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Deviating from the common situation where some physical objects are considered to move in space, the present chapter deals with the spreading of failures in complex systems like power grids, communications networks and financial networks. Failures can trigger a cascade of further failures that spread to other parts of the system with, possibly, dramatic consequences and catastrophic events like blackouts and economic collapses. The focus of this chapter is on the specific mechanisms occurring in interdependent systems, where components of one system cannot function without components of the other, as in the case of a communication tower which needs power from the nearby power station. Understanding how these failures spread in both time and space is critical for ensuring that large-scale complex systems remain functional. A further challenge examined here involves the question of how to optimally repair and recover a system after it has experienced some failures—for preventing quick failure reappearance in the repaired components.

This chapter deals with an approach towards a physical description of the spreading of pollution in a turbulent atmosphere. We may witness this phenomenon quite commonly by, e.g., following the smoke of a chimney or the steam emerging from a power plant. It is remarkable that the equations to quantify atmospheric turbulence reveal close similarities with the formalism provided by the Fick’s diffusion laws. This is not only true for passive constituents (like smoke or moisture) but also for the turbulent diffusion of heat and momentum. Modelling of atmospheric turbulences, however, is still based on two conceptions which describe the same phenomenon from different perspectives. The development of an all-embracing view has thus remained a challenging task for the future.

A gas turbine is a turbomachine composed of a compressor part, a part with heat supply to the compressed gas and a turbine part in which the hot gas expands. The present chapter discusses gas turbines for mechanical power ­generation. These are machines with an outgoing shaft, meant to drive a load. The largest market sector of such machines is electrical power generation, but machines for driving compressors and pumps in industrial plants and for driving large vehicles and ships also are examples. We discuss the working principles of the components of power gas turbines in the present chapter. As electric power generation is the largest sector of application, we choose components of such machines for illustrations. The main purpose of the chapter is the discussion of the overall performance of power gas turbines. Performance analysis is a matter of thermodynamic modelling and is not strongly linked to a particular application.

In recent years, the use of photovoltaic systems in traffic has become more frequent. The field of application within the field of transport refers to signaling such as high poles, navigation, railway signals, traffic signs, information boards, as well as in terms of public lighting and safety lighting. The paper will provide a detailed review of the literature regarding the applied renewable solar energy and all applicable technologies for highway corridors. Also in this paper, the installation of a solar photovoltaic power plant for meeting the energy demand of highway corridors and tunnels is analysed. The production of electricity from these PV power plants is used to power highway corridors own consumption, such as tunnels and lighting today, and tomorrow for mass use to charge electric vehicles. In this paper, a techno-economic analysis of a solar photovoltaic power plant with an installed capacity of 1 MW in the village Tarcin, next to the A1 highway, is performed. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that the investment in solar power plant represents a cost-effective techno-economic solution for reducing electricity costs. The other benefits of using solar photovoltaic power plant along national highway corridors are in emission reduction and better transport planning. Integrating PV system into national grids can reduce transmission and distribution line losses, increase grid resilience, lower generation costs, and reduce requirements to invest in new utility generation capacity.

Concentrated solar power, or solar thermal energy, has proven to be a renewable alternative for the production of power, using different technologies that allow the use of thermal energy from the Sun to reach temperatures high enough to drive a thermal engine, mainly steam Rankine cycles and thus be able to convert thermal energy into electrical energy that can be supplied into the electricity grid. However, like any engineering development, it is sought to optimize some processes to increase the overall performance of the system and reach the highest possible efficiency. In the present Chapter, the proposed design and optimization of a direct steam generation linear Fresnel reflector power plant leads to an efficiency close to the endoreversible model efficiency, so the analyzed configurations will be working at near maximum power condition with high possible efficiency.

Solar Chimney Power Plant (SCPP) presents significant contributions to the energy production in the high radiations zones. The optimization of the SCPP design is an essential process to obtain an economic profitability. In this work, a chimney with venturi design is investigated. Three venturi designs were studied for the chimney configuration. Added to the standard SCPP, the venturi shape was employed at the bottom, at the center and at the top of the system. For this end, a specific dimensionless factor ratio (HV) defined as the fraction between the venturi altitude and the chimney height, was varies from 0 to 1 by using CFD method. The numerical method used to predict the air flow behavior was presented. The flow characteristics were analyzed for the different considered designs. Outcomes show that the performance of system with venturi design presents an efficient solution comparing to the typical system. In fact, the air velocity and the pressure drop through the chimney reached the double values of the cylindrical chimney for HV = 0.016. The maximum power output was achieved when the venturi localized at the chimney center. Numerical model was optimized and validated with the experimental data of a reference model taken from the literature.

This chapter contains all major energy utilization technologies. They comprise steam power plants driven by coal, gas and oil and nuclear power, furthermore solar power plants and photovoltaic, wind power, bio mass and bio gas, geothermal heat, hydrodynamic power including barrages and pumped storage power plants, a proposal for rain power stations, combined heat and power generation and finally tidal power stations. For each energy carrier its origin is explained.

