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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A: Sustainable Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 21677

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Sharul Sham Dol

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Mechanical Engineering Department, Abu Dhabi University, P.O. Box 59911, Abu Dhabi 59911, United Arab Emirates
Interests: fundamental of turbulent flows; vortex dynamics; experimental fluid dynamics; energy and renewable energy applications; multi-phase flows

Dr. Anang Hudaya Muhamad Amin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai Men's Campus, Dubai P.O. Box 15825, United Arab Emirates
Interests: artificial intelligence; artificial neural network; distributed computing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Guest Editor invites submissions to a Special Issue of Energies, entitled “Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications”.

The expected demand for electricity by the market will expand even more in the coming years. This will provide a test of whether appropriate actions are not engaged in offering alternative energy in the future. At present, solar power is the main available renewable energy sector in many countries. Despite many challenges, wind energy remains very competitive as a renewable energy source. There is also potential in harvesting offshore renewable energy such as tidal energy, waves and vortex-induced vibrations (VIV). This publication will discuss design strategies to increase energy efficiency and greener operation. This includes some important aspects including optimization and adaptability. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in energy source and intake prediction, such as wind speed and solar radiation prediction, also helps to optimize renewable energy intake and consumption. With this wide scope of issues and topics to be discussed, this publication also aims to introduce a spectrum of the most used energy systems and designs and selection criteria based on long-term economic viability and overall energy management strategies.

This publication will focus on the above issues and will accept contributions that consider the following topics of interest, among others:

Economic principles in evaluating alternative energy processes, systems and advanced solutions;
Economic considerations and management in energy production;
Evaluation of different available advanced energy sources;
Analysis on impact of renewable energy on the greenhouse effect;
Driving forces and challenges for wind energy;
Design optimization for horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines;
Driving forces and challenges for ocean energy;
Technology advancement in solar cells, wind turbines and VIV to incorporate the local environment and conditions;
Potential for future investment to integrate renewable technologies with existing oilfield offshore facilities;
Geothermal energy;
The future of hydrogen as an energy carrier;
Optimization and adaptability of renewable energy through applications of artificial intelligence (AI);
Smart energy generation and utilization.

Prof. Dr. Sharul Sham Dol
Dr. Anang Hudaya Muhamad Amin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

renewable energy
energy efficiency
energy management
solar
wind
offshore
tidal
waves
VIV/vibration energy harnessing
geothermal
hydrogen
artificial intelligence (AI)
machine learning (ML)
energy lifecycle assessment

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 9706 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Leading-Edge Wavy Shape on the Performance of Small-Scale HAWT Rotors

by Riad Morina and Yahya Erkan Akansu

Energies 2023, 16(17), 6405; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16176405 - 4 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1256

Abstract

The purpose of this experimental work was to investigate the role of the leading-edge wavy shape technique on the performance of small-scale HAWT fixed-pitch rotor blades operating under off-design conditions. Geometric parameters such as amplitude and wavelength were considered design variables to generate five different wavy shape blade models in order to increase the aerodynamic performance of the rotor with a diameter of 280 mm. A dedicated airfoil type S822 for small wind turbine application from the NREL Airfoil Family was chosen to fulfil both the aerodynamic and structural aspects of the blades. Rotor models were tested in a wind tunnel for different wind speeds while maintaining constant rotational speed to provide the blade-tip chord Reynolds number of 4.7 × 10⁴. The corrected tunnel data, in terms of power coefficients and tip-speed ratios, were compared first with the literature to validate the experimental approach, and then among themselves. It was observed that for minimal sizes of tubercles, the performance of the rotor increases by about 40% compared to the RB1 baseline rotor model for a low tip-speed ratio. Conversely, for the maximum size of the tubercles, there is a marked decrease of about 51% of the rotor performance for a moderate tip-speed ratio compared to the RB1 rotor model. Among these models, specifically, the RB2 rotor model with the smallest values of amplitude and wavelength provides a 2.8% higher peak power coefficient compared to the RB1 rotor model, and at the same time preserves higher performance values for a broad range of tip-speed ratios. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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17 pages, 6236 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Passive Flow Control Application Using Single and Double Vortex Generator on S809 Wind Turbine Airfoil

by Mustafa Özden, Mustafa Serdar Genç and Kemal Koca

Energies 2023, 16(14), 5339; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16145339 - 12 Jul 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1511

