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The ageing of coal-fired power stations in South Africa has led to regular power outages. Therefore, the country will need to urgently increase its electricity capacity to meet further energy demand from growing urbanization and population growth. This challenge has increased interest in alternative energy sources, such as renewable energy (RE). South Africa is gradually implementing appropriate renewable energy practices, reducing carbon emissions, cleansing the air, and assuring a more sustainable future. This paper summarizes the availability, current state, and future potential of renewable energy choices in South Africa. This paper also evaluates specific policy measures and government actions aimed at eliminating barriers and increasing renewable energy deployment in the future. It also considers the South African network's specialized techno-economic analysis. The findings show that South Africa is still heavily reliant on coal, with 78% of the current installed capacity coming from coal power in 2022, compared to 9.3% for solar and wind energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing renewable energy (RE) sources can provide a realistic answer to the problem of many nations' energy needs. This paper reviews the current status of using RE to produce electricity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The primary aim of the review is to identify and analyze the solar- and wind-energy utilization, problems, and future trends in KSA while taking into account all relevant aspects, associated development hurdles, and suggested solutions. All involved parties will receive useful results and conclusions from a thorough examination and analysis of the pertinent literature that can assist them in understanding the potential of solar and wind energy, considering all the linked issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exponential growth of population and industries has brought about an increase in energy consumption, causing severe climatic and environmental problems. Therefore, the move towards green renewable energy is being ever more intensified. This study aims at estimating the rooftop solar power production for Tehran, the capital city of Iran, using a Geospatial Information System (GIS) to assess the big data of city building parcels. Tehran is faced with severe air pollution due to its excessive fossil fuel usage, and its electricity demand is increasing. As a result, this paper attempts to provide the quantified solar power potential of city roof tops for policymakers and authorities in order to facilitate decision-making in relation to integrating renewable energies into the power production infrastructure. The results shows that approximately 3000 GWh (more than 14% of the total electric energy consumption) of solar power can be produced by the rooftop PV installations in Tehran. The potential nominal power of rooftop PV installations is estimated to be more than 2000 MW, which is four times the current installed PV capacity of the whole country. The findings of the study suggest that there is great potential hidden on the rooftops of the city, which can be utilized to assist the power systems of the city in the longer run for a more sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for on-site production of energy is showing a rapid increase as the trend of decentralisation and energy self-reliance gains momentum. This paper studies and compares three of the main solar energy technologies: photovoltaic, solar thermal panels and hybrid photovoltaic thermal panels. A prototype experimental installation consisting of the aforementioned technologies was set up on the campus of University Politehnica Bucharest. Data were collected over several months, then the instantaneous power production and overall system performance was computed. The system was analysed in four types of weather patterns, and its suitability was assessed in each case. The results show that the performance of PVT panels is closely connected to the dissipation of the thermal energy collected in the thermal storage tank. In addition, PVT collectors can outperform the PV panels in accordance to the thermal energy demand of the end user when used in an installation with suitable dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand for electricity is constantly increasing, and production is facing new constraints due to the current world situation. An alternative to standard energy production methodologies is based on the use of renewable sources; however, these methodologies do not produce energy consistently due to weather factors. This results in a significant commitment of the user who must appropriately distribute loads in the most productive time slots. In this paper, a comparison is made between two methods of predicting solar energy production, one statistical and the other meteorological. For this work, a system capable of presenting the scheduling of household appliances is tested. The system is able to predict the energy consumption of the users and the energy production of the solar system. The system is tested using data from three different users, and the mean percentage of consumption reduction is about 77.73%. This is achieved through optimized programming of appliance use that also considers user comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's world, renewable energy sources are increasingly integrated with nonrenewable energy sources into electric grids and pose new challenges because of their intermittent and variable nature. Energy prediction using soft-computing techniques plays a vital role in addressing these challenges. As electricity consumption is closely linked to other energy sources