After years of strong growth, the biogas industry is facing new challenges today. The traditional mode of operation as a baseload combined heat and power plant for heat and power generation is becoming more difficult with an increasing share of fluctuating renewable energy, e.g., from wind and solar in the power grid, and requires innovative concepts for securing an economic operation of the existing plants. In addition to a change in the operating mode towards a demand-oriented power generation by investment in new storage concepts and increased power generation capacities, new concepts for feeding biomethane (and thus a new economic concept) into the gas grids are becoming increasingly important. Feeding biomethane into the gas grids reduces the dependency on natural gas imports and creates opportunities to link the electricity, heating, and transport sectors of the energy economy. The following sections will present and evaluate the solutions currently available on the market and introduce new innovative concepts, which are currently in focus of various research activities.

In this paper was presented and discussed a numerical model of a hybrid wind-solar power plant was created in Matlab®/Simulink software. A parallel connection between two potential renewable energy sources has been proposed: photovoltaic panels (PVs) and the wind turbine. For numerical simulations, environmental data were used with wind and solar data for Katowice, Silesia City.

Some mathematical models of informational signals and methods of the diagnostic system construction is considered. Different type of linear random processes is recommended for application. Some properties of the random processes are discussed. Application of the models depends on many factors. Such processes are used for classification of stochastic informational signals in the case of non-Gaussian distribution realizations of the signals, which energy spectra (within the framework of the first two moments) possess is often not enough for reliable recognition and classification of such signals. It is expedient to use information on higher moments or statistical characteristics of distributing such signals. It is possible to use the higher-order moments of such signals realization as the diagnostic features and provided the increase in accuracy and reliability of Power Engineering Equipment diagnostics. Attributes at the power engineering equipment diagnostic system construction are above mentioned justified diagnostic features, as well as informational diagnostic signals having been justified by the investigation of the appropriate mathematical models. Obtaining numerical estimation of chosen diagnostic features is first of all necessary for forming teaching complexes, and, further, for conducting the diagnostics itself according to the formed teaching complexes. Some peculiarities of constructing the multilevel diagnostic systems for resilience operation of electric power facilities are considered. An example of 3-level diagnostic system development for a Power station is represented.

With the continuous development of information technology, the equipment on the edge of the power is also constantly updated.As the edge equipment, the power station area fusion terminal has not only improved its intelligence, Applications based on converged terminals can be customized according to different power business needs, Realizing the collection and processing of various information on the edge side not only greatly saves personnel investment, but also improves the processing efficiency of data on the edge side, making business operations more efficient. This paper explores and researches the testing methods of micro-applications of edge IoT agents, aiming to improve the accuracy of data collection and processing of micro-applications at the edge, and to ensure the stability and reliability of daily business operations.

It is an established tradition in fusion research to already develop plans for successor devices, even before the earlier ones have started to run. In this chapter the activity currently undertaken by most ITER members to design tokamak-based machines beyond ITER is discussed, as well as the extensive power plant design work carried out since the 1970s.

A huge amount of heat are released into freshwater habitats from power stations using once-through cooling systems, frequently causing an increase in temperature that disrupts aquatic ecosystems and biota living in. Internationally, 56% of the heat released to the freshwater system included in the hot water discharge from the thermal power plants appeared to be the source of thermal pollution in the area where it has been rejected in. In the literature today, numerous studies were giving evidences that the heated water from the thermal power stations is responsible for the huge environmental changes that lead to an unfavourable condition and affect directly the freshwater biota. In Iraq, all the power plants are thermal stations using the once-through cooling systems as a cooling system. Such procedure has approved its deleterious effects on the freshwater environment where the hot water is rejected to. In the present chapter, a short review is given about the basic idea of the thermal power stations and their effects on the freshwater environment and its biota. Also, in this chapter examples on the effect of the heated water rejected from the thermal power plants in Iraq were given. At the end of the chapter, a discussion to the future of the development of the electricity industry in Iraq is given, which reports on establishing further power plants in the western desert area of Iraq to serve as electricity supply source to be transferred to European countries. If this project sees the light regarding the harmful effects of these power plants on the environment, then thousands or millions of freshwater biota will never see the light again.

A system of a systems approach that analyzes energy and water systems simultaneously is called energy-water nexus. Neglecting the interrelationship between energy and water drives vulnerabilities whereby limits on one resource can cause constraints on the other resource. Power plant energy production directly depends on water availability, and an outage of the power systems will affect the wastewater treatment facility processes. Therefore, it is essential to integrate energy and water planning models. As mathematical energy-water nexus problems are complex, involve many uncertain parameters, and are large-scale, we proposed a novel multi-stage adjustable Fuzzy robust approach that balances the solutions’ robustness against the budget-constraints. Scenario-based analysis indicates that the proposed approach generates flexible and robust decisions that avoid excessive costs compared to conservative methods.

