Analysis of Subsea Energy Supply Systems for Improved Maintenance Using ANFIS and TOPSIS

The maintenance plan for the subsea energy supply system during the operation was optimized by firstly training the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) model with historical data of process variables of the system such as voltage, current, power, and pressure in MATLAB software and then predicting the optimum output of the process using the trained model, which showed a good prediction of operational data after two cycles of computational analysis. The outputs from the trained model, coupled with expert opinions on historical data, were used to develop a Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) multi-criteria algorithm to select the best maintenance strategy. The reliability-centred maintenance, with a performance score of 0.811, ranked best amongst the maintenance strategies under the studied scenario. The result shows that the procedure could be applied in condition monitoring of operational subsea energy supply systems to predict impending faults through deviation error and prevent failure by the application of an appropriate maintenance strategy. Keywords: ANFIS, TOPSIS, Maintenance plan, Fault prediction and Subsea power supply systems DOI: 10.7176/ISDE/12-2-02 Publication date: April 30th 202

Composite Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Geopolitical Zones in Nigeria

This paper presents eight hybrid renewable energy (RE) systems that are derived from solar, wind and biomass, with energy storage, to meet the energy demands of an average household in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The resource assessments show that the solar insolation, wind speed (at 30 m hub height) and biomass in the country range, respectively, from 4.38–6.00 kWh/m2/day, 3.74 to 11.04 m/s and 5.709–15.80 kg/household/day. The HOMER software was used to obtain optimal configurations of the eight hybrid energy systems along the six geopolitical zones’ RE resources. The eight optimal systems were further subjected to a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) analysis, which considers technical, economic, environmental and socio-cultural criteria. The TOPSIS-AHP composite procedure was adopted for the MCDM analysis in order to have more realistic criteria weighting factors. In all the eight techno-economic optimal system configurations considered, the biomass generator-solar PV-battery energy system (GPBES) was the best system for all the geopolitical zones. The best system has the potential of capturing carbon from the atmosphere, an attribute that is desirous for climate change mitigation. The cost of energy (COE) was seen to be within the range of 0.151–0.156 US$/kWh, which is competitive with the existing electricity cost from the national grid, average 0.131 US$/kWh. It is shown that the Federal Government of Nigeria favorable energy policy towards the adoption of biomass-to-electricity systems would make the proposed system very affordable to the rural households

Assessment of Wind and Solar Hybrid Energy for Agricultural Applications in Sudan

In addition to zero-carbon generation, the plummeting cost of renewable energy sources (RES) is enabling the increased use of distributed-generation sources. Although the RES appear to be a cheaper source of energy, without the appropriate design of the RES with a true understanding of the nature of the load, they can be an unreliable and expensive source of energy. Limited research has been aimed at designing small-scale hybrid energy systems for irrigation pumping systems, and these studies did not quantify the water requirement, or in turn the energy required to supply the irrigation water. This paper provides a comprehensive feasibility analysis of an off-grid hybrid renewable energy system for the design of a water-pumping system for irrigation applications in Sudan. A systematic and holistic framework combined with a techno-economic optimization analysis for the planning and design of hybrid renewable energy systems for small-scale irrigation water-pumping systems is presented. Different hybridization cases of solar photovoltaic, wind turbine and battery storage at 12 different sites in Sudan are simulated, evaluated, and compared, considering the crop water requirement for different crops, the borehole depth, and the stochasticity of renewable energy resources. Soil, weather, and climatic data from 12 different sites in Sudan were used for the case studies, with the key aim to find the most robust and reliable solution with the lowest system cost. The results of the case studies suggest that the selection of the system is highly dependent on the cost, the volatility of the wind speed, solar radiation, and the size of the system; at present, hybridization is not the primary option at most of sites, with the exception of two. However, with the reduction in price of wind technology, the possibility of hybrid generation will rise

Assessing Crop Water Requirements and a Case for Renewable-Energy-Powered Pumping System for Wheat, Cotton, and Sorghum Crops in Sudan

Climate change is changing global weather patterns, with an increase in droughts expected to impact crop yields due to water scarcity. Crops can be provided with water via underground pumping systems to mitigate water shortages. However, the energy required to pump water tends to be expensive and hazardous to the environment. This paper explores different sites in Sudan to assess the crop water requirements as the first stage of developing renewable energy sources based on water pumping systems. The crop water requirements are calculated for different crops using the CROPWAT and CLIMWAT simulation tools from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Further, the crop water requirements are translated into electrical energy requirements. Accurate calculations of the energy needed will help in developing cost-effective energy systems that can help in improving yields and reducing carbon emissions. The results suggest that the northern regions tend to have higher energy demands and that the potential for renewable energy should be explored in these regions, which are more susceptible to drought and where crops tend to be under higher stress due to adverse climate conditions

A systematic literature review on the decarbonisation of the building sector—a case for Nigeria

The buildings sector is responsible for over 36% of total global end-use energy utilization and nearly 40% of the total indirect and direct carbon emissions. Low-carbon or zero-energy buildings remain the only option to lessen the sector’s energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The current systematic study examines low-carbon buildings under deep decarbonization scenarios in selected global south regions from 2010 to 2021. The study was channelled by the PRISMA (“Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses”) review process, which identified 29 related articles from Scopus, Web of Science., and Google Scholar databases. The identified critical drivers of emissions were population, gross domestic product, dwelling characteristics, and urbanization. The dwelling characteristics contributed about 12% and 27% to the total CO2 emissions in the selected regions. The population varies between 23% and 27% across the areas. Specific findings were made for inclusion in the Nigeria model while the general results were observed and further studies proposed. Total investment from the private and public sectors was identified as key to achieving the transition process of decarbonization in the building sector

Assessing small hydropower sites in Nigeria for sustainable development using ArcGIS

This paper focuses on the prospects of small hydropower plants (SHP) in Nigeria and utilizes ArcGIS software for analyzing the country’s hydropower energy potential. The analysis conducted using ArcGIS reveals the significant SHP potential in various states across Nigeria. By overlaying water areas and waterline data on maps, potential sites for SHP are identified, particularly in states such as Borno, Niger, Edo, Anambra, and Jigawa. Further analysis was done using data for water lines in Nigeria converted into shaped files for the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, with the various states and local government areas, to provide expanded views for different possible schemes for SHP. Data set were built up for the different geopolitical zones and statistical analyses were done for SHP potentials. Interpolations were performed using Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) tool on ArcGIS to show areas ideally suitable to site dam schemes for hydropower production and other schemes that require less water storage for small hydropower production. The strengths of each state in the various zones with regard to water inlands and lands subject to inundation were also identified. Some major challenges and opportunities in using ArcGIS in assessing small hydropower schemes in Nigeria, were also highlighted

Africa needs context-relevant evidence to shape its clean energy future

Aligning development and climate goals means Africa’s energy systems will be based on clean energy technologies in the long term, but pathways to get there are uncertain and variable across countries. Although current debates about natural gas and renewables in Africa are heated, they largely ignore the substantial context specificity of the starting points, development objectives and uncertainties of each African country’s energy system trajectory. Here we—an interdisciplinary and majority African group of authors—highlight that each country faces a distinct solution space and set of uncertainties for using renewables or fossil fuels to meet its development objectives. For example, Ethiopia is headed for an accelerated green-growth pathway, but Mozambique is at a crossroads of natural gas expansion with implicit large-scale technological, economic, financial and social risks and uncertainties. We provide geopolitical, policy, finance and research recommendations to create firm country-specific evidence to identify adequate energy system pathways for development and to enable their implementation