such as natural gas and oil, forecasting electricity consumption is essential for making national energy policies. In this paper, we utilize various data mining techniques, including preprocessing historical load data and the load time series's characteristics. We analyzed the power consumption trends from renewable energy sources and nonrenewable energy sources and combined them. A novel machine learning-based hybrid approach, combining multilayer perceptron (MLP), support vector regression (SVR), and CatBoost, is proposed in this paper for power forecasting. A thorough comparison is made, taking into account the results obtained using other prediction methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the recent development trend in the struggle for cleaning the earth's environment, solar is the one of most promising area that can partially be used as a replaceable energy from non-renewable fuel sources. As such, it plays a significant role in protecting the environment from global warming. As solar power does not emit harmful gases into the atmosphere, its production, distribution, setup, and operation are vital should the production remain constant. Even solar energy waste emissions are small; when compared to current energy sources, the amount of harmful gases is negligible. This paper presented an integrated approach for site of solar plants by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Fuzzy Analytical Network Process (FANP). Furthermore, these integrated methodologies, incorporated with the most relevant parameters of requirements for solar plants, are introduced. First, the paper considers an integrated hierarchical DEA and FANP model for the optimal geographical location of solar plants in Mekong Delta Region, Vietnam. Using the proposed model for implementation would allow the renewable energy policy makers to select and control the optimal location for allocating and constructing a solar energy power plant in Vietnam. This is the preferred strategy for location optimization problems associated with solar plant units in Vietnam and around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in global energy demand has led to increased research in harvesting solar energy. Solar energy is widely used in homes, electric vehicles and is a great solution to power remote areas. DC–DC converters are essential in extracting power from solar panels. One of the main problems in designing converters for solar energy applications is boosting the low output voltage of the solar panel to meaningful levels. While there are several topologies to achieve high gain, some of the problems faced by them are the extreme duty ratio, complex design and discontinuous input current. This paper presents a novel topology that uses an interleaved input, a voltage lift capacitor and a hybrid switched capacitor network to achieve high gain without an extreme duty ratio or bulky magnetics. The proposed converter is controlled using a microcontroller which regulates the output voltage. The voltage lift capacitor and the switched capacitor network enhances the voltage gain over a conventional boost converter without an extreme duty ratio. The analysis and design of the proposed converter are presented and verified with a 100 W prototype. The results show that the converter provides a gain of 10, at a duty ratio of 30%, while delivering the designed output power with considerably high efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapidly evolving mobile technologies, the number of cellular base stations (BSs) has significantly increased to meet the explosive demand for mobile services and applications. In turn, this has significantly increased the capital and operational expenses, due to the increased electricity prices and energy consumption. To generate electricity, power plants mainly rely on fossil fuels, which are non-renewable energy resources. As a result, CO 2 emissions also increase, which adversely affect health and environment. For wireless access technologies and cellular networks, BSs are the largest power consumer, and the network energy consumption is mainly dominated by the network infrastructure, which makes the telecommunications sector liable for energy consumption as well as CO 2 emissions around the globe. Alternatively, solar energy is considered as an eco-friendly and economically attractive solution, due to its cost-effectiveness and sustainability. In this paper, the potentials of photovoltaic (PV) solar power to energize cellular BSs in Kuwait are studied, with the focus on the design, implementation, and analysis of off-grid solar PV systems. Specifically, system components, such as the number of PV panels, batteries, and converters needed for the design are determined and evaluated via HOMER software, with the focus on minimizing the net present cost (NPC). A comparison between various PV, diesel generator (DG), and battery bank (BB) system configurations is also performed. Moreover, a comparison of system deployment area will be presented for different PV panels that have different output power and panel sizes, in addition to utilizing a solar tracking system. It is revealed that utilizing a hybrid system configuration (i.e., PV-DG-BB) decreases fuel consumption per year by almost 95% in comparison to the conventional DG-only based electric systems. Not only that, but utilizing a pure off-grid solar PV system (i.e., PV-BB) can significantly reduce the total NPC while completely eliminating CO 2 emissions; however, at the expense of more land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has experienced rapid social and economic development in the past 40 years. However, excessive consumption of fossil fuel energy has caused an energy shortage and led to severe