To represent a comprehensive scenario regarding the coal mining and coal-fired power plant activities in a developing country (Bangladesh) and to understand the total environmental impacts, potential coal resources of Bangladesh, environmental geochemistry and dispersion of pollutants, eco-toxicological impacts, human health risks as well as socioeconomic impacts are evaluated in this chapter. Potential coal reserves along with the future plants are estimated. Technogenic sources of environmental pollutants including environmentally toxic heavy metals, health hazardous radionuclides, persistent organic pollutants, suspended particulate maters, etc. are assessed. In doing so, scarce associated data from coal mine (Barapukuria, Bangladesh) and Barapukuria coal-fired power plant (BTPP) of Bangladesh have been reconciled by using and arguing the previous works around the globe. Immense and proper literature reviews as well as the existing data on Barapukuria coal mine and BTPP are tabulated to compare and understand the condition along with the potential prevention and remediation approaches.

The article describes the calculation results of the technical and economical parameters dependence on heating changes in the regulation range from 0 to 55 MW and electric load in the adjustment range from 200 MW to 300 MW of a 300 MW power unit with the steam turbine K-300-240-2 KhTGZ. The article presents changes in performance indicators: power unit net efficiency, specific fuel consumption, absolute efficiency of the power unit. The power unit’s heat-and-mass balance calculation was carried out according to a standard method for thermal power plants schemes. The mathematical model of power unit operation in variable modes was developed bases on the above method. According to the evaluation results the graphs indicating: changes of power unit efficiency on the turbine unit thermal load, variation of electric load and dependence of variance in specific fuel consumption on power and heating load were produced. The dependency graphs showing change in the specific heat consumption of turbine and power unit that entirely shows the change in the power unit efficiency under thermal and electrical loads regulation were built.

Superconductor busbars have reached industrial readiness. Superconductors are conducting direct current with extremely high densities of more than 50 kA/cm2 with zero losses. Due to their low space requirements, high current carrying capacity, and utmost efficiency, superconductor busbars will find their place in the aluminium industry. The paper introduces the technical basis of superconductors and continues with technical and economic advantages. Five different use cases are illustrated with information about technical limits, energy efficiency, and economic performance. Experiences out of installations are shared. The presented use cases are: Main busbars between rectifiers and potroom Interconnection busbars between potrooms and to standby rectifiers Magnetic field compensation with minimum space and power requirements DC connection between potline and power plant or grid connection point Superconducting magnetic field shielding—permanent or mobile.

The article discusses the development of a system for automatic analysis of the unmanned aerial vehicle power plant tests results. The method of its use in solving the problems of designing an onboard system of an unmanned aerial vehicle is described. The structure of its software and the interface are shown. Also, the article discusses the development of a solution to the problem of visualizing the results of tests of the unmanned aerial vehicle power plant. We have shown the basis for selecting the tools that can be used to solve this problem. We also had to refuse to use the graph Builder from MathWorks MATLAB, because when the method of working with the graph Builder was launched, the output of graphs to the screen took a fairly large amount of time. As we found out, the slowness of data visualization on the screen is associated with loading the necessary libraries, since subsequent launches of this method of graph output were carried out within 2–10 s, this is an acceptable time. There was also a problem with the user application passing data to the MathWorks MATLAB libraries, and the required graph was not displayed in the output window. The algorithm of operation of a self-written graph Builder module is described. The result of the built-in graph Builder module is presented.

The small hydropower and solar energy have been both considered at the enhancement phase stage of Junxi cascade power stations as hybrid systems. In this paper, the FAHP-TOPSIS model was employed to evaluate the three schemes and make the final decision. FAHP was used to determine the relative weights of evaluation indexes in each layer, and then the relative proximity is calculated according to the TOPSIS method. The evaluation index system of renewable energy hybrid power generation system is established for Junxi-I hydropower station, and 16 evaluation indexes are put forward according to the dimensions of technology, economy and social environment. Finally, three schemes of Junxi-I are evaluated and it is found that the small hydro-PV complementary hybrid power generation system is superior to the other two power generation plants.

The ever-developing interest for extravagance has expanded the weight on conventional energy resources and urges researchers and designers to search for other choices. Hydropower is one of the most economical and reliable source of energy which is regarded to have the ability to fill in for customary energy sources. The hydropower plants (HPP) is providing the power of 1106 TWh. The main concern regarding the storage based HPP is the efficiency of its Hydro Power Reservoirs (HPR) and its productivity relies upon different elements which are variable with respect to climatic, water powered and financial boundaries. Every one of these boundaries again depends on other factors such as, locational impedance and nature of the machine introduced. As there are various factors having various degrees of effect on the productivity of HPRs, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) was applied to develop an indicator which can indicate the performance status of the power plant. MCDM generally estimates priority values (P.V.) for normal conditions, but the present study utilizes the method to determine the contribution of the parameters for optimal conditions only. Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique (MACBETH) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) were used to determine the constraints and Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) was utilized to find the P.V. at optimal condition.

