar—Grid and Charging Infrastructure of the Future https://prosjektbanken.forskningsradet.no/en/project/FORISS/295133?Kilde=F ORISS&distribution=Ar&chart=bar&calcType=funding&Sprak=no&sortBy=score&sortOrder=desc& resultCount=30&offset=0&Fritekst=fuchar&source=FORISS&projectId=295133 (accessed on 23 June 2023). The authors gratefully acknowledge Michele Garau, Bendik Nybakk Torsæter, and Daniel Mota from SINTEF Energy Research for their contribution to the conceptualization and review of the article. The work of Andreas Sumper was supported by the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) Academia Program.Postprint (published version

Bulk electric system reliability simulation and application

Bulk electric system reliability analysis is an important activity in both vertically integrated and unbundled electric power utilities. Competition and uncertainty in the new deregulated electric utility industry are serious concerns. New planning criteria with broader engineering consideration of transmission access and consistent risk assessment must be explicitly addressed. Modern developments in high speed computation facilities now permit the realistic utilization of sequential Monte Carlo simulation technique in practical bulk electric system reliability assessment resulting in a more complete understanding of bulk electric system risks and associated uncertainties. Two significant advantages when utilizing sequential simulation are the ability to obtain accurate frequency and duration indices, and the opportunity to synthesize reliability index probability distributions which describe the annual index variability. This research work introduces the concept of applying reliability index probability distributions to assess bulk electric system risk. Bulk electric system reliability performance index probability distributions are used as integral elements in a performance based regulation (PBR) mechanism. An appreciation of the annual variability of the reliability performance indices can assist power engineers and risk managers to manage and control future potential risks under a PBR reward/penalty structure. There is growing interest in combining deterministic considerations with probabilistic assessment in order to evaluate the “system well-being” of bulk electric systems and to evaluate the likelihood, not only of entering a complete failure state, but also the likelihood of being very close to trouble. The system well-being concept presented in this thesis is a probabilistic framework that incorporates the accepted deterministic N-1 security criterion, and provides valuable information on what the degree of the system vulnerability might be under a particular system condition using a quantitative interpretation of the degree of system security and insecurity. An overall reliability analysis framework considering both adequacy and security perspectives is proposed using system well-being analysis and traditional adequacy assessment. The system planning process using combined adequacy and security considerations offers an additional reliability-based dimension. Sequential Monte Carlo simulation is also ideally suited to the analysis of intermittent generating resources such as wind energy conversion systems (WECS) as its framework can incorporate the chronological characteristics of wind. The reliability impacts of wind power in a bulk electric system are examined in this thesis. Transmission reinforcement planning associated with large-scale WECS and the utilization of reliability cost/worth analysis in the examination of reinforcement alternatives are also illustrated