Abstract

The current study is aimed at investigating the influences of vortex generator (VG) applications mounted to the suction and pressure surfaces of the S809 wind turbine airfoil at low Reynolds number flow conditions. Both single and double VG applications were investigated to provide technological advancement in wind turbine blades by optimizing their exact positions on the surface of the airfoil. The results of the smoke-wire experiment for the uncontrolled case reveal that a laminar separation bubble formed near the trailing edge of the suction surface, and it was moved towards the leading edge as expected when the angle of attack was increased, resulting in bubble burst and leading-edge flow separation at α = 12°. The u/U_∞, laminar kinetic energy and total fluctuation energy contours obtained from the numerical study clearly show that both the single and double VG applications produced small eddies, and those eddies in the double VG case led the flow to be reattached at the trailing edge of the suction surface and to gain more momentum by energizing. This situation was clearly supported by the results of aerodynamic force; the double VG application caused the lift coefficient to increase, resulting in an enhancement of the aerodynamic performance. A novel finding is that the VG at the pressure surface caused the flow at the wake region to gain more energy and momentum, resulting in a reattached and steadier flow condition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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16 pages, 5878 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Evaluation of Communication Infrastructure for Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading in Community Microgrids

by Ali M. Eltamaly and Mohamed A. Ahmed

Energies 2023, 16(13), 5116; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16135116 - 2 Jul 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1741

Abstract

With the rapidly growing energy consumption and the rising number of prosumers, next-generation energy management systems are facing significant impacts by peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading, which will enable prosumers to sell and purchase energy locally. Until now, the large-scale deployment of P2P energy trading has still posed many technical challenges for both physical and virtual layers. Although the communication infrastructure represents the cornerstone to enabling real-time monitoring and control, less attention has been given to the performance of different communication technologies to support P2P implementations. This work investigates the scalability and performance of the communication infrastructure that supports P2P energy trading on a community microgrid. Five levels make up the developed P2P architecture: the power grid, communication network, cloud management, blockchain, and application. Based on the IEC 61850 standard, we developed a communication network model for a smart consumer that comprised renewable energy sources and energy storage devices. Two different scenarios were investigated: a home area network for a smart prosumer and a neighborhood area network for a community-based P2P architecture. Through simulations, the suggested network models were assessed for their channel bandwidth and end-to-end latency utilizing different communication technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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13 pages, 2744 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biological Hydrogen Energy Production by Novel Strains Bacillus paramycoides and Cereibacter azotoformans through Dark and Photo Fermentation

by Eldon Chung Han Chua, Siaw Khur Wee, Jibrail Kansedo, Sie Yon Lau, King Hann Lim, Sharul Sham Dol and Anuj Nishanth Lipton

Energies 2023, 16(9), 3807; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093807 - 28 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1596

Abstract

In daily life, energy plays a critical role. Hydrogen energy is widely recognized as one of the cleanest energy carriers available today. However, hydrogen must be produced as it does not exist freely in nature. Various methods are available for hydrogen production, including electrolysis, thermochemical technology, and biological methods. This study explores the production of biological hydrogen through the degradation of organic substrates by anaerobic microorganisms. Bacillus paramycoides and Cereibacter azotoformans strains were selected as they have not yet been studied for biological hydrogen fermentation. This study investigates the ability of these microorganisms to produce biological hydrogen. Initially, the cells were identified using cell morphology study, gram staining procedure, and 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene polymerase chain reaction. The cells were revealed as Bacillus paramycoides (MCCC 1A04098) and Cereibacter azotoformans (JCM 9340). Moreover, the growth behaviour and biological hydrogen production of the dark and photo fermentative cells were studied. The inoculum concentrations experimented with were 1% and 10% inoculum size. This study found that Bacillus paramycoides and Cereibacter azotoformans are promising strains for hydrogen production, but further optimization processes should be performed to obtain the highest hydrogen yield. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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16 pages, 4493 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Thermal Transport Characteristics of a Real-Time Simulation Model for a 50 MW Solar Power Tower Plant

by Haoyu Huang, Ershu Xu, Lengge Si, Qiang Zhang and Qiang Huang

Energies 2023, 16(4), 1946; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16041946 - 15 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1255

Abstract

A dynamic simulation model of a heliostat field and molten salt receiver system are developed on the STAR-90 simulation platform. In addition, a real-time simulation model coupling the above two models is built to study the photothermal conversion process of Delingha’s 50 MW solar power tower plant. The nonuniform and time-varying characteristics of the energy flux density on the receiver surface and the dynamic characteristics under different operating conditions are studied. The operational process of the receiver of a typical day is simulated. It was found that there was a strong positive correlation between the energy flux and DNI, and the maximum energy flux density on the surface of the heat absorbing tube panel moved from the first tube panel to the fourth in sequence from 12:00 to 18:00. At the same time, the energy flux density of the last four panels decreased gradually along the arrangement order of the panels. DNI, molten salt mass flow rate and inlet temperature step disturbance simulations are carried out, and the response curves of the molten salt outlet temperature and tube wall temperature are obtained. The conclusion of this paper has important guiding significance for the establishment of an operational strategy for photothermal coupling in a molten salt solar power tower plant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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28 pages, 4816 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimal Design of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems Considering Weather Forecasting Using Recurrent Neural Networks

by Alfonso Angel Medina-Santana and Leopoldo Eduardo Cárdenas-Barrón

Energies 2022, 15(23), 9045; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15239045 - 29 Nov 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1488