In the present paper, an attempt has been made to identify the optimal trade-off between utilization efficiency and financial liability by two optimization techniques; Firefly Algorithm and Differential Evolution. As utilization efficiency, as well as financial liability of the power plant, depends on multiple parameters, decision-making techniques are utilized to produce an index representing the utilization and financial requirement of the power plant. According to the result, it is found that the Efficiency of turbine and Maintenance and operation cost are the most important indicators of utilization and economic liability of hydropower plants respectively. Also for the present trade-off analysis, Differential Evolution is found to be a better optimization technique compared to FireFly Algorithm.

The world demand for electrical energy has increased since the end of World War II and could be as high as a 60-petawatt hour per year (PWh/year), although the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak is now expected to be lower. One major trend that continued is the transition to renewables, whereby 2050, coal, gas, and oil are expected to contribute toward 5 PWh/year and is currently expected to be at 10 PWh/year for coal in 2020 based on world energy outlook 2019 prediction. Decarbonised electricity by post-combustion carbon dioxide (CO2) capture from coal-fired power stations is an attractive option than a complete rebuild or building new coal-fired power stations as the cost of retrofit is lesser with similar gains in the capture of soluble oxides of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. In this chapter, the practical hurdles, process performance, workflow, and energy requirements for CO2 capture are reviewed for three technologies, chemical absorption using nitrogen Lewis bases without and with cooling, membrane separation, or a combination of both approaches. Related parameters such as absorber configuration and operation at elevated pressure, reduction of heat duty of strippers, and reboiler duty are discussed. Newer approaches in post-combustion are also discussed.

In 2018, the Act on electromobility and alternative fuels took effect in Poland. The law imposes an obligation on municipalities servicing the public transport to exchange at least 30% of bus fleet for electric buses by 2028. In the chapter, the impact of the fleet replacement on the emission of air pollutants rate in global and local scale has been analyzed. For comparison, the option of exchanging the fleet for buses meeting the Euro VI standard was also assumed. For this purpose, it was necessary to analyze the current structure of the bus fleet of MPK Wroclaw (manufacture year, Euro standards, type of buses, etc.). It was indicated what impact on the air quality will have the fleet electrification on the local scale (in Wroclaw) and on the global scale (emission from the power plant during the production of electricity needed to charge electric buses).

Safety in nuclear power plants is an important area in the realm of engineering safety [1]. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are an emerging form of nuclear technology with widespread application, notably in austere or remote communities. SMRs are defined as power plants that produce 300 MWe or less [2], designed with modular fabrication technology for ease of onsite construction. Historically, nuclear power plants have maximized large economies of scale and been constructed with ample resources for safety regulation concerns, such as access to reliable water tables. SMRs will be deployed to remote locations without the resources normally afforded to a large power plant, and so the safety systems of these new designs must be innovative and still be able to meet the stringent safety specifications set forth by regulatory bodies [3]. This is a very important aspect of SMR design and is critical for licensing and production. This paper outlines a systematic literature review of scientific papers concerned with nuclear safety systems of SMRs. To further expound upon this topic, literature analyses were completed using keyword searches for, “nuclear safety systems,” and “small modular reactor” and then evaluating trends between articles. The databases used for this research were Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and Mendeley. The analyses were completed by use of the following literature review software: VOSViewer, Publish or Perish, MAXQDA and Vincinitas. The results are presented in the form of trend analyses, keyword cluster analysis, co-author clusters analysis, co-citation analysis, word clouds and emergence analyses. The results show a strong correlation between the study of this material and the rising interest in green energy, as well as the particular safety systems necessary for the development of SMRs.

This chapter proposes a methodology for building hybrid models of gas turbine power plants for solving the task of prescriptive and predictive plant health analytics. The hybrid models are built based on the physics model of the power plant subsystem and machine learning methods. The combination of physics-based models and machine learning models allows predicting the occurrence of malfunctions and predicting internal parameters of subsystems influencing the gas turbine plant’s technical health. The proposed methodology was implemented as a special software system, and it was tested on the field data from mobile gas turbine plants.

This paper considers the issue of numeral estimating the residual strength of a centrifugal pump operating in excess of the design life in the line of pumps of the power station. Using modern technologies of computer and mathematical modeling the calculations of pump body for define its stress-strain state taking into account the change of geometry of body details had been carried out. The three-dimensional CE models are made, which take into account the actual geometry of the pump parts and the predict of its possible change for the period of extended time work. Estimation of static strength was performed for the main operating mode of the pump (under normal operating conditions). Taking into account the predicted values of the percentage of thinning of the wall of the pump, the statistical deformed state of the structure had been investigated. On the basis of statistical data, the parameter of damage and the probability of failure-free operation of the structure had been determined.