environmental pollution. To achieve sustainable development, China is striving to transform its growth mode. Adopting renewable energy (RE) including solar photovoltaic (PV) power is an effective measure. How to promote the further development of solar PV power under the scenario of China's aspirational target of carbon peak by 2030 and 20% RE ratio in the energy mix remains a theme that need to be addressed. This paper analyzes the potential opportunities and challenges confronting solar PV power in China. The analysis covers the dimensions of political, economic, social, and technological (PEST). The results revealed a significant prospect for the further deployment of solar PV power in the coming decades. The aggressive estimated installed capacity of solar PV power is expected to reach 80+ GW annually. To successfully achieve the goal of 80+ GW, barriers that hinder the further development of solar PV power have to be eliminated. Suggestions for policymakers include maintaining enforceability and continuity of policies, favorable financial supports, mandatory RE quotas for all parties, and supporting fundamental R&D. Suggestions for the solar PV industry include full utilization of integrated applications, set up an after-sales service network, collaborative innovation among the industry chain, and engaging in storage and hydrogen technology. The findings are greatly beneficial for policymakers and the solar PV industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increase in energy demand that is caused by fast economic development, a limited and constantly decreasing supply of traditional energy sources, as well as excessive environmental pollution that is caused by an increasing concentration of dust and gases in the atmosphere constitute the main factors that contribute to the ever-increasing interest in renewable sources of energy. The most important and promising renewable source of energy is thought to be solar energy. The aim of the paper is to assess the macroeconomic investment efficiency of photovoltaic installations in order to meet the demand for electric energy in single-family homes in Polish conditions. The conducted analysis comprises market characteristics and legal regulations concerning the sale of electric energy in Poland. Calculations were made for 320 variants that differed with regard to investment location, building orientation, and roof inclination. The results indicate that the most beneficial region for photovoltaic micro-installations, from a social perspective, is the south-east of and central Poland. The highest values of economic efficiency were achieved in the case of a southern roof inclination as well as a south-eastern and south-western building orientation. No big differences were observed in the economic investment efficiency for the panel inclinations. The calculated Discounted Payback Period, depending on the calculation method, equals 5.4 to 10 years. The results of the study confirm that the implemented support instruments for investments in photovoltaic installations producing energy for single-family house demand is economically viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An optimal operation system is a potential solution to increase the energy efficiency of a power network equipped with stochastic Renewable Energy Sources (RES). In this article, an Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problem has been formulated as a single and multi-objective problems for a conventional power generation and renewable sources connected to a power network. The objective functions reflect the minimization of fuel cost, gas emission, power loss, voltage deviation and improving the system stability. Considering the volatile renewable generation behaviour and uncertainty in the power prediction of wind and solar power output as a nonlinear optimization problem, this paper uses a Weibull and lognormal probability distribution functions to estimate the power output of renewable generation. Then, a new Golden Ratio Optimization Method (GROM) algorithm has been developed to solve the OPF problem for a power network incorporating with stochastic RES. The proposed GROM algorithm aims to improve the reliability, environmental and energy performance of the power network system (IEEE 30-bus system). Three different scenarios, using different RES locations, are presented and the results of the proposed GROM algorithm is compared to six heuristic search methods from the literature. The comparisons indicate that the GROM algorithm successfully reduce fuel costs, gas emission and improve the voltage stability and outperforms each of the presented six heuristic search methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) panels combine solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies and generate simultaneously both heat and electricity. This paper looks at the potential of integrating these systems into small domestic prosumer households for the climates of Bucharest, Romania, and Strasbourg, France. First, some brief background information on PVT systems and the concept of prosumers is introduced, highlighting their features as well as the solar energy market setting in Romania and France. Next, a PVT system is proposed for a given household consumer in Strasbourg and Bucharest with the variable weather conditions corresponding to the two locations. The PVT system and the coupled consumer are modelled in TRNSYS (v17, Thermal Energy System Specialists, Madison, USA). A performance analysis is carried out in order to establish the daily instantaneous energy output and the annual energy production. The results indicate a 10–12% better performance in Bucharest compared to Strasbourg due to slightly better weather conditions. The