Abstract

Lack of electricity in rural communities implies inequality of access to information and opportunities among the world’s population. Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRESs) represent a promising solution to address this situation given their portability and their potential contribution to avoiding carbon emissions. However, the sizing methodologies for these systems deal with some issues, such as the uncertainty of renewable resources. In this work, we propose a sizing methodology that includes long short-term memory (LSTM) cells to predict weather conditions in the long term, multivariate clustering to generate different weather scenarios, and a nonlinear mathematical formulation to find the optimal sizing of an HRES. Numerical experiments are performed using open-source data from a rural community in the Pacific Coast of Mexico as well as open-source programming frameworks to allow their reproducibility. We achieved an improvement of 0.1% in loss of load probability in comparison to the seasonal naive method, which is widely used in the literature for this purpose. Furthermore, the RNN training stage takes 118.42, 2103.35, and 726.71 s for GHI, wind, and temperature, respectively, which are acceptable given the planning nature of the problem. These results indicate that the proposed methodology is useful as a decision-making tool for this planning problem. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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20 pages, 4271 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implementation and Validation for Multitasks of a Cost-Effective Scheme Based on ESS and Braking Resistors in PMSG Wind Turbine Systems

by Thanh Hai Nguyen, Asif Nawaz, Preetha Sreekumar, Ammar Natsheh, Vishwesh Akre and Tan Luong Van

Energies 2022, 15(21), 8282; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15218282 - 5 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1311

Abstract

This study deals with fault ride-through (FRT) capability and output power fluctuation suppression of wind turbine systems (WTS) having PMSG (permanent-magnet synchronous generator) for mitigating grid frequency variation and voltage flicker in the distribution system. The coordinated control of a cost-effective scheme based on energy storage supercapacitors (ESSs) and braking resistors (BR) is introduced to perform the multiple tasks of the WTS. In this hybrid scheme, the ESSs are initially used to absorb the fluctuated power component with the constraints of their ratings during the grid faults and wind speed variation conditions prior to the activation of the BRs when the ESSs cannot fully consume the mismatched power between the PMSG and grid during severe grid faults. With the additional BRs, the capacity of the costly ESSs is remarkably reduced, while the performance of the fault ride-through capability and power smoothening for the WTS are still kept satisfactory and in compliance with the requirements of advanced grid codes. Detailed experimental implementation and its results for a down-scaled prototype in a laboratory are shown to verify the effectiveness of the introduced scheme along with the simulation results with the high-power rating WTS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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20 pages, 6212 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical and Experimental Performance Evaluation of a Photovoltaic Thermal Integrated Membrane Desalination System

by Sajid Ali, Fahad Al-Amri and Farooq Saeed

Energies 2022, 15(19), 7417; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15197417 - 10 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1753

Abstract

Membrane desalination (MD) is preferred over other desalination techniques since it requires a lower temperature gradient. Its performance can be further enhanced by preheating the intake of saline water. In this context, a novel solar-assisted air gap membrane desalination (AGMD) system was hypothesized. The motivation was derived from the fact that the use of solar energy to provide power and a pre-heating source for the intake of saline water can offer a sustainable alternative that can further enhance the acceptance of MD systems. Since solar panels suffer from a loss of efficiency as they heat up during operation, a solar-assisted air gap membrane desalination (AGMD) system can help to improve the overall system performance by (1) providing the necessary pumping power to operate the system and (2) improving solar panel performance by exchanging heat using water that is (3) used to pre-heat the saline water necessary for increased performance of the AGMD system. To verify the hypothesis, a solar-assisted AGMD system for freshwater production was theoretically designed, fabricated locally, and then tested experimentally. The effect of the process operating parameters and the ambient conditions on the overall performance of the proposed solar-assisted AGMD desalination unit is presented in detail, both theoretically and experimentally. The results indicated a direct correlation between the permeate flux, saline hot feed temperature, and hot feed flow rate. In addition, an inverse relationship between the cold feed temperature, cold feed flow rate, and the air gap thickness of the module was also observed and reported, thus, validating the hypothesis that a solar-assisted air gap membrane desalination (AGMD) system can help to boost performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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19 pages, 3427 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transition to Low-Carbon Hydrogen Energy System in the UAE: Sector Efficiency and Hydrogen Energy Production Efficiency Analysis

by Mustapha D. Ibrahim, Fatima A. S. Binofai and Maha O. A. Mohamad

Energies 2022, 15(18), 6663; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15186663 - 13 Sep 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4478