The operation efficiency of the power station mainly depends on power generation. Therefore, under the constraints of water level, water amount, and output of hydropower station, generation flow in each period can be reasonably controlled according to the initial operating conditions of reservoir and inflow runoff, maximize the power generation of cascade power station within the operation cycle. Grey wolf algorithm (GWO) is easy to implement, simple in structure, requires few parameters to be changed, and has a simple operating principle. The gray wolf algorithm’s solution process simulated wolves’ hunting behavior, and the prey was regarded as the optimal global solution. All the candidate solutions were regarded as a gray wolf population. As shown from the above results, the GWOs algorithm has a more vital exploration ability and development ability to optimize single-peak and multi-peak functions better than the other two algorithms.

This article examines and deals with the experience of building tidal power plants in Russia and in the world, analyzes the possibilities of using tidal energy in the Penzhin Bay to solve the energy problems in Kamchatka region. The purpose of this work is to propose and explore a new implementation version of the Penzhin tidal power plant. The tidal power plants implemented projects analysis method revealed the advantages and disadvantages of various constructive and technological solutions, their construction conditions, which are taken into account in the proposed option were studied. The method of comparison with the Penzhin tidal power plant existing projects identified the main advantages of the proposed option. A variant which consists in the need to lay underground two conduits connecting the Penzhin Bay with the Pacific Ocean, was proposed for the construction of the Penzhin tidal power station. Near the Pacific Ocean, each conduit is divided into two siphons, in which horizontal bulb hydro-turbines are installed. It was investigated that the best place for generators installation is in the engine room of the power plant the head building, located on land. The shafts of the turbine and the generator are connected using a bevel gearing, which makes such a technical solution possible. The approximate power of turbines and generators was calculated; their brands were proposed. It was also calculated the volume of water required for the passage and during the tide. As a result, it was proved that this power plant will operate continuously, and water will always flow in one direction. The proposed option can be taken into consideration in the presence of similar geographical and technical conditions in other parts of the world. Power generation will allow for the realization of the Kamchatka region “breakthrough” plans in services, industry and agriculture.

Considering the ongoing process of diversification of the types of energy production, especially those from renewable sources, one of the goals of sustainable development has become the cleanest energy production, and the monitoring and modeling of the operating parameters is a topic of great interest for researchers in the field. Thus it became an imperative condition to promote the production of electricity from renewable sources in order to support the environmental protection movement but also to obtain an energy independence. The cogeneration process is one of the solutions for obtaining energy from renewable sources because it efficiently energizes the production system by obtaining thermal and electrical energy using the same quantity of fuel. Given that biomass is the primary energy source, it is clear that it is a clean energy source. This chapter presents a factory for the production of electricity and heat in Romania, which was put into operation in 2014. Its analysis will be done by mathematical modeling of the energy consumption (biomass and biogas) necessary for the operation. Also, the most important of a biomass-based power plant, precisely the electrical output of energy, the technological usage, and the electrical energy supplied to the national distribution grid are analyzed. The result consists of and an approximation model linking factors like the biogas consumption to the electrical energy output. In Sects. 2, 3 and 4 of this chapter, the authors describe the structure of a cogeneration power plant (CPP) and introduce an example through a case of study of the data acquisition system for the CPP’s parameters and propose some numerical approaches for the evaluation of the CPP efficiency. The CPP analyzed in this chapter is in Suceava County, Romania, and when it first started production, in 2014, it was the biggest running on biomass cogeneration plant in the country. The chapter includes a description of the three distinct phases of the technological process of obtaining energy from biogas, starting with the type and quantities of the raw materials used and how much energy the CPP can produce. The data acquisition system is part of a sophisticated automated system called “DIANE,” which permanently monitors, coordinates, and controls all the operations in the cogeneration power plant. Following the measurement of many parameters, the analysis focuses on electrical energy production due to each generator, biogas consumption of motors, domestic electricity consumption, and the power consumption required to operate the biogas station. The acquisition of the operating parameters from the last three years continued with the application of a numerical method of interpolation, based on the PYTHON software environment. Consequently, the authors obtained the relationship between the electrical energy output and the consumed biomass input parameters in the form of polynomial functions. The chapter ends with conclusions and many references on the topic of numerical approaches to the biomass plant technological process and overall efficiency.

Hydro inflow forecasting is crucial for effective hydro optimization, virtual power plant pricing, volume risk management, and weather derivatives pricing in the electricity markets. Predicting hydro inflow allows the decision-makers to economically use water for optimal periods, quantify volume risk and determine effective portfolio management strategies. This study aims pricing a hydroelectricity power plant as a Virtual Power Plant based on Turkish energy markets. For pricing of such a non-standard option, inflow and price scenarios and optimization model with constraints are performed. For the hydro inflow forecasting utilized for the optimization model, SARIMAX with precipitation as an exogenous variable is applied. In addition to the point forecasts, we generate various inflow scenarios based on the residuals as a stochastic process for defined VPP. Moreover, a hydro optimization problem where the objective function maximizes the expected value of generation by tracing generated inflow and price scenarios is made. Price scenarios are simulated using the hourly behavior of historical Day-Ahead Market. The optimization outputs are evaluated according to different prices and inflow levels. For a defined VPP, Volume at Risk measure is defined to measure the risky volume for the valuation of VPP.