system efficiency was assessed through various methods (first law efficiency and primary energy saving). Depending on the method used, the location and time of year, the results vary from 15% for the first law efficiency to 90% for the primary energy saving efficiency. The most suitable efficiency assessment method for this study was found to be the primary energy saving method, as it takes into account the regional differences in energy production. This study concludes that the Romanian PVT market has a good potential for adopting the technology, especially since it is currently less mature than in France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy is a renewable energy source that can be utilized for different applications in today's world. The effective use of solar energy requires a storage medium that can facilitate the storage of excess energy, and then supply this stored energy when it is needed. An effective method of storing thermal energy from solar is through the use of phase change materials (PCMs). PCMs are isothermal in nature, and thus offer higher density energy storage and the ability to operate in a variable range of temperature conditions. This article provides a comprehensive review of the application of PCMs for solar energy use and storage such as for solar power generation, water heating systems, solar cookers, and solar dryers. This paper will benefit the researcher in conducting further research on solar power generation, water heating system, solar cookers, and solar dryers using PCMs for commercial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the potential of biomass energy resources in Timor-Leste (TL). Although other renewable energy sources are mentioned in this article, such as wind energy, solar energy, hydropower, bioenergy, including bioethanol and biogas, the main goal is to gather the data on biomass in TL and provide such data as useful information for a wide range of end-users. The current evaluation is based on various sources which include previous assessments on biomass and other renewable sources. The energy potential of biomass in TL apart that resulting from vegetation or flora and animals is also derived from agricultural waste, such as waste from rice, corn, and coffee. The analyses also include the contribution of agricultural waste, animal waste, and that from urban waste. The results from this article show that the potential of usable biomass energy in TL from forestry and agriculture is 1.68 × 106 toe/year, animal waste is 4.81 × 103 toe/year, and urban solid waste amounts to 9.55 × 103 toe/year. In addition, it is concluded that biomass alone can fully replace fossil fuels for electricity generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Levant area of the Middle East suffers from both chronic water scarcity and high population growth. It is also a region highly dependent of fossil fuels. In order to address current and expected water demands, several countries in the region, including Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (PA), are depending increasingly on desalination, which is expected to intensify energy consumption and energy related emissions. Given that the region also benefits from high levels of solar irradiation nearly year-round, much attention has been given to the possibility of developing renewable energy in general and for desalination specifically. This paper presents partial results of a pre-feasibility study assessing the prospects of transfers of desalinated water from Israel and/or the PA, which have access to the Mediterranean Sea, to Jordan, in exchange for renewable solar-produced electricity from Jordan, which, unlike its neighbors, has an abundance of available open space suitable for solar production. The analysis shows that single-axis tracking photovoltaic (PV) systems appear to be the most economically feasible option. Moreover, the study shows that the proposed idea of international cooperation and water-energy exchanges, while facing political obstacles, could provide numerous economic, environmental and geopolitical benefits to all parties involved. As such, an arrangement such as that examined may be a more promising means of promoting both desalination and renewable energy than if each country unilaterally develops desalination and renewable energy in isolation from one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops an energy analysis for an existing near Zero Energy (nZEB) and Zero Carbon Emissions building called LUCIA, located at the university campus in Valladolid (Spain). It is designed to supply electricity, cooling and heating needs through solar energy (Photovoltaic Systems, PV), biomass and an Earth–Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE), besides a Combined Heat Power (CHP). It is currently among the top three buildings with the highest LEED certification in the World. The building model is simulated with DesignBuilder version 5. The results of the energy analysis illustrate the heating, cooling and lighting consumptions expected, besides other demands and energy uses. From this data, we carried out an energy balance of the nZEB, which will help to plan preventive actions when compared to the actual energy consumptions, improving the management and control of both the building and its systems. The primary energy indicator obtained is 67 kWh/m2 a year, and 121 kWh/m2 a year for renewable energy generation, with respect to 55 kWh/m2 and 45 kWh/m2 set as reference in Europe. The Renewable Energy Ratio (RER) is 0.66. These indicators become a useful tool for the energy analysis of the nZEB according to the requirements in the European regulations and for its comparison with further nZEB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]