Abstract

To provide an effective energy transition, hydrogen is required to decarbonize the hard-to-abate industries. As a case study, this paper provides a holistic view of the hydrogen energy transition in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). By utilizing the directional distance function undesirable data envelopment analysis model, the energy, economic, and environmental efficiency of UAE sectors are estimated from 2001 to 2020 to prioritize hydrogen sector coupling. Green hydrogen production efficiency is analyzed from 2020 to 2050. The UAE should prioritize the industry and transportation sectors, with average efficiency scores of 0.7 and 0.74. The decomposition of efficiency into pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency suggests policies and strategies should target upscaling the UAE’s low-carbon hydrogen production capacity to expedite short-term and overall production efficiency. The findings of this study can guide strategies and policies for the UAE’s low-carbon hydrogen transition. A framework is developed based on the findings of the study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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24 pages, 1104 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investment and Production Strategies of Renewable Energy Power under the Quota and Green Power Certificate System

by Min Song, Yu Wang and Yong Long

Energies 2022, 15(11), 4110; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15114110 - 2 Jun 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1721

Abstract

In order to study the impact of a renewable energy quota and green power certificate system on the strategies of energy suppliers, this paper constructs a multi-stage game model of renewable energy power investment and production from the renewable energy interest chain and its stakeholders. Through the calculation and solution of the model, the optimal renewable energy utilization level, pricing and production strategies of renewable energy power of energy suppliers are calculated under the scenarios of direct sale of power and purchase and sale by power grids. The results show that the quota ratio, green certificate price and investment cost are the key influencing factors of energy suppliers’ strategies, and changes in the values of the three factors will completely change the renewable energy investment, pricing and production levels of energy suppliers in equilibrium. In addition, the study found that the impact of the renewable energy quota on renewable energy utilization levels of energy suppliers depends on the relative size of investment cost and green power certificate price. At the same time, it was also found that with a change in investment cost, green power certificate price and user preference, the market share and renewable energy utilization level of traditional energy suppliers and new energy suppliers also change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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Review

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29 pages, 9613 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Photothermal and Photovoltaic Utilization for Improving the Thermal Environment of Chinese Solar Greenhouses: A Review

by Gang Wu, Hui Fang, Yi Zhang, Kun Li and Dan Xu

Energies 2023, 16(19), 6816; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16196816 - 26 Sep 2023

Viewed by 960

Abstract

A Chinese solar greenhouse (CSG) is an agricultural facility type with Chinese characteristics. It can effectively utilize solar energy during low-temperature seasons in alpine regions. The low construction and operation costs make it a main facility for agricultural production in the northern regions of China. It plays an extremely important role in “Chinese vegetable basket projects”. Energy is one of the important issues faced by CSGs. The better climate resources in the northern regions of China make it possible to apply solar energy as a green and sustainable energy source in the production of CSGs. Faced with the increasingly serious environmental problems of the new century, the Chinese government has made a decision and put it into practice to improve the rate and efficiency of solar energy utilization in agricultural facilities. In this paper, we summarize the research on the application of photovoltaic power generation and solar thermal technology in CSGs. The application of these advanced solar technologies has made great progress. With the further improvement of economic benefits and the establishment of relevant support policies and incentive mechanisms, the combination of CSG and solar energy technology will have certain application prospects and satisfy China’s requirements for long-term sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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23 pages, 5692 KiB

Open AccessReview

Forecasting of Solar and Wind Resources for Power Generation

by M. K. Islam, N. M. S. Hassan, M. G. Rasul, Kianoush Emami and Ashfaque Ahmed Chowdhury

Energies 2023, 16(17), 6247; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16176247 - 28 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1108

Abstract

Solar and wind are now the fastest-growing power generation resources, being ecologically benign and economical. Solar and wind forecasts are significantly noteworthy for their accurate evaluation of renewable power generation and, eventually, their ability to provide profit to the power generation industry, power grid system and local customers. The present study has proposed a Prophet-model-based method to predict solar and wind resources in the Doomadgee area of Far North Queensland (FNQ), Australia. A SARIMA modelling approach is also implemented and compared with Prophet. The Prophet model produces comparatively less errors than SARIMA such as a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.284 and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.394 for solar, as well as a MAE of 0.427 and a RMSE of 0.527 for wind. So, it can be concluded that the Prophet model is efficient in terms of its better prediction and better fitting in comparison to SARIMA. In addition, the present study depicts how the selected region can meet energy demands using their local renewable resources, something that can potentially replace the present dirty and costly diesel power generation of the region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Research and Applications)

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