Solar power is one of the most raising and encouraging renewable source of energy generation. Solar plants are playing an important role in power supplies worldwide. Nowadays, the electrical energy demand is increasing rapidly due to fast-growing daily requirements. In the last few decades, scientific researchers have focused on a novel technology called the solar chimney power plant, sometimes recognized as solar updraft tower. The solar chimney is principally composed of three main constituents, namely, a solar collector, a chimney and a wind turbine. This promising technology addresses a very challenging idea of generating electricity from free solar energy. It is categorized as a viable resource of clean energy for many non developed countries. The world’s first solar chimney prototype was designed and constructed at Manzanares in Spain, as a result of a joint project between the Schlaich Bergermann partner and the Spanish government. The plant is characterized by a tower high 195 m with a radius of 5 m. The radius and height of the collector encircling the tower are respectively 120 m and 1.85 m. The spanish prototype built by the engineer Jorg Schlaich of Schlaich Bergermann operated without significant problems for seven years. Several research projects have been conducted all over the world to design and introduce different solar towers based on experience gained from operating the 50 kW Spanish prototype. To ensure that the energy conversion is maintained at satisfactory levels to guarantee considerable power generation, an unprecedentedly high tower and an immense collector area are needed. This plant is then based on a thermal updraft movement of hot air resulting from natural convection. In this chapter, the simulations were conducted using cylindrical coordinate system. The inner fluid flow is considered turbulent and simulated with the k-e turbulent model, by means of the CFD commercial software ANSYS Fluent. Numerical data were validated by comparing them with those from experiments. The agreement between simulation results and the measurements taken from the experimental plant in Manzanares is fairly good. A set of mathematical models of the solar updraft power plant have been developed where a model considering the kinetic energy difference within the solar collector was proposed. The operation of such a plant is strongly dependent on the amount of solar radiation. The main disadvantage of this system is the inability to operate constantly at night. A geothermal heating device is suggested to guarantee a continuous operation during night hours. In this chapter, an auxiliary heating system constructed of in-plane spiral coil tubes is proposed to be placed above the ground under the collector. Thus, the computational model is afterward combined with a mathematical model for a geothermal heat exchanger to evaluate the effect of combining both solar and geothermal energy on the plant performance. A parametric study of the hybrid plant is carried out. The study focus essentially on the impact of the collector size, the meteorological conditions as well as the effectiveness of the heat exchanger on the air flow rate, the temperature increase within the collector and the global performance of the solar-geothermal hybrid system.

Comprehensive equipment manufacturing supervision technology system is based on equipment quality assurance classification and risk identification, and comprehensively uses comprehensive control technologies such as witness, patrol supervision, special quality assurance inspection and parallel inspection to monitor the quality risk points in the equipment manufacturing process, so as to make the equipment manufacturing quality fully meet the requirements of laws and regulations and procurement technology . Equipment manufacturing supervision is an important technical means of life cycle management of metal materials in power station, which is mainly used in power station construction and equipment transformation stage of power station. Through the technical means of equipment manufacturing supervision, a number of major equipment quality defects can be found and preventively solved, the safety and quality margin of equipment can be increased, and the inherent quality level of equipment can be improved, so as to improve the investment return of owners.

The Delta of the Senegal River is a complex ecosystem that serves as a source for various uses of fresh water: fishing, agriculture, grazing, ecotourism and drinking water. Climate variability and change lead to changes in the hydrological regime that impact the activities of both populations and ecosystems. Faced with this vulnerability, agricultural models must be improved to achieve integrated and sustainable water resource use. A Water-Energy-Food nexus approach is being implemented by the Senegalese Sugar Company (CSS), which produces irrigated sugar cane crops (11,000 ha). A milling by-product, bagasse (420 megatons/year), is used for power production, replacing fossil fuel and realizing the reduction of CO2 emissions by 43,000 tons/year. The current annual production of energy from bagasse allows the plant to reduce fossil fuels by 61 megatons/year and also provides energy for irrigation at CSS and surrounding smallholder fields. Next steps at CSS are to: (i) transfer 28 GWh/year from CSS into the national electric network; (ii) explore the feasibility of using high fiber energy cane cropped by smallholders on poor soils surrounding CSS farmland to be used for electricity production when bagasse stock is exhausted; (iii) promote small power station projects to run on high fiber and rustic sugarcane varieties cropped by smallholders for local electricity production in villages where electricity is not available. It is anticipated that this integrated approach will contribute to a reduction in climate change effects.

To reduce the extent of dependence on nuclear power and thermal power, the government in Taiwan has aggressively promoted the use of green energy such as solar power and wind power in recent years. Solar energy has in fact become an indispensable part in human daily life in Taiwan. One critical issue in photovoltaic (PV) power plant operation is to determine when to clean dirty solar panels caused by dust or other pollutants. Overly frequent cleaning can lead to excessive cleaning fee while insufficient cleaning leads to reduced production. With a tropical island-type climate, it rains frequently in Taiwan in some seasons, which results in the cleaning of dirty solar panels, referred to as natural cleaning in contrast to manual cleaning by maintenance personnel. In this chapter, we investigate the panel cleaning issues in Taiwan under uncontrolled, operational configuration. We propose methods to estimate solar power loss due to dust on panels and further estimate the cumulative revenue loss. When the loss exceeds the cleaning fee, manual cleaning is scheduled. The preliminary result demonstrated that the proposed approach is promising.

The conversion of hydrogen into electricity can be accomplished in fuel cells or in special power plants. In this chapter attention is drawn to the Graz cycle power plant as the power plant with the highest conversion efficiency.

The development of electric freight transport is becoming increasingly important against the backdrop of growing environmental problems, especially in megacities. The selection of the actual parameters of the power plant for electric freight vehicle is important here. This article analyzes the implemented projects in the world. The information gains particular relevance against the background of the absence of industrial production of power plants in the Russian Federation. The paper presents data on freight vehicles with a traction electric drive and deduces patterns in the value of the power of the used electric motors relative to the mass of the car in order to clarify the most popular standard-size series. This study was carried out with the aim of a feasibility study of models of electric motors for commercial vehicles proposed for launch into serial production.

To evaluate the performance of a central tower receiver power plant (CTRPP), a model is required to predict its energy output. Normally, the CTRPP performance depends on many physical parameters like site location, typical weather conditions, solar radiation incident angle, block factor, cosine factor, and shadow factor. Several models and software programs have been used to analyze the performance of CSP technologies. However, these models may be inappropriate to evaluate the power system reliability. This chapter describes the data and operation method of CTRPP. In addition, it presents a simplified mathematical model for all components of CTR plant to predict the performance and characteristics of the CTR system. The mathematical modelling for CTRPP is addressed from a reasonably simplified model perspective.

In this chapter, a comprehensive review of the emerging high penetration of photovoltaic (PV) with an overview of electrical energy storage (EES) for PV systems is presented. The emerging cell technologies are discussed. A study of solar power forecasting techniques for operation and planning of PV and EES is included. A deterministic approach for sizing PV and ESS with anaerobic digestion (AD) biogas power plant is developed to achieve a minimal levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for minimizing energy imbalance between generation and demand due to AD generator constraint and high penetration of PV. The issues in correlation analysis due to imbalanced data and data uncertainty in machine learning are given. A proposed framework is developed and tested with an in-depth analysis of real-life solar irradiance and weather condition data. Cluster analysis with Fuzzy C-Means with dynamic time warping and other methods is performed on real-life solar data to determine the clearness index (CI), which could be varied significantly in different seasons.

This paper presents the important parameters of the grid-connected photovoltaic power plant located in Vietnam including energy production, the number of photovoltaic panels (PV), and the number of the inverters. In this study, The PV Syt sofware is used for simulation. Besides, the project 1 MW installed capacity of grid-connected photovoltaic system, and the solar radiation of 63 locations in Vietnam is considered for simulation. Furthermore, an economic model was proposed to identify the Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), and payback years (PB).

For the mitigation of climate change a switch to renewable energies in combination with battery storage and high efficient technologies, such as combined heat and power is necessary. To assess the environmental impacts of an electricity system model of a residential district, a Life Cycle Assessment is conducted. Different approaches of impact assessment methods are applied and compared. Based on the assumptions made, the use of a battery storage cannot always be recommended due to its dependence on the expected lifetime and capacity utilization in general. When the full cycle life of a battery storage is reached and the consumed electricity originates from photovoltaic an environmental advantage compared to the German electricity mix is created. Consequently, battery storage application can reduce the climate change potential in the conducted analysis up to −26%. A disadvantage is the introduction of a higher resource consumption compared to the German electricity mix. Noticeable is only a slight decrease in the fossil energy demand due to the utilization of natural gas by the combined heat and power plant. Furthermore, there is a displacement of mining or extraction of fossil fuels towards Russia, USA and Rest of World, which may influence the security of supply.

This paper introduces the development trend of coal industry up to 2019. Compares with the global coal consumption volume and policy requirements, it is concluded that in the future, the amount of coal power generation will still occupy the main position of gross generation. With the requirements of environmental protection and clean energy, coal industry will gradually upgrade into coal gasification processing cluster. After gasification, the fuel can be used in the combustion of gas turbine to generate power, so as to achieve the advantages of higher efficiency and lower pollution. At the same time, the combined fuel cell technology can directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy, which will become the ultimate goal of the transformation and upgrading of the coal power generation industry in the future. At present, the coal power generation group is actively exploring the production application and management decision-making of intelligent power plants. The CFD software can be fully used to simulate and calculate the malfunction of main equipment in the power plant, and help technicians to determine the transformation scheme and fault causes. Artificial intelligence analysis method can analyze the weight proportion of a large number of production data stored in the SIS system of the power plant according to target requirements, quickly get the cause of main equipment failure, and predict the operation data for 3 to 5 min. The upgraded DCS management system can become intelligent and centralized big data analysis system.

Precise sustainable power source age and power request gauging instruments assume pivotal jobs in accomplishing proficient and stable activity of powerplant frameworks. Anticipating instruments comprise a fundamental piece of the vitality the executives’ framework capacities. A half and half approach for short term load forecasting (STLF) in powerplant is proposed in this investigation. The proposed methodology coordinates empirical mode decomposition (EMD), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and adaptive network-based fuzzy interference systems (ANFIS). It initially utilizes EMD to disintegrate the muddled burden information arrangement into a lot of a few intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a buildup, and PSO calculation is then used to enhance an ANFIS model for every IMF segment and the buildup. The last transient electric burden conjecture worth can be acquired by summarizing the forecast outcomes from every part model. The exhibition of the proposed model is inspected with a burden request dataset of a contextual analysis Xingtai power plant and is contrasted and four other generally utilized estimating techniques utilizing the equivalent dataset. The outcomes demonstrate that the proposed methodology yielded unrivaled execution for momentary determining of power plant burden request contrasted with different techniques.

Artificial electric field algorithm (AEFA) [1] is a newly designed charged population-based optimization algorithm. AEFA simulates the attracting behavior of charged particles based on Coulomb’s law of electrostatic force. In this article, the application of AEFA for economic load dispatch problem in power system is presented. The effectiveness of AEFA is tested for two IEEE benchmark problems of six and fifteen generator power plant systems. The simulation results of AEFA are compared with the state-of-art algorithms PSO, GA, ABC, and GSA. The comparative study demonstrates the competence of AEFA over the other state-of-art algorithms. We also analyzed the convergence of AEFA for the selected benchmark problems and the convergence analysis ensure the fast convergence of AEFA toward the optimal solutions. Finally, the results are validated using non-parametric Wilcoxon signed rank test.

Solar energy is the most important alternative and renewable energy source in meeting the increasing energy demand. Despite technological advances, solar energy systems have a high initial cost. Therefore, the installation of solar energy systems in the right place is of great importance for the return of high investment costs. The Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Term Set (HFLTS) is an important tool in integrating experts’ complex linguistic knowledge into decision-making process. In this study, the psychological orientations of the specialists are taken into consideration by using unbalanced HFLTS based on the score function of hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set based on hesitant degrees and linguistic scale functions (Score-HeDLiSF) method. Unbalanced HFLTSs based Score-HeDLiSF is used in the Multi-Objective Optimization on the basis of a Ratio Analysis plus the full MULTIplicative form (MULTIMOORA) method developed by ORESTE method and alternative solar plants are evaluated.

The paper provides an assessment of the results of research conducted by the team of MADI on the results of international competitions for fuel efficiency - Shell Eco-Marathon. They take place on sections of city streets in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and in London, England. These competitions involve vehicles with power plants operating on both traditional energy sources, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, and alternative ones - hydrogen, solar energy, biofuels, and electricity. The race car developed by the students of MADI uses petrol with an octane rating of 95 as fuel. In their studies, they assessed the energy efficiency of the car depending on its mass, aerodynamic properties, rolling resistance, tire pressure, road conditions, driving conditions, etc. The dependences of the change in the fuel consumption of the car on the mass, overall dimensions, tire pressure, as well as the effect of tire pressure on the vehicle’s overrun were obtained. Data for determination of the optimal driving modes on the track in London, England was obtained. For further study of influence degree of the power plant systems, chassis, and also maintenance supplies, additional studies are needed.

Huge scarcity of rare earth metals (REMs) globally, lack of good natural resources, and generation of tremendous coal ash containing REMs of power plant attracted the researchers to work in this area. The analysis of geologically distributed heterogeneous coal samples at CSIR-NML, India reports the presence of 0.5–1.5 kg/Ton REMs in particular seam of coal at Indian eastern part. In this regard, systematic leaching studies were made to recover REMs from Indian coal ash using hydrometallurgical technique. Maximum dissolution of REMs from coal ash take place using HCl of concentration ranging between 2 and 6 M at elevated temperature. From the obtained leach liquor, more than 90% REMs were recovered using oxalate precipitation. The process developed has tremendous potential to be commercialized after feasibility studies.

The implementation of time-of-use (TOU) power tariff in Chinese steel industry provides an opportunity for steel mills to reduce electricity bills through an optimal collaboration between the on-site power plant (OSPP) and energy storage equipment (gasholders). In this paper, a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) based scheduling model was proposed to achieve the optimal operation of OSPP and gasholders in a steel mill under TOU tariff. Compared with previous models, we considered the influence of TOU power tariff on the optimal scheduling of OSPP. The results of a case study demonstrate that the optimization model can achieve better peak-valley shifting of the electricity generation and decrease the electricity purchasing cost by 7.5% with improved gasholder stability. In addition, the overall power generation efficiency can be increased by 2.13% using the proposed model, which indicates that the byproduct gases can be effectively and efficiently used.